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)