Music Terms

Fermata

"Birds eye" symbol that tells you to hold a note longer than its normal length

Slur

A curved line connecting two or more notes of different pitches. You only tongue the first note of the slur.

Ostinato

A repeated musical phrase. Usually used as an accompaniment

Breath Mark

A sign telling you when to take a breath

Treble Clef

A sign written at the beginning of each staff which designates the letter names of the lines and spaces. Flute, oboe, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, and mallet percussion use this clef.

Bass Clef

A sign written at the beginning of each staff which designates the letter names of the lines and spaces. Tuba, trombone,baritone, bass, and timpani use this clef

Bar Line

A vertical line that divides the staff into measures

Common Time

Another way of writing 4/4

Accidental

Any sharp, flat, or natural sign in front of a note is called an

Staff

Collection of five horizontal lines on which music is written

Tie

Curved line connecting two or more notes of the same pitch. You only roungue the first nor of the tie.

D.C. al Fine

Da Capo which means, in italian, the head; Fine means end. It tells you to go back to the beginning and play until you see the word fine.

Repeat Sign

Defines a section of music to be repeated

Measure

Distance between two bar lines. Sometimes called a bar

Tutti

Everyone is playing at the same time

Allegro

Fast, cheerful and happy

Dolce

Gently, sweetly

Ritardando

Gradually slower

Tenuto

Hold full value, slight emphasis

Giocoso

Humorous

Cantabile

In a singing manner

Key Signature

List of sharps and flats appearing right after the clef sign that effect certain notes throughout the piece of music

Vivo

Lively

Vivace

Lively, quick

Flat

Lowers the pitch by one half step. Always appears before the note

Moderato

Moderately

Grace Note

Note printed in small type. It is counted in the rhythm; is played quickly, almost together with the other note.

Pick-Up Notes

Note that comes before the first full measure

Divisi

One person/group plays the bottom notes and another person/group plays the top notes

Scherzando

Playful

Sharp

Raises the pitch by one half-step. Always appears before the note.

A Tempo

Return to the original tempo

Ledger Line

Short horizontal line drawn underneath or above the staff for notes too low or high to appear on the staff.

Staccato

Short, detatched

Pedal Sign

Shows when to press and lift the damper (right) pedal

Natural

Sign cancels the sharp or flat. Always appears before the note

Articulation

Sign tells you how to touch and release the keys

Time Signature

Sign that appears right after the key signature. Top number tells you how many beats are in a measure and the bottom tells you what type of note gets one beat.

Multiple Measure Rest

Sign that indicates a rest of more than one measure. Number of measures rest is given in the symbol

Andantino

Slightly faster then andante

Lento

Slow

Legato

Smooth, connected

Allegretto

Somewhat fast, slower then allegro

Tempo

Speed of the music is determined by how many beats occur every minute.

Accent

Strong emphasis

Character or Style

These words help establish feeling, mood, or performance style

Andante

Walking tempo

Octave Sign

When the octave sign is placed over notes, play them one octave higher then what is written. When placed under the notes play them one octave lower then what is written

Con moto

With motion

Dynamics

Words or signs indicating how loud/soft to play