Music Theory Fundamentals Chapter 1-2

D. C.--da capo

go back to the beginning

eighth note

half as long in duration as quarter notes

middle C

appears on the first ledger line below the treble clef and on the first ledger line above the bass clef

keyboard plan (location of black and white keys)

parallels the system of notation

beat

the basic rhythmic pulse of music

bass clef

F clef. A symbol written on the staff to identify the second line from the top as F below middle C. Used primarily for the notation of pitches that lie below middle C.

treble clef

G clef. The symbol that indicates that the second line from the bottom of the staff is G above middle C. Used primarily to notate pitches that lie above middle C.

rhythm

the organization of music in time / action in time

tempo

the rate of speed of the basic pulse

note

the written symbol of a musical pitch

flag

a curved line drawn on the stem of the note to identify notes smaller than a quarter note

beam

a heavy horizontal line used to join together a group of notes smaller than the quarter note

fermata

a sign that indicates that the note is to be held or a longer duration than its normal value (add 1.5 value of note)

flat

a symbol that lowers the pitch of a note a half step

sharp

a symbol that raises the pitch of a note a half step

staff

a system of five lines on which notes are placed to indicate their pitch

stem

a vertical line drawn to the head of all notes smaller than the whole note

enharmonic spelling

characterizing pitches that sound the same but are notated differently

duration

how long a note lasts

top number in time signature

how many beats per measure

ledger lines

lines written above or below the staff to extend its range and to notate pitches that are too high or too low to be written on the staff

notation

one way to represent music on the page

register

specific areas of the entire range of pitches available to an instrument or voice

repeat sign

symbols used to indicate that the music between them should be played again

pitch

the highness or lowness of a musical sound depending on its rate of vibration

octave

the interval separating two pitches of the same name

notehead

the rounded part of the note written on a line or space to indicate pitch

grand staff (great staff/piano staff)

the staffs of the treble clef and the bass clef joined with a bracket or brace, used for notating music in all registers

quarter note

twice as long in duration as eighth notes

double bar

two vertical lines indicating the end of a section or piece

bottom number in time signature

what note gets the beat