Fundamentals of Music (Music 101) Chapters 1-5
Octave
(1) The distance of eight musical steps; the internal size 8 (2) The particular part of the musical range where a pitch sounds (e.g., C4, or middle C, is a C in a particular octave)
Anacrusis (upbeat or pickup)
A beat that precedes a downbeat, sometimes shown in an incomplete measure
Rests
A duration of silence
Beat Subdivision
A further division of the beat division into two parts; for example, a quarter note in simple meter divides into two eighths and subdivides into four sixteenths
Beam
A line that connects two or more note stems within a beat unit
Descending Contour
A melodic line that generally goes down, from higher pitches to lower ones.
Ascending Contour
A musical line that generally goes up, from lower pitches to higher ones.
Pitch
A musical sound in a particular octave or register
Swung Eighths
A performance practice where a rhythm notated with even eighth notes is performed unevenly, with more time allotted to the first eighth and less to the second in each pait
Diatonic Half Steps
A semitone spelling that uses different letter names for the two pitches
Chromatic Half Steps
A semitone spelling that uses the same letter name for both pitches
Flag
A short arc attached to the right side of a note stem, at the opposite end from the note head; each flag divides the duration of a note in half
Meter Signature (Time Signature)
A sign that appears at the beginning of a piece, after the clef and key signature, that indicates the meter type (duple, triple, quadruple) and beat division (simple, compound)
Quarter Rest
A silence equal in duration to a quarter note
Whole Rest
A silence equal in duration to a whole note; hanging below the fourth staff line
Eighth Rest
A silence equal in duration to an eighth note
Ties
A small arc connecting not heads of two ( or more) identical pitches to indicate the durations are to be combined together, without rearticulating the pitch.
Note Heads
A small oval used to notate a pitch on the staff. Hollow note heads normally represent a longer duration than filled not heads.
Conducting Patterns
A specific pattern, one for each meter, that conductors outline by moving their arms in the air to help keep performers playing together in time
Whole Notes
A stemless hollow notehead; its duration is equivalent to two half notes
Eighth Notes
A stemmed filled note head with one flag or beam; equivalent to two sixteenth notes
Quarter Notes
A stemmed filled note head; equivalent to two eighth notes
Sixteenth Notes
A stemmed filled notepad with two flags or beams; two sixteenth notes equal an eighth note
Half Notes
A stemmed hollow notehead; its duration is equivalent to two quarter notes
Clef
A symbol on the far left of a staff that shows which pitch (and octave) is represented by each line and space.
Accidentals
A symbol that appears before a note to raise or lower its pitch chromatically, without changing its letter name
Measures
A unit of grouped beats; beginning and ending with bar lines
Stem
A vertical line arcade to a note head; it generally extends upward if the note is written below the middle line of the staff and downward if the note is written on or above the middle line.
Bar Lines
A vertical line, extending from the top of the staff to the bottom, that indicates the end of a measure.
Natural
An accidental that cancels a sharp or flat
Flat
An accidental that lowers a pitch by one half step withouts changing its letter name.
Double Flat
An accidental that lowers a pitch two half steps without changing the letter name
Sharp
An accidental that raises a pitch a half step without changing its letter name
Double Sharp
An accidental that raises a pitch two half steps without changing the letter name
Slurs
An arc that connects to (or more) different pitches. Slurs affect performance articulation but not duration. In piano music, they tell the performer to play the slurred notes are sung on one syllable or in one breath
Metrical Accents
An emphasis on a note resulting from its placement on a strong beat
Whole Step (Whole Tone)
An interval that spans two adjacent half steps
Medium Tempos
Andantino Andante Moderato Allegretto
Middle C
C4, the C located at the center of the piano keyboard
Bass Clef
Clef positioned on a staff to indicate F; its two dots surround the F3 line.
Treble Clef
Clef positioned on a staff to indicate G by means of the end of its curving line; it circles the line that represents G4.
