Music 101 Chapter 3 Terms

Upbeat

Beat that precedes a downbeat; named for the upward lift of the conductor's hand; also known as anacrusis

Sixteenth Rest

A silence represented by image; equal in duration to sixteenth note

Sixteenth Note

A stemmed filled note head with two equal flags or beams; two sixteenth notes equal an eighth note

Anacrusis

Beat that precedes a downbeat, sometimes shown in an incomplete measure. Also called an upbeat or pickup.

Dynamic Level

Degree of loudness in performance. Extends from ppp (very soft) to fff (very loud).

Beat Unit

Duration assigned to the basic pulse

Rhythm

Duration of pitch and silence (notes and rests) used in a piece.

Rest

Duration of silence

Metrical Accent

Emphasis on a note resulting from its placement on a strong beat

Downbeat

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

Meter

Grouping and division of beats in regular recurring patterns.

Tempo

How fast or slow music is played

Beam

Line that connects two or more note stems within a beat unit

Beat

Primary pulse in a musical meter. Normally represents an even and regular division of musical time.

Note

Representation of a musical sound with a note head on the staff. Position of note head indicates pitch; whether the note head is filled or hollow and the presence of a stem, beam, or flag indicates the duration.

Dot

Rhythm notation that adds half of a note's own value to its duration

Beat Division

Secondary pulse in musical meter; beats may be divided into two parts (simple meter) or three parts (compound meter).

Conducting Pattern

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 Note

Stemless hollow note head; its duration is equivalent to two half notes

Quarter Note

Stemmed filled note head; equivalent to two eighth notes

Eighth Note

Stemmed filled note with flag or beam; equivalent to two sixteenth notes

Half Note

Stemmed hollow note head; equivalent to two quarter notes

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

Rhythm Clef

Two short, thick, vertical lines at the beginning of a single-line staff; used to notate unpitched percussion parts

Measure

Unit of grouped beats; beginning and ending with bar lines.

Simple Meter

Meter where the beat divides into twos and subdivides into fours. Top number of simple meter signatures is 2, 3 or 4 (Eg: 3/4 and 4/4)

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

Flag

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 (one flag equals eighth, two equals sixteenth and etc..)

Meter Signature

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); also called a time signature.

Half Rest

Silence represented by image, above third staff line; equal in duration of half note

Whole Rest

Silence represented by image, below the fourth staff line; equal in duration of whole note

Eighth Rest

Silence represented by image; equal in duration of eighth note

Quarter Rest

Silence represented by image; equal in duration of quarter note