Can you name the symphony orchestra instruments?

created by SporcleAdmin

Enter an instrument in the box below
Correctly named instruments will show up below
Answers do not have to be guessed in order
Also try: Instrumental Songs
Source: London Symphony Orchestra

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Strings

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Percussion

Brass

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There are 92 comments for this game.
(Warning: comments may contain spoilers)

Orchestra Instruments Quiz

by SporcleAdmin

Created Apr 8, 2008 in Music
Featured Apr 8, 2008
Game Plays 136,993

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	AhLeah:	Sep 19th, 2008 at 04:05 GMT		42 points
	Please make "double bassoon" an alternate answer for "contrabassoon." They're the same thing.

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	Chumley:	Oct 22nd, 2008 at 06:41 GMT		25 points
	Timpani is also known as a kettle drum.

	jaspa:	Oct 24th, 2008 at 04:06 GMT		10 points
	Glockenspiels are also commonly referred to as "bells" or "bell kits."

	precipitato:	Oct 27th, 2008 at 04:13 GMT		22 points
	Celesta is arguably a keyboard instrument.

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	bwipp:	Nov 11th, 2008 at 00:43 GMT		18 points
	it's a symphony orchestra.... no sax

	Michael:	Nov 21st, 2008 at 19:28 GMT		13 points
	@precipitato: Celesta should always be considered a keyboard instrument. In fact, I was surprised to see it pop up under percussion. The mistake probably originates from the fact that the celesta has keys that move a hammer to strike a metal bar. But it was originally a keyboard instrument. Consider Tchaikovsky's dance of the sugar plum faries.

	Keonyn:	Dec 2nd, 2008 at 19:24 GMT		6 points
	I got all the rest, but I just couldn't get the percussion list.

	siobhan:	Dec 21st, 2008 at 03:03 GMT		4 points
	marimba? contrabass clarinet?

	Lindsay:	Dec 28th, 2008 at 14:26 GMT		8 points
	Tam-tam/gong?

	SongfromBohemia:	Dec 30th, 2008 at 22:51 GMT		6 points
	Aaah! kicks self So many percussion instruments I missed...

	canon_ind:	Jan 10th, 2009 at 13:07 GMT		1 point
	castanets and tambourine?? They're not standard instrument!! and Harp should be in percussion category, because of its use, not its function.

	davidr:	Jan 11th, 2009 at 13:27 GMT		5 points
	@canon_ind: Huh? Harps have strings (suggesting that they're string instruments) and you don't hit them (suggesting that they're not percussion).

	runnerdude95:	Jan 13th, 2009 at 17:32 GMT		-3 points
	not too hard

	lucian:	Jan 30th, 2009 at 17:34 GMT		17 points
	how bout "snare" counts for snare drum?

	Fnnkybutt:	Jan 30th, 2009 at 23:43 GMT		1 point
	I second lucian's comment.

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	Wynne101:	Feb 16th, 2009 at 06:40 GMT		1 point
	I'm pretty proud of myself for getting 24/30, considering I've only ever played Violin and Cello. Color Guard has its benefits.

	mister_pianoman:	Feb 17th, 2009 at 06:38 GMT		-3 points
	@ canon_ind I haven't been to see an orchestra recently, but all that I have seen or been a part of included the tambourine on at least one, if not all selections. It definately gets more playing time with the symphony than the tuba. That said, I agree wholeheartedly that castanets are not part of a symphony's regular instrumentation.

	archicello:	Mar 4th, 2009 at 02:58 GMT		1 point
	dah, castanets! missd'em. I think we can agree that, with the many, many symphonic arrangements, this list of instruments is just.

	Tim:	Mar 8th, 2009 at 18:45 GMT		8 points
	harp is definitely a string - but why castanets? the rest of the percussion makes sense - but i've been a percussionist for years and very rarely use castanets in orchestra writing - gong/tam-tam, tom-toms, and even claves are used more often. ALso, celesta is definitely a keyboard and i wouldn't really consider organ a orchestra instrument

	adal:	Mar 12th, 2009 at 20:40 GMT		1 point
	Gong is accepted for cymbals.

