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Music Hangman Words
Music hangman words for the classroom: instruments, notation, tempo markings and orchestra vocabulary, with printable sheets for music teachers.
Read the word list
Music class has its own vocabulary, much of it borrowed from Italian, and students are expected to read and spell it before they have seen it written many times. This list collects three groups: instruments from the string, woodwind, brass and percussion families, the symbols and terms of notation such as clef, staff and fermata, and the Italian words for speed and volume, including allegro, adagio, forte and crescendo.
Instrument names are the easy way in: drum, harp, tuba and flute are short and familiar. Bassoon, xylophone, saxophone and tambourine are longer and have letters that players guess late. The Italian terms are the hardest group for most students, because the vowel patterns do not match English spelling. Phrases such as treble clef, time signature and sheet music make good whole-class rounds before a rehearsal or a theory quiz.
78 entries. Our solver needed 2.6 wrong guesses on average: 26 easy, 40 medium and 12 hard. The toughest is beat (8 misses), the quickest interval (0).
- melody Medium · 3
- rhythm Hard · 5
- harmony Medium · 3
- tempo Medium · 4
- pitch Hard · 7
- tone Medium · 3
- beat Hard · 8
- measure Easy · 1
- staff Hard · 6
- clef Medium · 3
- treble Easy · 1
- bass Medium · 4
- note Medium · 3
- rest Medium · 2
- sharp Hard · 5
- flat Medium · 3
- scale Medium · 3
- chord Medium · 4
- octave Medium · 2
- interval Easy · 0
- dynamics Easy · 1
- forte Medium · 2
- piano Hard · 6
- crescendo Easy · 0
- staccato Medium · 2
- legato Medium · 2
- allegro Easy · 1
- adagio Easy · 1
- andante Easy · 0
- presto Easy · 1
- fermata Easy · 1
- cadence Easy · 0
- chorus Medium · 3
- verse Easy · 1
- orchestra Easy · 0
- conductor Medium · 3
- symphony Medium · 3
- concerto Easy · 1
- sonata Easy · 1
- opera Medium · 2
- violin Medium · 4
- viola Medium · 2
- cello Hard · 5
- flute Hard · 5
- clarinet Medium · 2
- oboe Easy · 1
- bassoon Medium · 3
- trumpet Medium · 2
- trombone Medium · 2
- tuba Hard · 5
- saxophone Easy · 1
- harp Hard · 7
- drum Hard · 5
- xylophone Medium · 2
- tambourine Easy · 0
- triangle Easy · 0
- cymbals Medium · 4
- guitar Medium · 2
- ukulele Medium · 3
- accordion Easy · 1
- harmonica Easy · 1
- recorder Easy · 1
- timpani Easy · 1
- piccolo Medium · 2
- keyboard Medium · 2
- treble clef Easy · 1
- bass clef Medium · 2
- time signature Medium · 2
- key signature Medium · 4
- whole note Medium · 3
- half note Medium · 4
- quarter note Medium · 3
- sheet music Medium · 4
- music stand Medium · 3
- major scale Hard · 5
- middle c Medium · 3
- string quartet Easy · 1
- brass band Easy · 1
Words worth a closer look
- pianoShort for pianoforte, Italian for soft-loud, which describes what the instrument could do that the harpsichord could not. As a marking in a score, piano simply means play softly.
- oboeFrom the French hautbois, high wood. Three of its four letters are vowels, which makes it quick to solve once o and e are guessed.
- xylophoneFrom Greek xylon, wood, and phone, sound. The x is rare, but the word ends in the same -phone pattern as saxophone and microphone.
- saxophoneNamed after its inventor, the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax, who patented it in the 1840s. Despite being made of brass, it is classed as a woodwind because of its reed.
- crescendoFrom the Italian for growing, it means getting gradually louder. Students often drop the second c or add one to the sc that follows.
- accordionA double c followed by a single d trips up beginners. Nine letters with o appearing twice, so the first vowel guesses fill the board quickly.
- staccatoItalian for detached: each note is played short and separated. The double c and the t make it a late find for players who start with a, e and o.
- timpaniThe plural of the Italian timpano. It is the orchestra's set of kettledrums, and the t, m and p keep it from being a quick win.
Using this list in class
A music teacher can use the list for warm-up games at the start of class. Give each row a family of instruments, and ask the team to stand when they hear their group solved. The Italian terms work well as a revision round before a theory test, with students giving the meaning of each solved word, such as allegro for fast and adagio for slow.
In a band or orchestra room, use the instrument names to help new players learn the whole ensemble. A classroom teacher without a music background can print the sheet for a short listening lesson, pairing each solved instrument with a recording. Parents who teach piano at home can use the notation words, treble, bass, clef, staff, rest and measure, as a quick check between lessons.
Print a Music Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
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