chapter 3, simple meters

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 the note in half (e.g., a sixteenth note has two flags and is half the duration of an eighth note, which has one flag)

crescendo

grow louder

diminuendo

grow softer

dot

adds to a note or rest half its value

accent (>)

adds weight, emphasis, or loudness to a musical element

metrical accent

an emphasis on a note resulting from its placement on a strong beat

simple meter

meter type with beats that divide into two

whole note

duration equal to two half notes

rest

duration of silence

half rest

equal in duration to two quarter rests

duple meter

examples are 2/2 and 2/4

triple meter

examples are 3/2, 3/4, 3/8

quarter note

filled note with a stem

sixteenth note

filled note with two flags or beams

meter

term that includes both beat division and grouping; a work's meter tells (1) how its beats are divided, and (2) how they are grouped

upbeat

the beat unit that precedes a downbeat, also known as an anacrusis, named for upward motion of conductor's hand

dynamic level

the degree of loudness in performance (extends from ppp to fff); pp (pianissimo), p (piano), mp (mezzo piano), mf (mezzo forte), f (forte), ff (fortissimo)

downbeat

the first beat of a measure, which has the strongest accent or emphasis, named for downward motion of the conductor's hand

beat

the primary pulse in musical meter, normally represents an even and regular division of musical time

beat division

the secondary pulse in musical meter, beats may be divided into two parts (simple meter) or three parts (compound meter)

rhythm

the sequence of pitches and silences in music

tempo

the speed of beats; important to convey the character or mood of a piece

beat unit

the type of note that gets one beat

anacrusis

upbeat, pickup

rhythm clef

used to notate unpitched percussion parts

measure

a unit of grouped beats; beginning and ending with bar lines

bar lines

a vertical line, extending from the top of the staff to the bottom, that indicates the end of a measure

meter signature

notation symbol that shows the beat unit and the number of beats in a bar

dot (.)

rhythmic notation that adds half of a note's own value to its duration (e.g., the duration of a dotted half note equals a half note plus a quarter note)