	Kathryn:	Mar 29th, 2009 at 15:44 GMT		2 points
	Being a band geek has finally paid off! Although I got all of the hard ones, I still missed tuba (how lame is that?). Aren't the gong and cymbals different things?

	Sausage:	Apr 12th, 2009 at 23:27 GMT		0 points
	got most but I couldn't give up and the timer wouldn't run so the missing ones remain a mystery...like this one though

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	RebeccaAMax:	May 3rd, 2009 at 22:41 GMT		7 points
	-Gong =/= cymbal -Percussion category WTF? Since when are castanets and tambourines standard? They're used in the rare tone poem or opera where you need "local color" and should NOT be in the game.

	katie:	May 21st, 2009 at 13:38 GMT		-2 points
	i got all except chimes, castanets and english horn. did you accept cor anglais - ran out time to find out! and thankyou!!!! for putting in bass clarinet. my music teach wont let me play because its apparently not an orchestral instrument.

	tepretzel:	May 28th, 2009 at 23:02 GMT		5 points
	Harps, although they have strings, are considered percussion; a celesta is a keyboard, and certainly has nothing to do with a glockenspiel; and castanets are not standard in an orchestra.

	Mojolulu:	Jun 6th, 2009 at 06:07 GMT		6 points
	these categories are all wrong...and this quiz is pointless in the sense that a composer can put any sort of instuments he/she wants into an orch and and use them in any way that they please...therefore one could argue that there are no "standard" orchestral instuments, esp when it comes to the percussion section

	Areonis:	Jun 16th, 2009 at 14:34 GMT		2 points
	Lol I jokingly entered castanets and it was on there.

	soupxn:	Jun 27th, 2009 at 04:37 GMT		20 points
	What, no cowbell?

	weew:	Jul 5th, 2009 at 23:10 GMT		3 points
	I think I tried every perc instrument except castanets... also the tam-tam is a different instrument than the gong. most high school bands only have a tam-tam. the double bass should also allow contrabass. I think crotales are more common than celestas, but I didn't check if it was allowed. I was sad when cowbell didn't show up.

	tilly87:	Jul 23rd, 2009 at 20:38 GMT		2 points
	onde martenot

	riddler:	Aug 28th, 2009 at 12:11 GMT		3 points
	the list for percussion is somewhat random...the gong (or tam-tam) is used much more often than castanets or tambourine. If you're going on Britten's piece, then there should also be the whip!

	jen7074:	Sep 2nd, 2009 at 13:34 GMT		2 points
	The ondes martenot is arguably not a standard symphony instrument. Castanets? Really? There should be a catch-all category labeled "auxillary percussion."

	jen7074:	Sep 2nd, 2009 at 13:35 GMT		1 point
	I also tried celesta and it wasn't there. Organ is used somewhat (think Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saens), but celesta would have been a more viable answer, and, on the same page, harpsichord really is only used in Baroque works which were not symphonies as such at the time.

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	TASchwitters:	Sep 13th, 2009 at 21:51 GMT		0 points
	Yes there is. Saxophone has been used quite commonly since the late 1800's. This quiz is BS anyway. Composers can arrange for whatever they want. What about brake drum, wagner tuba, cornet, etc? You can't have a comprehensive list. Plus, some of the ones on the list, like trombones, weren't in popular use until after the classical era.

	silverwraith720:	Sep 19th, 2009 at 05:05 GMT		-4 points
	a marimba is NOT the same thing as a xylophone!!!!!!!!!!!!! marimbas are made of wooden or synthetic keys, xylophones are metal, they both have long resonating tubes underneath, if there are no tubes and they are metal, it's a glockenspiel or orchestral bells, no such instrument has wooden or synthetic keys and no tubes