Music Theory Fundamentals Vocabulary Ap Music Theory Unit 1 Vocabulary

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering basic music theory terms, clefs, meter, rhythm, scales, and performance indications.

Staff

A set of five, equidistant, horizontal lines used to clearly communicate musical notation. Note symbols, dynamics, and other performance directions are placed within, above, and below the staff.

Grand Staff

A combination of the treble and bass clefs.

Clef

A symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to denote which notes are indicated by the lines and spaces.

Treble Cleff

also called the 'G clef' because the symbol at the beginning of the staff (a stylized letter 'G') encircles the second line of the staff, indicating that line to be G4.

Bass Cleff

The F clef, the clef that locates F3 (below middle C on the fourth line).

C Cleff

A clef marking that may sit anywhere on the five line staff, and whichever line its center points to is middle C (c1). This is also called the movable clef because it can signify a number of different clefs.

Alto Cleff

This symbol contains an arrow which points to the third line, indicating that that line is middle C (C4 or c1).

Tenor Cleff

This symbol contains an arrow which points to the fourth line, indicating that that line is middle C (C4).

Ledger Line

The short, horizontal lines added to the top or the bottom of a staff for the indication of notes too high or too low to be represented on the staff proper.

Bar Line

The vertical lines drawn across the staff to indicate the measures in a musical composition.

Measure

The smallest metrical divisions of a composition, containing a fixed number of beats, marked off by vertical lines on the staff.

Pitch

The location of a tone in relation to others, thus giving it a sense of being high or low.

Pitch Class

All notes of the same name on the keyboard.

Register

A division of the range of an instrument or singing voice. Usually defined by a change in the quality of the sound between a lower range and a higher range.

Octave

An interval spanning seven diatonic degrees, eleven semitones.

Accidental

A mark placed before a note which indicates that the previously understood pitch of the note should be altered by one or two half steps (semitones).

Sharp

A symbol placed in front of a notehead which implies that the performer should raise the pitch of that note by a semitone.

Flat

An accidental symbol placed to the left of a note, indicating that its pitch should be lowered by a semitone (half step).

Natural

A symbol placed by a note signifying that the note should be played unaltered as opposed to the sharp or flat of the note.

Double Sharp

raises the pitch of the indicated note by two semitones (two half steps).

Double Flat

lowers the pitch of the indicated note by two semitones (two half steps).

Enharmonic Equivalence

Notes, chords, or keys that sound the exact same pitch but have different names and spellings.

Half Step

A semitone; the smallest interval in the system of Western music.

Whole Step

An interval of two semitones.

Major Scale

A diatonic scale with half steps between the third and fourth, and the seventh and eighth scale degrees.

Scale Degree

The numeric positions and functional names assigned to each note in a musical scale, relative to its tonic (root).

Tonic

The note upon which a scale or key is based; the first note of a scale or key; the keynote.

Supertonic

That tone that is one step above the tonic of a key.

Mediant

The third note (degree) of the scale, so called because of its position halfway between the tonic and dominant (The fifth tone of a scale).

Subdominant

That tone that is one step below the dominant of a key.

Dominant

The fifth tone of a scale.

Submediant

That tone which is positioned as far below the tonic as the mediant is above the tonic, e.g., the sixth step of the scale, the superdominant.

Leading Tone

The major seventh of a scale.

Key Signature

The sharp, flat, or natural signs placed at the beginning of a staff indicating the tonality of the composition.

Circle of Fifths

A method of modulation that begins on a tonic and moves to the dominant of that tonic, which is the fifth tone of the scale. From there the music moves to the dominant of the previous dominant, that is the fifth tone from the fifth tone of the original tonic. The music thus proceeds until the original tonic is again reached.

Note Value

The note value is the duration of a note, or the relationship of the duration of the note to the measure. The duration of a note is given in common time or $\frac{4}{4}$ time.

Whole Note

Note having a duration of one full measure.

Half Note

Note having a duration of one half of a full measure.

Quarter Note

Note having a duration of a quarter of a full measure.

Eighth Note

Note having a duration of one eighth of a full measure.

Sixteenth Note

Note having a duration of one sixteenth of a full measure.

Thirty-Second Note

Note having a duration of one thirty-second of a full measure.

Rest

A symbol standing for a measured break in the sound with a defined duration.

Beat

The regular pulse of music which may be dictated by the rise or fall of the hand or baton of the conductor, by a metronome, or by the accents in music.

Beat Division

How the main pulse (the beat) is split into smaller, equal rhythmic parts. It defines whether a meter is simple or compound

Simple Meter

A musical time signature in which the accented beats of each measure are divisible by two.

Compound Meter

A musical time signature where each main beat divides into three equal parts instead of two.

Duple Meter

A rhythmic pattern with the measure being divisible by two.

Triple Meter

A metrical pattern having three beats to a measure.

Quadruple Meter

Metrical pattern with four beats to the measure.

Asymmetrical Meter

Meter such as $\frac{7}{8}$ that mixes simple and compound pulses.

Time Signature

A symbol placed at the left side of the staff indicating the meter of the composition.

Anacrusis

An Upbeat or a pickup note(s).

Syncopation

Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an off-beat.

Hemiola

It represents the rhythmic relation of three notes in the time of two, i.e., the triplet.

Borrowed Division

The practice of 'borrowing' the subdivision of one meter into another meter.

Tuplet

A number of notes of irregular duration are performed within the duration of a given number of notes of regular time value.

Dotted Rhythm

Rhythms that consist basically of a dotted note and a neighboring note worth one third the duration of the entire duration of the dotted note.

Tie

A curved line drawn over or under the heads of two notes of the same pitch indicating that there should be no break between them but they should be played as a single note.

Tempo

The speed of the rhythm of a composition measured according to beats per minute.

Accelerando

Gradually accelerating or getting faster.

Ritardando

Gradual slowing of the tempo.

Rubato

Taking part of the duration from one note and giving it to another. It involves the performer tastefully stretching, slowing, or hurrying the tempo as she/he sees fit.

Dynamics

The loudness or softness of a composition.

Articulation

Directions to a performer typically through symbols and icons on a musical score that indicate characteristics of the attack, duration, and decay (or envelope) of a given note.

Agogic Accent

A stress which is perceived solely because of prolongation of duration, not due to increased volume or pitch variation.

Fermata

A notation marking directing the performer or ensemble to sustain the note of a composition.