QUIZ YOURSELF
1. How many keys are on a typical piano? (A. 72; B. 88; C. 100)
2. Of that number, how many keys are white? (A. 88; B. 64; C. 52)
3. And how many black keys? (A 36; B. 48; C. 60)
4. What is the right pedal called? (A. the"soft" pedal; B. the "loud pedal"; C. the "damper or sustain pedal")
5. What is a damper? (A. A hammer; B. A small tone-stopper made of felt; C. A wet rag)
6. How many dampers does a normal piano have, approximately? (A. 67; B. 88; C. 100)
7. What is the middle pedal, usually? (A. the "rinky- tink" pedal; B. the "loud" pedal; C. the "bass-sustain" or "sostenuto" or "muffler-rail" pedal, depending on the piano)
8. What does the "sostenuto" pecdal do? (A. Sustains only the note or notes you were playing at the time you depressed the pedal; B. Moves the entire action to one side so the hammers "miss" one string on each two- or three-string note; C. Makes all the notes sound soft)
9. What does the "una corda" pedal do? (A. Moves the entire action to one side so the hammers "miss" one string on each two- or three- string note...in theory, any way; B. Lets you play a 3-note chord when you push the middle pedal; C. Makes the notes sound louder by sustaining them)
10. Which kind of piano is most likely to have "sostenuto" and "una corda" pedals? (A. An upright; B. A square piano; C. A grand)
11. Which word best completes this series: "spinet, console, studio..." ? (A. "grand"; B. "baby grand"; C. "upright")
12. Each one of the piano types in the above series is called a (A. "vertical"; B. "upright"; C. "grand")
13. How much does a typical piano weigh, approximately? (A. From one to two tons; B. From 200 to 400 lbs.; C. From 400 to way over 1000 lbs.)
14. The hammers, which strike the strings, are usually covered with what material? (A. Cotton; B. Rubber; C. Wool)
15. How many hammers are there, usually? (A. 100; B. 88; C. 67)
16. What does the term "voicing" mean...as it's most often used? (A. Hardening or softening the hammers to make them "brighter" or "mellower"; B. Polishing the strings; C. Tuning)
17. What does the term "tuning" mean? (A. Making the piano sound good and taking care of any minor problems; B. Raising or lowering the pitch of the strings to make them harmonize with each other; C. Cleaning the piano and putting all the items back on top)
18. A piano is often tuned to what pitch? (A. A-440; B. B-220; C. C-880)
19. The term "440" means... (A. There are 440 diferent pitches you could select; B. In the year 440 A.D., the pitch was standardized; C. The string vibrates back AND forth 440 times / second.)
20. What makes a piano go out of tune? (A. Hard playing / Humidity changes / A poor tuning job; B. The enormous tension on the piano / Moving the piano roughly / Uneven stresses on the piano; C. Both A and B)
ANSWERS:
1. B 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. A 7. C 8. A 9. A 10. C
11. C 12. A 13. C 14. C 15. B 16. A 17. B 18. A 19. C 20. C
How'd you do?
18-20 answers right: You're a piano technician, aren't you?
7-17 answers right: Pretty nice! Thanks for taking this quiz.
0-6 answers right: You must be a rocket scientist or brain surgeon or ANYTHING other than a piano technician.