Enharmonic
Different names for the same pitch
Ledger Lines
Extra lines drawn through the stems and note heads to designate a musical pitch located above or below the staff.
Articulation
How a pitch is sounded, including various ways of bowing or plucking stringed instruments and tonguing wind and brass instruments
Tempo
How fast or slow music is played
Duplet
In compound meter, a division of the beat into two, instead of three, equal parts
Two-Beat Triplets
In simple meter, a division of a half note into three equal quarter quarter notes
Triplet
In simple meter, a division of the beat into three, instead of two, equal parts
Augmentation
Lengthening the durations of a rhythm, often by doubling them
Asymmetrical Meter
Mete with beat units of unequal duration. These irregular beat lengths are typically (though not always) created by five or seven beat divisions grouped into unequal lengths such as 2 + 3 or 2 + 3 + 2
Changing Meter
Meter that changes from measure to measure
Compound Meters
Meter where the beat divided into threes and subdivides into sixes. The top number of compound meter signatures is 6, 9, or 12
Simple Meter
Meter where the beat divided into twos and subdivides into fours. The top number of simple meter signature 2, 3, or 4
Compound Duple
Meter with 2 beats in a measure, each beat divided into 3
Compound Triple
Meter with 3 beats in a measure, each beat divided into 3
Compound Quadruple
Meter with 4 beats in a measure, each beat divided into 3
Symmetrical Meter
Meter with beat units of equal duration
Quadruple Meter
Meter with four beats in each measure
Triple Meter
Meter with three beats in each measure
Duple Meter
Meter with two beats in each measure
Score
Notated music
Syncopations
Rhythmic displacement of accents created by dots, ties, rests, dynamic markings, or accent marks
Accent
Stress given to a note or some other musical element that brings it to the listener's attention. Accents can be created by playing louder or softer, using a different timbre or articulation, speeding up or slowing down, or slightly changing rhythmic durations
Upbeat
The beat that precedes a downbeat; named for the upward lift of the conductor's hand. Also knows as an anacrusis
Octave Equivalence
The concept that pitches eight steps apart (sharing the same name) sound similar.
Dynamic Level
The degree of loudness in performance. Extends from ppp (very soft) to fff (very loud)
Half Step (Semitone)
The distance between a pitch and the next closest pitch on the keyboard
Interval
The distance between two pitches
Beat Unit
The duration assigned to the basic pulse
Rhythm
The durations of pitch and silence (notes and rests) used in a piece
Downbeat
The first beat of a measure, which has the strongest accent or emphasis; named for the downward motion of the conductor's hand
Staff
The five parallel lines on which music is written. Plural form of staves.
Meter
The grouping and division of beats in regular, recurring patterns
Register
The highness or lowness of a pitch or passage; the particular octave in which a pitch sounds
Musical Alphabet
The letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which are used to name musical pitches.
Letter Name
The name for a particular pitch, employing letters A-G, that corresponds to its place on the staff or a musical instruments
Beat
The primary pulse in musical meter. Normally represents an even and regular division of musical time
Note
The representation of a musical sound with a note head on the staff. The position of the note head indicates the pitch; whether the note head is filled or hollow and the presence of a stem, beam, or flag indicates the duration.
Beat Division
The secondary pulse in musical meter; beats may be divided into two parts (simple meter) or three parts (compound meter)
Contour
The shape of a melody; its motion up and down. Common contours include ascending, descending, arch, V-shape, and wave.
Rhythm Clef
Two short, thick, vertical lines at the beginning of a single-line staff; used to notate unpitched percussion parts
Grand Staff
Two staves, one in treble clef and one in bass clef, connected by a curly brace; typically used in piano music
Increasing in Tempo (gradually faster)
accelerando (abbreviated accel.)
Faster Tempos
allegro vivace presto prestissimo
Slower Tempos
grave largo larghetto adagio
Decreasing in Tempo (gradually slower)
ritardando (abbreviated rit.)