DAILY NO. 36 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
Today's five music Size It Up comparisons with the measured size of each object, its reference and a source you can check. The puzzle is still live, so every answer stays hidden until you tap it. Haven't played yet? Play today's puzzle first.
The October 27, 2026 puzzle ran from a stage microphone at 18 cm to a concert harp at 1.9 m — about 10× apart, drawing on music. The pair furthest apart was round 5: a violin is about 1.7× smaller than an acoustic guitar.
Answer: Alto Saxophone — 74 cm. An alto saxophone measures 74 cm (height), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, a violin at 59 cm.
The bend and the bell fold more than a metre of tubing into 74 cm of instrument.
Common miss: players tend to compress an alto saxophone when it sits beside a violin — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Double Bass — 1.8 m. A double bass measures 1.8 m (height), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, a US interior door at 2 m.
Tall enough that players either stand or perch on a stool.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a double bass when it sits beside a US interior door — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Stage Microphone — 18 cm. A stage microphone measures 18 cm (height), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, a paperback book at 20 cm.
A handheld vocal mic is sized around the grip, not the capsule inside it.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a stage microphone when it sits beside a paperback book — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Concert Harp — 1.9 m. A concert harp measures 1.9 m (height), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a double bass at 1.8 m.
Forty-seven strings holding close to a tonne of combined tension.
Common miss: players tend to compress a concert harp when it sits beside a double bass — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Violin — 59 cm. A violin measures 59 cm (height), which is about 1.7× smaller than the reference, an acoustic guitar at 1 m.
A full-size violin is always about this long; smaller fractions exist for children, down to 1/16.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a violin when it sits beside an acoustic guitar — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Sizes are measured along the axis named in each round and link to their published source. Explore the full library by category, or read how scoring works.