Music

Sharp

Playing or singing above pitch

Flat

Playing or singing below pitch

Opera

A musical drama that is entirely or mostly sung

Plucked Instruments

Players produce different pitches by changing the position of their fingers on a fretboard. For many-stringed instruments such as the harp or lute, players provide different pitches by plucking different strings that are tuned to produce specific pitches. Examples: guitar, banjo, harp

Tenor

Highest vocal range for men

Pitched Instruments

Percussion instrument that can produce differently pitched sounds and can be used to play melodies. Examples: xylophone, glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, and timpani

Crescendo (cresc)

To continuously increase volume when playing or singing for music dynamics

Game Song

Songs that include actions or coordinated activities (patty cake)

Beamed Notes

For ease of reading, beams can join eighth and sixteen notes together.

Kodaly Concept

Holistic, experience-based approach that emphasizes the pleasure of music and the importance of the human voice. Named after Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian music teacher and composer, who believed that singing is the best way to develop a feel for music and that it should precede instrumental instruction. Uses: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do to represent each tone in the major scale

Ledger Line

Notate the pitches that occur above or below the staff

Improvisation

Spontaneous creation or alteration of melodies, rhythms, or harmonies

Call-and-response format

A song in which a leader sings a line and a group responds, common in spirituals

Mezzo-Soprano

middle vocal range for women

Forte-Piano (fp)

To play or sing moderately loudly then immediately softly for music dynamics

Percussion Instruments

are shaken or hit to produce sound. Maracas

Grand Staff

Two staffs joined by a brace. Generally, the great staff joins the bass and treble clefs; middle C is located on a ledger line between the two.

Dynamics

volume for singing or playing; pianissimo, piano, mezzo-piano, mezzo-forte, forte, fortissimo

Melody

a sequence of notes that are perceived as a single, cohesive unit; typically the most recognizable part of a piece

Brass Instruments

Brass instruments consist of a series of tubes. Players produce sound by vibrating their lips into a mouthpiece, which causes the instrument to vibrate and produce sound. (Trumpet)

Contralto

The lowest vocal range for women.

Bass

lowest vocal range for men

Pitch

the sound of notes that can be perceived as high or low

Meter (music)

musical time features patterns of strong beats and weak beats; some syllables receive stronger emphasis than others

Timbre

the quality of a tone, generally used to describe differences in sounds played or sung at the same pitch and loudness, but by different instruments or voices; depending on the instrument, terms like bright, dark, warm, and harsh might describe tone quality

Spirituals

music style that was developed by enslaved people of African descent who were brought to America; combines Christian hymns with the patterns of traditional African folk songs

Work Songs

songs connected to manual labor, such as agricultural work or railroad work, and were used to help workers stay in unison as they completed their tasks, particularly popular among enslaved people of African descent. Ex: “Pick a Bale of Cotton”

Non-Pitched Instruments

Percussion instrument that is used to provide rhythm. Ex: drums (snare, bass), triangles, gongs, castanets, rattles, cowbells, woodblocks, tambourines, maracas, claves, and whistles.

Key Signature

the set of sharp or flat symbols at the beginning of the staff in a piece of music; indicates the key the piece is in

Beat

the pulse. A rhythmic unit of time. Ex: In 4/4 time, a whole note lasts four beats

Staff

set of five lines and four spaces. Each line and space represents a specific musical pitch.

Forte (f)

to play or sing loudly for music dynamics

Stringed Instruments

Use strings to produce sounds. Ex: Violins

Jingles

catchy songs used in advertisements

Time Signature

notation at the beginning of the piece indicating the number of beats in a measure and the value of the beat

Clef

the French word for “key”, indicates the pitch of the notes written on the staff. Ex: Treble clef

Mezzo-Forte (mf)

to play or sing moderately loudly for music dynamics

Diminuendo (dim)

To continuously decrease volume when playing or singing for music dynamics

Sight Sing

to sing a piece of music without having heard it before

Intonation

the degree to which a pitch is played in tune

Form (in Music)

the structure of music, many forms - binary, ternary, theme and variation, etc. Ex: binary, ternary, theme

Woodwind Instruments

Tubular instruments with a series of holes that can be opened and closed to change the pitch. Ex: flute

Lullaby

Lullabies are soft, gentle songs, often sung by parents to their children. Lullabies not only help establish emotional bonds between adults and children, but they also convey important information about human relationships and cultural traditions.

Mezzo-Piano (mp)

to play or sing moderately softly for music dynamics

Intervals

the difference between two pitches

Rhythm

pattern of sounds and silences over time; gives structure to music by organizing beats into patterns

Baritone

middle vocal range for men

Piano (p)

To play or sing softly for music dynamics

Tempo

the speed or pace that a piece of music is played at

Measure (in music)

notes grouped together

Soprano

highest vocal range for women

Bowed Instruments

Produce sound when a bow is moved across the strings. Players produce different pitches by changing the position of their fingers on a fingerboard. Ex: violins, violas, cellos, and string basses

Solfege

system for singing notes; uses: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti

Rote Learning

learning songs by ear

Keyboard Instruments

Use keys or buttons to produce different pitches, but depending on how sound is produced, keyboard instruments may also be included among the other families of instruments. Ex: piano