music theory midterm study

Chromatic scale

Musical alphabet

Half step

One note to the immediate next note

Whole step

Two half steps

Sharp

To raise a note a half step

Flat

To lower a note a half step

Major scale formula

R-W-W-H-W-W-W-H

Key signature

What major scale you play a piece of music in

Nashville Number System

Assigning a number to each note of the major scale

C-D-E-F-G-A-B

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Chord

Three or more notes played or sung together

Harmony

Two or more notes played or sung together

Melody

A sequence of single musical notes played or sung one after the other

Triad

A three note chord - smallest possible chord

Major

Sounds happy

1-3-5

Minor

Sounds sad

1-b3-5

Diminished

1-b3-b5

NNS chord values

Major- minor - minor - major - major - minor - diminished

Time signature

How you count the rhythm of a piece of music

Common time signatures

4/4, 3/4, 6/8

Measure

A length of time within a section of music

First Number of time signature says:

How many beats are in a measure

Second number of a time signature says:

What kind of note the beat it

Whole note

Four quarter notes

Whole measure

Half note

Two quarter notes

Half a measure

Quarter note

One beat

Quarter measure

Eighth note

½ beat

Eighth of a measure

Sixteenth note

¼ beat

Sixteenth of a measure