Music · Unit 1
What is Music?
What music is, where we hear it and why we make it
Every known human society makes music, and no definition of it survives contact with all of them. Organised sound is the closest anyone gets, and the word organised is doing a lot of work.
The unit covers what separates music from noise, where music turns up in daily life, why people make it, and how to listen actively rather than let it wash past.
This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 23
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-5
What this unit covers
- What Music Is
- Sound and Music
- Music All Around Us
- Why We Make Music
- Listening to Music
Where this fits
The first unit in the Music track. No prerequisites.
Where people slip
Silence is part of music, not the absence of it. Rests are written, counted and as deliberate as any note.
How the unit is structured
What is Music? runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Listening to Music
- Fill the blankLevel 1
1. To listen to music without disturbing others, you can wear ____.
- headphonescorrect
- sunglasses
- gloves
- a scarf
Headphones let you enjoy music privately without bothering people nearby.
- Guess the numberLevel 1
2. Most people listen to music using how many ears?
Answer: 2 ears
We usually listen with both of our two ears.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
3. At a concert, a good listener should...
- stay quiet and listencorrect
- shout over the music
- run around the room
- leave right away
Staying quiet and listening lets you and everyone around you enjoy the music.
- True or falseLevel 1
4. At a concert, it is polite to be quiet while the music is playing.
Answer: True
Being quiet during the music helps everyone hear and enjoy the performance.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
5. Which of these are good listening habits? Choose all that apply.
- keep the volume at a safe levelcorrect
- listen for the beatcorrect
- notice how the music makes you feelcorrect
- cover your ears the whole time
Keeping a safe volume, listening for the beat and noticing your feelings all help you enjoy music.
- Put in orderLevel 2
6. Put these concert moments in order from first to last.
Answer: The lights dim -> The musicians play -> The audience claps
First the lights dim, then the musicians play, and afterward the audience claps.
Music All Around Us
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
7. Which of these often plays music?
- a radiocorrect
- a rock
- a spoon
- a sock
A radio is made to play music and other sounds for us to hear.
- True or falseLevel 1
8. You can hear music on the radio.
Answer: True
The radio is one of the many everyday places we hear music.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
9. Which of these places often have music? Choose all that apply.
- a concertcorrect
- a birthday partycorrect
- a movie theatercorrect
- a quiet spelling test
Concerts, birthday parties and movie theaters all use music, but a quiet spelling test does not.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
10. The short tune your phone plays when someone calls is called a ____.
- ringtonecorrect
- doorbell
- alarm
- whistle
A ringtone is the little piece of music your phone plays for an incoming call.
- Odd one outLevel 2
11. Which is NOT a place you would usually hear music?
- a silent librarycorrect
- a wedding
- a parade
- a concert
Weddings, parades and concerts are full of music, but a silent library is meant to be quiet.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
12. Sort each sound into Music or Not Music.
Answer: A lullaby = Music; A song on the radio = Music; A dog barking = Not Music; A car horn = Not Music
A lullaby and a radio song are organized music, while a dog barking and a car horn are just sounds.
Sound and Music
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. What must happen for a sound to be made?
- something vibratescorrect
- something glows
- something freezes
- something floats
Every sound starts when something vibrates, or moves quickly back and forth.
- True or falseLevel 1
14. Sound is made when something vibrates, or moves quickly back and forth.
Answer: True
Vibrations are those tiny fast movements that create the sounds we hear.
- Type the answerLevel 1
15. Which part of your body do you use to hear sounds?
Answer: ears
We hear sounds with our ears.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
16. Which of these can make a musical sound? Choose all that apply.
- a drumcorrect
- a singing voicecorrect
- a guitarcorrect
- a photograph
A drum, a singing voice and a guitar all make sound, but a photograph cannot.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
17. Sound usually travels to our ears through the ____.
- aircorrect
- light
- color
- smell
Sound travels through the air until it reaches our ears.
