About the Music water
Music prompts split players by era and by depth of catalogue. The surface is all modern pop; underneath sit the classical repertoire, the jazz standards, the instruments of other continents, and the album tracks that fans treasure and charts ignored.
The mirror angle
Play the record backwards — literally the oldest trick in music. B-sides, deep cuts (the tier is named for them), and the instruments behind the singer: the mirror side of music is where the points are.
Example ladders
Three real shapes from this pack's bank — the crowd's answer, and the answer that leaves the crowd at the surface:
| Prompt | The crowd (10) | The deep water (85–100) |
|---|---|---|
| Name a musical instrument | Guitar | Theremin |
| Name a classical composer | Beethoven | Fanny Mendelssohn |
| Name a type of dance with music | Ballet | Morris dancing |
Music tips
- The tier name Deep Cut comes from music — honour it with B-sides and album tracks.
- World instruments (erhu, duduk, hardanger fiddle) are reliable Rare answers.
- Composers' less-famous siblings and students are a connoisseur's shortcut.
- Learn one instrument per continent — prompts love the instrument nobody at the table can picture.
Every music prompt in the bank
37 prompts — each with its own rarity ladder published:
- Name a famous rock band — gem: Rush
- Name a woodwind instrument — gem: Bassoon
- Name a brass instrument — gem: Euphonium
- Name a string instrument — gem: Erhu
- Name a percussion instrument — gem: Vibraphone
- Name a famous composer — gem: Antonio Vivaldi
- Name a famous jazz musician — gem: Thelonious Monk
- Name a female pop star — gem: Dua Lipa
- Name a music genre — gem: Shoegaze
- Name a famous opera — gem: La Traviata
- Name a famous symphony — gem: Dvorak's New World Symphony
- Name a famous rapper — gem: J. Cole
- Name a famous music festival — gem: Sziget
- Name a famous drummer — gem: Neil Peart
- Name a famous pianist — gem: Glenn Gould
- Name a music award — gem: Polar Music Prize
- Name a famous orchestra — gem: Berlin Philharmonic
- Name a famous record label — gem: Sub Pop
- Name a famous concert venue — gem: Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- Name a famous Broadway musical — gem: The Phantom of the Opera
- Name a famous film composer — gem: Ennio Morricone
- Name a reggae artist — gem: Toots Hibbert
- Name a country music star — gem: Hank Williams
- Name a K-pop group — gem: SEVENTEEN
- Name a famous saxophonist — gem: Sonny Rollins
- Name a famous trumpeter — gem: Chet Baker
- Name a famous guitarist — gem: Django Reinhardt
- Name a famous cellist — gem: Pablo Casals
- Name a famous lead singer — gem: Freddie Mercury
- Name a famous music producer — gem: Brian Eno
- Name a one-hit wonder song — gem: Tainted Love by Soft Cell
- Name a famous boy band — gem: Westlife
- Name a famous girl group — gem: The Supremes
- Name a famous violinist — gem: Niccolo Paganini
- Name a famous rock anthem — gem: Bohemian Rhapsody
- Name a famous duet — gem: Under Pressure
- Name a famous Christmas song — gem: O Holy Night