Music History Quiz

A quiz for the music history buffs! This quiz features music quiz questions covering a huge range of eras in time.

This music history quiz has 30 multiple choice questions with 4 options for each question.

The quiz covers all kinds of genres from classical music to pop and rock. There are questions about types of songs, movements in music history, and the latest in 20th and 21st century popular music.

Enjoy this fun music history quiz!

Music History Quiz – 30 Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is known as the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”?
a. Johann Sebastian Bach
b. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
c. Joseph Haydn
d. Ludwig van Beethoven

2. What type of operatic song, first developed during the Baroque period, is typically characterised by dramatic emotion?
a. Recitative
b. Aria
c. Overture
d. Fugue

3. Which of these composers is not associated with the Romantic period in music?
a. Franz Schubert
b. Robert Schumann
c. Johann Strauss II
d. Johann Sebastian Bach

4. The “Rite of Spring,” a ballet and orchestral concert work, famously caused a riot at its premiere. Who composed it?
a. Igor Stravinsky
b. Sergei Rachmaninoff
c. Dmitri Shostakovich
d. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

5. Which artist is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll”?
a. Chuck Berry
b. Elvis Presley
c. Buddy Holly
d. Jerry Lee Lewis

6. The Beatles emerged from which UK city in the 1960s?
a. Manchester
b. Birmingham
c. Liverpool
d. London

7. Which genre of music did Bob Dylan notably shift towards in the mid-1960s, shocking his folk fanbase?
a. Country
b. Blues
c. Rock
d. Jazz

8. Who is the best-selling female recording artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records?
a. Mariah Carey
b. Madonna
c. Whitney Houston
d. Celine Dion

9. What style of music, characterised by DJ-ing, MC-ing, breakdancing, and graffiti writing, originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s?
a. Punk
b. Disco
c. Hip Hop
d. New Wave

10. Who is the Grammy-winning artist behind the 2016 hit single “Hello”?
a. Taylor Swift
b. Rihanna
c. Beyonce
d. Adele

11. What musical period follows the Classical period and precedes the 20th Century period?
a. Baroque
b. Medieval
c. Renaissance
d. Romantic

12. Which of the following instruments was NOT typically found in a traditional Baroque orchestra?
a. Harpsichord
b. Violin
c. Trombone
d. Recorder

13. Who composed the iconic Four Seasons, a group of four violin concerti?
a. Johann Sebastian Bach
b. Antonio Vivaldi
c. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
d. Ludwig van Beethoven

14. What music festival in 1969 is often considered the definitive event of the counterculture generation?
a. Monterey Pop Festival
b. Woodstock
c. Altamont Free Concert
d. Isle of Wight Festival

15. Who was the lead singer of the iconic 1970s rock band, Queen?
a. Freddie Mercury
b. Brian May
c. Roger Taylor
d. John Deacon

16. In which city did jazz originate in the early 20th century?
a. New Orleans
b. New York City
c. Chicago
d. Los Angeles

17. The “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, released the best-selling album of all time. What is its name?
a. Bad
b. Off the Wall
c. Thriller
d. Dangerous

18. Which band was Kurt Cobain a part of, a key figure in the grunge movement of the 1990s?
a. Pearl Jam
b. Soundgarden
c. Nirvana
d. Alice in Chains

19. Who is known as the “Queen of Soul”?
a. Aretha Franklin
b. Diana Ross
c. Patti LaBelle
d. Etta James

20. What classical composer became completely deaf in his later life, yet continued to compose music?
a. Ludwig van Beethoven
b. Johann Sebastian Bach
c. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
d. Franz Schubert

21. What musical form, popular in the Classical period, is based on contrasting musical themes and often contains three sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation?
a. Fugue
b. Concerto
c. Rondo
d. Sonata

22. Which music genre was born out of African American communities in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, heavily influencing rock and roll?
a. Jazz
b. Blues
c. Gospel
d. Rhythm and blues