- Odd one outLevel 2
18. Three of these make a sound. Which one does NOT make a sound by itself?
- a photocorrect
- a drum
- a bell
- a whistle
A drum, a bell and a whistle all make sound, but a photo is silent.
What Music Is
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. Music is best described as sounds that are...
- arranged on purpose to enjoycorrect
- made only by accident
- always just one note
- never heard by anyone
Music is not just random noise; it is sound arranged on purpose so people can enjoy it.
- True or falseLevel 1
20. A song is music that has words to sing.
Answer: True
A song is simply music with words, or lyrics, that you sing.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
21. Which of these are common ingredients of music? Choose all that apply.
- melodycorrect
- rhythmcorrect
- harmonycorrect
- gravity
Melody, rhythm and harmony are core parts of music, but gravity is not.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
22. Sound that is arranged in a pleasing, purposeful way is often called ____ sound.
- organizedcorrect
- broken
- frozen
- empty
People sometimes describe music as organized sound because the sounds are put together with a plan.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
23. Match each music word to what it means.
Answer: Beat = The steady pulse; Melody = The tune you can sing; Song = Music with words
The beat is the pulse, the melody is the tune, and a song is music with words.
- Odd one outLevel 2
24. Which one is NOT usually a part of music?
- a paintingcorrect
- melody
- rhythm
- pitch
A painting is art you see, while melody, rhythm and pitch are all parts of music you hear.
Why We Make Music
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
25. One important reason people make music is to...
- share their feelingscorrect
- make it rain
- stop time
- grow taller
Music is a wonderful way to share our feelings and emotions with others.
- True or falseLevel 1
26. People often make music to celebrate special days like birthdays.
Answer: True
Music is a big part of how we celebrate happy events together.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
27. Which of these are real reasons people make music? Choose all that apply.
- to celebratecorrect
- to dancecorrect
- to relaxcorrect
- to make the sun rise
People make music to celebrate, to dance and to relax, but not to make the sun rise.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
28. A lullaby shows that we sometimes make music to ____ someone and help them feel calm.
- comfortcorrect
- scare
- ignore
- chase
A gentle lullaby is meant to comfort a baby and help them settle down.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
29. Match each reason for making music to an example of it.
Answer: To celebrate = A birthday song; To relax = Calm bedtime music; To help us learn = The ABC song
We celebrate with a birthday song, relax with calm music, and learn with the ABC song.
- Odd one outLevel 2
30. Which of these is NOT a reason people make music?
- to fix a carcorrect
- to celebrate
- to tell a story
- to relax
People make music to celebrate, tell stories and relax, but not to fix a car.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Choose all that apply
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise What is Music?
120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about What is Music?
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- How Improvisation Creates Music in the MomentImprovisation creates or reshapes music during performance. Musicians use familiar scales, rhythms, patterns and listening skills to make new choices without planning every note in advance.August 8, 2026 · 5 min read
- How Leitmotifs Connect Music and StoryA leitmotif is a recurring musical idea linked with a character, place, object or theme. Its return and transformation can help listeners follow a story and notice emotional change.August 5, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Is Timbre in Music? Why the Same Note Can Sound DifferentLearn how harmonics, attack, decay, resonance, and playing technique help different voices and instruments sound distinct.August 14, 2026 · 6 min read
- What Is the Blues? Twelve Bars That Built Popular MusicThe blues is a form, a scale and a feeling that came out of the American South around 1900. How the twelve-bar pattern works.September 14, 2026 · 5 min read
More units in Music
- Sounds and SilenceLoud and soft, high and low, fast and slow, and quiet
- Beat and RhythmThe steady beat, rhythm patterns and keeping time
- Singing and the VoiceThe singing voice, songs and melody
- Instruments to MeetFirst instruments and how they make sound
- Pitch and MelodyPitch, the musical alphabet and how melodies move
- Rhythm and MeterNote values, rests, beats and measures
- Dynamics, Tempo and ExpressionHow loud, how fast, and how music is shaped
- Reading MusicThe staff, clefs and how notes are written