Evolution of Jazz Section 1

Bass Clef

A clef used to indicate a lower range of notes

Beat

The pulse in a piece of music

Chromatic Scale

A musical scale containing twelve pitches, each a semitone apart

Clef

A symbol in music notation used to indicate range of pitches to be played

Diatonic Scale

A seven-note musical scale made up of five whole steps and two half-steps

Duple Meter

A meter featuring alternating strong and weak beats

Duration

A term referring to how long a note is sounded

Flat

A tone that is a half-step below a given tone

Half steps

Smallest pitch difference between two sounds in most Western music systems; also known as a semitone

Major Scale

A diatonic scale that features the following pattern of whole and half steps

Measure

An interval of time defined by a group of beats

Meter

The grouping of beats in a piece of music

Middle C

On an 88-key keyboard, the fourth C note from the left

Minor Scale

A diatonic scale that features the following pattern of whole and half-steps: W H W W H W W W

Octave

Span of eight letter-name notes

Pitch

Referring to how high or low a note sounds

Quadruple Meter

A meter featuring four beats per measure, typically with a strong accent on the first beat and a slightly lesser accent on the third beat

Rhythm

A series of articulated durations from one note to the next

Sharp

A tone that is a half-step above a given tone

Staff

A set of five horizontal lines used in music notation

Syncopation

An accent on a note somewhere unexpected, off the main beats

Triple meter

A meter featuring a strong-weak-weak pattern of beats

Whole steps

The combination of two semitones; also known as a tone or whole tone