23. Who was the frontman of the British rock band The Rolling Stones?
a. Keith Richards
b. Mick Jagger
c. Brian Jones
d. Charlie Watts

24. Which famous composer is often associated with the film score for “Star Wars”?
a. Ennio Morricone
b. John Williams
c. Hans Zimmer
d. James Horner

25. What is the name of the pioneering rap group that released the album “Straight Outta Compton” in 1988?
a. Wu-Tang Clan
b. A Tribe Called Quest
c. N.W.A
d. Public Enemy

26. Which 1990s British band is known for their album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory”?
a. Oasis
b. Blur
c. Radiohead
d. The Verve

27. Which South Korean artist is known for the viral 2012 hit “Gangnam Style”?
a. BTS
b. Rain
c. Psy
d. BIGBANG

28. The music genre “Reggae” originated in which country during the late 1960s?
a. Brazil
b. Nigeria
c. United States
d. Jamaica

29. Which influential American music television channel was launched on August 1, 1981?
a. VH1
b. MTV
c. BET
d. CMT

30. Which band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983, is often credited with popularising the thrash metal genre?
a. Slayer
b. Anthrax
c. Megadeth
d. Metallica

Music History Quiz – Questions

1. Who is known as the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”?
c. Joseph Haydn

2. What type of operatic song, first developed during the Baroque period, is typically characterised by dramatic emotion?
b. Aria

3. Which of these composers is not associated with the Romantic period in music?
d. Johann Sebastian Bach

4. The “Rite of Spring,” a ballet and orchestral concert work, famously caused a riot at its premiere. Who composed it?
a. Igor Stravinsky

5. Which artist is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll”?
b. Elvis Presley

6. The Beatles emerged from which UK city in the 1960s?
c. Liverpool

7. Which genre of music did Bob Dylan notably shift towards in the mid-1960s, shocking his folk fanbase?
c. Rock

8. Who is the best-selling female recording artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records?
b. Madonna

9. What style of music, characterised by DJ-ing, MC-ing, breakdancing, and graffiti writing, originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s?
c. Hip Hop

10. Who is the Grammy-winning artist behind the 2016 hit single “Hello”?
d. Adele

11. What musical period follows the Classical period and precedes the 20th Century period?
d. Romantic

12. Which of the following instruments was NOT typically found in a traditional Baroque orchestra?
c. Trombone

13. Who composed the iconic Four Seasons, a group of four violin concerti?
b. Antonio Vivaldi

14. What music festival in 1969 is often considered the definitive event of the counterculture generation?
b. Woodstock

15. Who was the lead singer of the iconic 1970s rock band, Queen?
a. Freddie Mercury

16. In which city did jazz originate in the early 20th century?
a. New Orleans

17. The “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, released the best-selling album of all time. What is its name?
c. Thriller

18. Which band was Kurt Cobain a part of, a key figure in the grunge movement of the 1990s?
c. Nirvana

19. Who is known as the “Queen of Soul”?
a. Aretha Franklin

20. What classical composer became completely deaf in his later life, yet continued to compose music?
a. Ludwig van Beethoven

21. What musical form, popular in the Classical period, is based on contrasting musical themes and often contains three sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation?
d. Sonata

22. Which music genre was born out of African American communities in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, heavily influencing rock and roll?
d. Rhythm and blues

23. Who was the frontman of the British rock band The Rolling Stones?
b. Mick Jagger

24. Which famous composer is often associated with the film score for “Star Wars”?
b. John Williams

25. What is the name of the pioneering rap group that released the album “Straight Outta Compton” in 1988?
c. N.W.A

26. Which 1990s British band is known for their album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory”?
a. Oasis

27. Which South Korean artist is known for the viral 2012 hit “Gangnam Style”?
c. Psy

28. The music genre “Reggae” originated in which country during the late 1960s?
d. Jamaica

29. Which influential American music television channel was launched on August 1, 1981?
b. MTV

30. Which band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983, is often credited with popularising the thrash metal genre?
d. Metallica

That’s your music history quiz in 30 questions!

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