Piano Piano 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'legato' instruct a pianist to do?
- Play notes detached and separated
- Play notes smoothly and connected (Correct answer)
- Play notes with heavy accents
- Play notes in a staccato style
Correct answer: Play notes smoothly and connected
Legato means to play notes in a smooth, connected manner without noticeable breaks between them.
Question 2: Which finger is designated as finger number 1 in standard piano fingering?
- Pinky
- Ring finger
- Middle finger
- Thumb (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Thumb
In standard piano fingering, the thumb is always numbered 1, followed by index (2), middle (3), ring (4), and pinky (5).
Question 3: What is the name of the piano technique where the sustain pedal is pressed before a note and released after?
- Half pedaling
- Flutter pedaling
- Syncopated pedaling (Correct answer)
- Pre-pedaling
Correct answer: Syncopated pedaling
Syncopated (or legato) pedaling means pressing the pedal just after the note is played to avoid blurring while maintaining legato.
Question 4: In music notation, what does a fermata symbol indicate?
- Speed up the passage
- Skip the note entirely
- Hold the note longer than its written value (Correct answer)
- Play the note twice
Correct answer: Hold the note longer than its written value
A fermata tells the performer to hold the note or rest for a duration longer than its written value, at the performer's discretion.
Question 5: What is a 'chord inversion' in piano playing?
- Playing a chord with the wrong hand
- Reversing the order of notes so a non-root note is on the bottom (Correct answer)
- Playing a chord backwards from right to left
- Omitting one note from a chord
Correct answer: Reversing the order of notes so a non-root note is on the bottom
A chord inversion occurs when a chord note other than the root is placed in the lowest (bass) position.
Question 6: What is the keyboard range of a standard modern grand piano?
- 61 keys
- 76 keys
- 85 keys
- 88 keys (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 88 keys
A standard modern concert grand piano has 88 keys, spanning seven octaves plus a minor third.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'voicing' in piano technique?
- Choosing which pedal to use
- Balancing the relative volume of notes within a chord or passage (Correct answer)
- Adjusting the piano's internal hammers
- Selecting a specific octave for a melody
Correct answer: Balancing the relative volume of notes within a chord or passage
Voicing is the skill of bringing out one note or line more prominently than others, creating balance and color in the sound.
Piano Piano 2
What does the term 'legato' instruct a pianist to do?