Tubular Bells Quiz Questions and Answers

Q1. What is another common name for tubular bells in orchestral settings?
A. Glockenspiel
B. Chimes
C. Mark tree
D. Celesta
Answer: B. Chimes

Q2. Tubular bells belong to which family of musical instruments?
A. String
B. Wind
C. Percussion
D. Keyboard
Answer: C. Percussion

Q3. What material are the tubes of orchestral tubular bells typically made from?
A. Wood
B. Brass or steel
C. Glass
D. Aluminum
Answer: B. Brass or steel

Q4. How is the pitch of each tube in a set of tubular bells primarily determined?
A. By its diameter
B. By its material
C. By its thickness
D. By its length
Answer: D. By its length

Q5. What is the standard orchestral range for tubular bells?
A. C3 to G4
B. F4 to C6
C. C4 to F5
D. G3 to D5
Answer: C. C4 to F5

Q6. Many professional sets of tubular bells extend the upper range to which note?
A. C5
B. G5
C. A5
D. F6
Answer: B. G5

Q7. Tubular bells are typically struck with mallets that have heads made of what materials?
A. Rawhide or plastic
B. Metal or wood
C. Felt or yarn
D. Rubber or sponge
Answer: A. Rawhide or plastic

Q8. Where on the tube are tubular bells usually struck to produce the best tone?
A. At the bottom end
B. In the middle
C. On the top edge
D. At the suspension point
Answer: C. On the top edge

Q9. Tubular bells were originally developed to imitate the sound of which type of bells?
A. Handbells
B. Church bells
C. Sleigh bells
D. Cowbells
Answer: B. Church bells

Q10. Which composer is believed to have been the first to score for tubular bells in an orchestral work in 1886?
A. Giuseppe Verdi
B. Giacomo Puccini
C. Hector Berlioz
D. Arthur Sullivan
Answer: D. Arthur Sullivan

Q11. In which Arthur Sullivan work did tubular bells first appear orchestrally?
A. The Golden Legend
B. Tosca
C. Il Trovatore
D. Symphonie Fantastique
Answer: A. The Golden Legend

Q12. Which innovative American manufacturer is credited with popularizing orchestral tubular bells in the early 20th century?
A. John Harrington
B. J.C. Deagan
C. Mike Oldfield
D. Yamaha
Answer: B. J.C. Deagan

Q13. Compared to real church bells, tubular bells offer greater what in performance?
A. Volume
B. Sustain length
C. Harmonic complexity
D. Rhythmic precision
Answer: D. Rhythmic precision

Q14. Tubular bells are often used in orchestras primarily for what purpose?
A. Adding tonal color
B. Playing fast melodies
C. Providing bass lines
D. Sustaining chords
Answer: A. Adding tonal color

Q15. Which famous 1973 album by Mike Oldfield prominently features tubular bells?
A. Dark Side of the Moon
B. Tubular Bells
C. The Exorcist Soundtrack
D. The Planets
Answer: B. Tubular Bells

Q16. The opening theme of which 1973 horror film is based on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells?
A. Halloween
B. The Omen
C. The Exorcist
D. Psycho
Answer: C. The Exorcist

Q17. In Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, tubular bells are sometimes used in which movement to evoke funeral bells?
A. First movement
B. Third movement
C. Fifth movement
D. Fourth movement
Answer: C. Fifth movement

Q18. Which composer’s opera Tosca (1900) features tubular bells?
A. Giacomo Puccini
B. Giuseppe Verdi
C. Richard Wagner
D. Georges Bizet
Answer: A. Giacomo Puccini

Q19. Tubular bells differ from wind chimes in that they are primarily what?
A. Untuned
B. Tuned to specific pitches
C. Blown by air
D. Made of glass
Answer: B. Tuned to specific pitches

Q20. Unlike traditional church bells, tubular bells have identical what, aiding harmonic clarity?
A. Tops and bottoms
B. Diameters
C. Materials
D. Suspensions
Answer: A. Tops and bottoms

Q21. A sustain pedal on some tubular bells allows control over what?
A. Volume
B. Pitch bending
C. Damping
D. Mallet hardness
Answer: C. Damping

Q22. Which percussion instrument is sometimes confused with tubular bells but consists of metal bars in a keyboard layout?
A. Vibraphone
B. Glockenspiel
C. Xylophone
D. Marimba
Answer: B. Glockenspiel

Q23. Tubular bells are classified as what type of instrument due to producing sound through vibration of the material itself?
A. Aerophone
B. Chordophone
C. Idiophone
D. Membranophone
Answer: C. Idiophone

Q24. Modern manufacturers like Adams and Kolberg are known for producing high-quality tubular bells with features such as what?
A. Adjustable damping pedals
B. Built-in amplifiers
C. Automatic tuning
D. Wireless mallets
Answer: A. Adjustable damping pedals

Q25. The perceived “strike tone” in tubular bells is primarily determined by which vibrational modes?
A. Modes 1, 2, and 3
B. Modes 4, 5, and 6
C. Modes 2, 3, and 4
D. Modes 5, 6, and 7
Answer: B. Modes 4, 5, and 6