Instrument families: strings, wind, brass, percussion, keys

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 9 of the arts course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your mate goes, "anything shiny and metal is brass, innit." Which instrument proves him wrong?

1. The tuba, which is brass — no support
2. The trombone, which is brass and slides in and out — no support
3. The trumpet, which is brass — ← Mova's choice · score 16
4. The flute, which is metal but a woodwind — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 16, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 2: «That is why the shiny metal saxophone is a woodwind (it uses a reed, a thin vibrating strip of cane) and the metal flute is a woodwind too (you blow across an…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «trumpet» (+4); the same thing acted on «brass» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

What would happen if a violinist forgot to put rosin on the bow?

1. The strings would snap at once — no support
2. The bow would slide and hardly make the string sound — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. Nothing at all would change — no support
4. The violin would get much louder and brighter than before — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 4, line 14: «Feedback is a loud squeal that happens when a microphone picks up sound from a speaker and loops it round and round, louder each time.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «sound» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A cartoon shows a trumpeter blowing like he's cooling soup and a fanfare comes out. What's wrong?

1. Trumpets need rosin to play — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Nothing, that is exactly how trumpets work — no support
3. Trumpets play only when shaken — no support
4. Brass needs buzzing lips, not just air — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓

Finn in Auckland says, "Chur, but it's broken, bro." ("chur" means cheers) What should he check first?

1. Whether the guitar is plugged into an amp — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Whether he is holding it upside down — no support
3. Whether it has enough rosin — no support
4. Whether the strings are made of gold — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 9, line 5: «Around the world people talk about it their own way: in New England "wicked" means very, in New Zealand "chur" means thanks or cheers, and an "amp" is an ampli…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «electric guitar» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A dad in Boston says the big lad on tuba is "wicked funny" (very funny). What is the truth about tuba and size?

1. Tubas make high notes because they're big — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Tubas shrink to fit the player — no support
3. Only big people are allowed to play a tuba in a band — no support
4. Anyone can play a tuba, and it plays low because it is big — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Which question tells you an instrument's family?

1. What colour is it? — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. How does it make its sound? — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Who played it first? — no support
4. How much did it cost? — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

An orchestra puts the drums right at the front. What would most likely happen?

1. The drums would drown out the quieter strings — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The concert would sound more balanced and exciting for everyone — no support
3. Nobody would hear the drums — no support
4. The strings would get louder — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓

Your cousin says the piano is "obviously strings, end of". What is the fairest answer?

1. He's right, nobody anywhere has ever argued about it — no support
2. It is a brass instrument — score 5
3. It is a wind instrument — score 5
4. It has strings, but hammers hit them, so people argue — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 13

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 13, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 4: «Some instruments do not fit one box: a piano has strings struck by hammers when you press keys, so people argue whether it is strings or percussion, and many j…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+7); the same thing acted on «strings» (+5); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Isha's brother reckons percussion "can't do tunes". Which instrument proves him wrong?

1. The tambourine — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The xylophone — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The maracas — no support
4. The snare drum — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Nina asks why we put "crayon" on the bow. What is the real answer?

1. It is wax, to make the bow slippery — no support
2. It is rosin from pine trees, to make the hair grip — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It is chalk, to dry the strings — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. It is crayon, to colour the strings — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 9, line 16: «Rosin is hardened pine resin rubbed on a bow so the hair grips the strings and makes them vibrate; traditional bow hair is horsehair.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «strings» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Which plays highest: violin, viola, cello or double bass?

1. Violin — ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. Viola — score 4
3. Double bass — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Cello — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 9, line 10: «The violin, viola, cello and double bass are all string instruments played with a bow or plucked; bigger ones play lower notes, and the cello and double bass a…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «cello» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal criterion upon which instruments are assigned to families.

1. The dimensions of the instrument — no support
2. The nationality of its inventor — no support
3. The material of which the instrument is constructed — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. The means by which the sound is produced — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 1: «Instruments are sorted into families by HOW they make their sound, not by what they are made of: strings shake strings, woodwinds use breath across an edge or…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same thing acted on «instruments» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the classification of the saxophone.

1. It is a percussion instrument, since it is struck — no support
2. It is a string instrument concealed within a tube — no support
3. It is a brass instrument, since it is constructed of brass — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. It is a woodwind instrument, since its sound is produced by a reed — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 7: «The saxophone is made of brass but is a woodwind, because it makes its sound with a reed, like a clarinet.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+3); the same circumstance (+3). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the reason for which an electric guitar produces little sound when not connected to any apparatus.

1. Its strings require the application of rosin — no support
2. Its solid body requires an amplifier to render its sound loud — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. It has sustained irreparable damage to its body and strings and cannot be mended — score 3
4. It is designed to be inaudible in all circumstances — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2, line 4: «Picture a class clapping "ta, ta, ti-ti, ta": saying a rhythm out loud before you play it helps your body feel the long and short sounds, and real musicians do…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «body» (+2); the same thing acted on «long sounds» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the customary seating of an orchestra?

1. The percussion is placed nearest the audience — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The most accomplished players are placed at the front — no support
3. Quieter strings are placed at the front and louder brass and percussion at the rear — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Seating is determined by the order of arrival — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/arts/9-instrument-families-strings-wind-brass-percussion-keys/