CM Level 7 Piano Theory

Aeolian mode(on A)

scale or tonality with the same pattern of half steps and whole steps that occur when beginning and ending on the sixth note of the Major scale, like natural minor; half steps occur between notes 2-3 and 5-6, as if playing all whites keys from A to A

authentic cadence

a V-I cadence; in harmonic minor, V-i

cadence

a closing or ending for a phrase of music, made up of two or more chords

chromatic scale

a scale consisting of all twelve notes, with half-steps between all notes

deceptive cadence

a V-vi cadence; in harmonic minor, V-VI

diminished seventh chord

a four note chord made up of a diminished triad and a diminished 7th above the root

dominant seventh

a four not chord made up of a Major triad and a minor 7th above the root; root position V7, first inversion V6/5, second inversion V4/5, and third inversion is V2(4/2 or 6/4/2)

Dorian mode(on D)

scale or tonality with the same pattern of half steps and whole steps that occur when beginning and ending on the second note of the Major scale; half steps occur between notes 2-3 and 6-7, as if playing all white keys from D to D

first inversion

a triad written with the third as the lowest note

half cadence

a cadence which ends with the V chord

interval

the distance between two notes, named with numbers

inversion

a triad with a note other than the root as the lowest note

Ionian mode(on C)

scale or tonality with the same pattern of half steps and whole steps as the Major scale; half steps occur between notes 3-4 and 7-8 like the major scale

key signature

the sharps or flats at the beginning of a composition that indicate the key or tonality and which notes receive sharps or flats

Mixolydian mode(on G)

scale with the same pattern of half steps and whole steps that occur when beginning and ending on the fifth note of the Major scale; half steps occur between notes 3-4 and 6-7, as if playing all white keys from G to G

modes

scales or tonalities

plagal cadence

a IV-I cadence; in minor iv-i

primary triads

the I, IV, and V chords; in minor, i , iv, and V

root position

a triad written in a position so that the note which names it is lowest

scale

series of notes in alphabetical order with a specific pattern of whole steps and half steps

scale degree names

tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone

Major

I = Tonic

ii = Supertonic

iii = Mediant

IV = Subdominant

V = Dominant

vi = Submediant

vii* = Leading tone

Minor

i = Tonic

ii* = Supertonic

III+ = Mediant

iv = Subdominant

V = Dominant

VI = Submediant

vii* = Leading Tone

second inversion

a triad written with the fifth as the lowest note

secondary triads

the ii, iii, vi and vii chords; in minor, ii, III+/III, VI, and vii

triad

a chord with three different notes based on the interval of a third; qualities may be Major, minor, Augmented, or diminished

whole tone scale

a scale that consists entirely of whole steps

Common Time

stands for 4/4

Alla Breve

stands for 2/2

meter

it is determined by the time signature, and refers to the division of beats into equal groups

upbeat

It occurs when an incomplete measure begins the music, so the last beat or beats are "borrowed" from the final measure and placed at the beginning

a tempo

return to the original tempo

accent

play the note louder than the others

accelerando

accelerate; gradually faster

accidentals

sharps, flats, or naturals written before the notes that are not in the key signature

adagio

slowly

allargando

broadening; gradually slower

allegro

fast or quick; cheerfully, merrily

allegretto

slightly slower than allegro; faster than andante

andante

a moderate walking tempo

andantino

slightly faster than andante; some composers use it to mean slower than andante

animato

animated; with spirit

appoggiatura

used mainly in music of the Classical Period, play the first note as half the value of the second note

arpeggio

a broken chord

atonality

no specific key or tonality

articulation

the manner in which notes are executed, including but not limited to legato and staccato

bitonality

the use of two different keys at the same time

canon

a strict form of contrapuntal writing in which each voice exactly imitates the melody of the first voice (strict copy of the entire melody)

cantabile

in a singing style

con brio

with vigor or spirit(with brilliance)

coda

an extended ending

codetta

a short coda, or a short section of music that connects two other sections but is not part of either

con

with

con moto

with motion

crescendo(cresc.)

gradually louder

D.C. al fine

go back to the beginning and play to find

damper pedal

press the pedal located on the right

decrescendo(decresc.) or diminuendo(dim.)

gradually softer

dolce

sweetly

doloroso

sadly; sorrowfully

double flats

two flats placed before a not, indicating to lower the note a whole step

double sharp

the symbol x placed before a note, indicating to raise the note a whole step

dynamics

letters or symbols that indicate how loudly or softly to play the music

enharmonic

two different names for the same pitch, such as C# and Db

espressivo

expressively

fine

the end

forte

loud

fortissimo

very loud

fortississimo

very, very loud

forte-piano

loud followed immediately by soft

fermata

hold the note longer than its value

first and second ending

Play the music with the first ending, then repeat the music; the second time through skip the first ending and play the second ending

giocoso

merrily, with humor

grazioso

gracefully

largo

very slowly

legato

play smoothly, connect the notes

leggiero

lightly, delicately

lento

slowly

marcato

stressed, marked

meno

less

meno mosso

less motion; slower

mezzo forte

medium loud

mezzo piano

medium soft

moderato

a moderate or medium tempo

molto

much; very

mordent

an ornament in which the written note is played, followed by the note below the written note and the written note again

octave Sign(8va)

play the notes an octave higher (or lower if below the notes) than where they are written

opus

a word used to indicate the chronological order in which a composer's music was written

ostinato

a persistently repeated pattern

parallel Major/minor

Major and minor keys with the same letter names (such as C major and c minor)

piano

soft

pianissimo

very soft

pianissimo

very, very soft

pesante

heavily

phrase

a musical sentence, often but not always four measures long

piu

more

piu mosso

more motion; faster

poco

little

polytonality

the use of several different keys at the same time

presto

very fast