Q. My children are very interested in playing music. Is there such a thing as a music quiz for kids?

A. Sure theres such a thing as a music quiz, and you might find one right inside of your head. Just reach up there, pull it out, and put it down on paper. Im serious. Who knows where your childrens musical interests lie better than you? Right -- no one; so instead of finding some pre-made music quiz, which may or can not challenge them at the levels that you want them to be challenged, go ahead and write your own.

The key to writing you own music quiz is... "G". OK, just kidding. The key to writing your own music quiz is to come up with questions that will interest and challenge your children. Make the quiz a mixture of technical, factual, and trivial (which is a lot like factual but with subjects that are more fun).

Lets suppose that your son plays the guitar and your daughter plays the flute. Yes, I understand that I am using stereotypes but its just too hard to be politically correct when youre a simple Quizmaster.

A technical question for your son might be:

"What does playing harmonics mean?"

While your daughters technical music quiz question might be:

"What is acoustic impedance and why is it important to a flute player?"

By asking questions that go beyond what their music teacher asks you are helping your child develop a 360 degree view into their instrument. Theyll be naturally better players when they understand how and why those notes are produced and how to stretch their instrument to its limits by manipulating and understanding the laws of physics that control the instruments. Physics? Can a music quiz teach physics? You bet it might .

Since your children are interested in music, and youre going to be acquiring the time to write a music quiz, why not fool them into learning other subjects by using music as the entry point into a learning acquired skill ?

You can just find that what started out as a simple music quiz becomes a lesson in understanding how science and mathematics interact with everything that we touch, see, and think. With a little bit of thought your music quiz can become a a major cornerstone of understanding for a couple of musically inclined kids.