The quiz has the 25 standard instruments of a symphony orchestra.
Strings? ? ?
Strings? ? ?
Strings? ? ?
Strings? ? ?
Strings? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Woodwind? ? ?
Brass? ? ?
Brass? ? ?
Brass? ? ?
Brass? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Percussion? ? ?
Photo credits
- All photos are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses:
- Violin, Viola — Just plain Bill · CC0 / public domain
- Trumpet, Trombone — Yamaha Corporation · CC BY-SA
- Tuba, Contrabassoon — Buffet Crampon · CC BY-SA
- Oboe — Fratelli Patricola · CC BY-SA; Clarinet — Leitner & Kraus · CC BY-SA
- Cello — Georg Feitscher · CC BY; Double Bass — Andrew Kepert · CC BY-SA
- Harp — N.S.M. s.p.a. · CC BY-SA; Flute — Tubamirum · CC BY-SA
- Piccolo — Caesura · public domain; Cor Anglais — Hustvedt · CC BY-SA
- Bass Clarinet — Richard Holmes · CC BY; Bassoon — Gregory F. Maxwell · GFDL
- French Horn — BenP · CC BY; Timpani — Moreau1 · public domain
- Snare Drum — Chocho · FAL; Bass Drum — Žiga · CC0
- Cymbals, Triangle — Commons contributors · CC BY-SA
- Tambourine — Serg Childed · CC BY-SA; Glockenspiel — flamurai · public domain
- Xylophone — Roumpf · CC BY-SA
Rules & what counts
Orchestra Instruments Quiz — Rules & What Counts
A symphony orchestra has a standard line-up of 25 instruments, in four sections. This quiz asks you to name all 25.
Each card shows a photo of one instrument and the section the instrument sits in: Strings, Woodwind, Brass or Percussion. The instrument's name is the answer.
The strings come fast. The percussion section is where runs slow down — most players find the timpani and forget the tambourine.
How to play
- Start typing anywhere; the answer bar catches it automatically.
- The game accepts an instrument as soon as you spell it — you do not press Enter.
- A correct name reveals its card and shows the section.
- Other full names count. "English horn" works for the cor anglais, "kettledrums" for the timpani, "upright bass" for the double bass.
- The timer counts up. Give up reveals the remaining instruments and logs your score.
What counts in this quiz
- The 25 standard instruments of a full symphony orchestra.
- Five strings: violin, viola, cello, double bass and harp.
- Eight woodwinds: piccolo, flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon and contrabassoon.
- Four brass: French horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba.
- Eight percussion: timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel and xylophone.
What's not included — and why
- Instruments a score adds as guests are not counted. The piano, the celesta, the saxophone and the marimba appear in many famous works, but they are not standard members of the orchestra.
- The game recognizes those guesses. Type "piano" and the input clears, so you can see the guess registered without a point.
- Singers are not in the quiz. A choir joins an orchestra for some works, but a voice is not an instrument here.
Good to know
- The cor anglais is neither English nor a horn. It is an alto oboe, and the name's origin is still argued about.
- The harp is the only plucked instrument in the standard line-up.
- The double bass is tuned in fourths. The violin, viola and cello are tuned in fifths.
- The timpani are the only drums in the orchestra tuned to exact notes. The player retunes them with pedals during the music.
- The contrabassoon plays some of the lowest notes in the orchestra, an octave below the bassoon.