Music Core

Order of sharps

F# C# G# D# A# E# B#

Order of flats

Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb

Major scale pattern

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone

Minor scale pattern

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone

Treble clef lines (bottom to top)

E G B D F

Treble clef spaces

F A C E

Bass clef lines

G B D F A

Bass clef spaces

A C E G

Triads per key

7 (one on each scale degree)

Major key — major chords

I, IV, V

Major key — minor chords

ii, iii, vi

Major key — diminished chord

vii°

Minor key — major chords

III, V, VI

Minor key — minor chords

i, iv

Minor key — diminished chords

ii°, vii°

Leading note

7th scale degree (raised in a minor key)

Lento

slow and sad

Largo

slow and stately

Andante

walking pace

Allegretto

fairly quick

Allegro

quickly

Vivace

quick and lively

Presto

very fast

Prestissimo

even faster

Accelerando

gradually getting faster

Rallentando

gradually getting slower

Pianissimo

very quietly

Piano

quietly

Mezzo piano

fairly quietly

Mezzo forte

fairly loudly

Forte

loudly

Fortissimo

very loudly

Crescendo

gradually getting louder

Diminuendo

gradually getting quieter

Sforzando

suddenly loud

Legato

smoothly

Staccato

short and detached

Accented

heavy emphasis with strong attack

Tenuto

emphasis, leaning on the note

Diatonic

using notes within the key

Chromatic

using notes outside the key

Conjunct

moves by step

Disjunct

moves by leap

Scalic

moves by ascending/descending scales

Sequence

same melodic material repeated higher or lower

Leitmotif

musical idea associated with a particular character or idea