1.3 Scales and Melody

scale

a collection of arranged pitches used as the basis for music

interval

the distance between any two pitches

octave

an interval between two pitches where they sound very similar, just higher or lower (2:1 ratio of frequency)

diatonic scale

the Western music set of seven pitches which make up the octave (eight span), as the first is repeated (just the white keys)

chromatic scale

12 pitches, including the diatonic scale and the five in between (white and black keys)

diatonic notation

lines and spaces in the staff

chromatic notation

flat (b) or sharp (#)

half step (semitone)

smallest easily identifiable interval

whole step

two half steps, and the distance between two white keys which are separated by a black key

melody

an organized series of pitches built from any scale

tune

a simple, easily singable, catchy melody

length of phrases

typically 2, 4, or 8 bars long

parallelism

same notes, different words

sequence

the duplication of a phrase at 2+ different pitch levels