MUS101 Music Theory I - Exam 1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering pitch notation, clefs, accidentals, scales, and key signatures for MUS101 Music Theory I Exam 1 review.

Pitch

A discrete musical sound defined by its fundamental frequency and octave designation.

ASA Numbering

A system of pitch notation that designates specific octaves using letters and numbers, such as C4 or F4.

Octave

The distance between one musical pitch and another with double or half its frequency.

Octave Register

The specific octave level in which a pitch occurs.

Staff

The fundamental grid of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which music is written.

Ledger Lines

Small horizontal lines drawn above or below the staff to accommodate notes that fall outside the main five lines.

Clef

A symbol placed at the beginning of a staff that determines the exact pitches represented by the lines and spaces.

Grand Staff

A combination of a treble clef staff and a bass clef staff joined together by a brace.

Accidental

A symbol placed before a note to raise or lower its pitch, such as a sharp, flat, double sharp, or double flat.

Enharmonic

Notes or keys that sound the same pitch but are written or named differently.

Half Step

The smallest interval commonly used in Western music, representing the distance between two immediately adjacent keys on a piano.

Whole Step

An interval equal to two half steps.

Tetrachords

Four-note scale segments separated by specific intervals, used as building blocks for scales.

Major Scale

A seven-note diatonic scale constructed using a specific pattern of half-steps and whole-steps.

Natural Minor Scale

A minor scale with pitches matching its relative major key signature without any altered scale degrees.

Harmonic Minor Scale

A minor scale featuring a raised seventh scale degree.

Melodic Minor Scale

A minor scale with raised sixth and seventh scale degrees when ascending, which return to the natural minor form when descending.

Key Signature

A pattern of sharps or flats written immediately after the clef on a staff to indicate the key of the music.

Key

The central tonality or pitch center of a piece of music.

Relative Key

Major and minor keys that share the exact same key signature but have different tonic pitches.

Parallel Key

Major and minor keys that share the same tonic pitch name but have different key signatures.