Music Theory 1.1

Half Step

going to the very next note (up or down) on the keyboard (whether it is a black or white key) [example: C-C#]

Whole Step

skipping over one note to go to the next note (up or down) on the keyboard. [example: C-D]

Enharmonic

two notes that have different names, but are the same note. [example: C# and Db]

Dynamics

how soft or loud something is

Forte

loud

Piano

soft

Mezzoforte

medium loud

Mezzopiano

medium soft

crescendo

(looks like <) getting louder

diminuendo

(looks like >) getting softer

Scientific notation

giving a number to each octave to specify which note is where. Each C starts a new number with the lowest C being C1.

C4

middle C

Slur

a curved line above the notes that tells us to play legato

Legato

playing smoothly

Staccato

a dot above or below the note which means to bounce

Ledger lines

lines above or below the staff which extends the range of the staff up or down. Middle C is on one.

Grand staff

the piano staff which combines a treble and bass staff and is connected by a curly brace

Treble Clef

nicknamed the G clef and means the notes are above middle C

Bass Clef

nicknamed the F clef and means the notes are below middle C

Alto Clef

looks like two backward Cs that meet at the middle line of the staff. Shows us that the middle line is Middle C.

Tenor Clef

looks like two backward Cs that meet at the second highest line of the staff. Shows us that the second highest line is middle C.

Parts of the Note

Notehead, Stem, Flag, Beam

Notehead

The oval part of the note. Can be filled in or empty.

Stem

The line that goes above or below the note

Flag

The tail attached to the top of the stem of a 16th note

Beam

The line that connects two 16th notes to each other

Whole Note

An empty notehead without a stem. It is equal to 4 beats in 4/4

Half Note 

An empty notehead with a stem. It is equal to 2 beats in 4/4

Quarter Note

A filled-in notehead with a stem. It is equal to 1 beat in 4/4

Eighth Note

A filled-in notehead with a stem and a flag. It is equal to 1/2 beat in 4/4

8va

Ottava. Means to be played an octave up

8vb

Ottava bassa. Means to be played an octave lower

Stem Location when Facing Up

On the right side of the note

Stem Location when Facing Down

On the left side of the note

Stem Direction Rules

When the note is below the middle line, the stem goes up. When the note is above the middle line, the stem goes down. When the note is on the middle line, it can go up or down

pp

pianissimo. Extremely quiet

ff

fortissimo. Extremely loud