MUS 101 Chapter 1: Pitch Notation and the Grand Staff

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering introductory music theory concepts, including musical contour, pitch notation, keyboard organization, staff notation, clefs, intervals, and barlines.

Music

A language consisting of sounds and silences.

Contour

The musical shape created by the movement of pitches going up and down.

Ear Training

An important facet of learning music that helps students understand how pitches move and assists with sight reading music.

Musical Alphabet

An alphabet consisting of the letters A through G, where each letter represents a different sound or pitch.

Octave

Pitches that are separated by eight letter names.

Octave Equivalence

The principle that pitches which are an octave apart sound similar.

Interval

The distance between two pitches, calculated by counting both the first and last letter name.

Middle C

The C located to the left of the group of two black keys near the keyboard manufacturer's name, which is the fourth C from the bottom on a full-sized keyboard.

Staff (or Stave)

A foundational structure consisting of five lines and four spaces upon, between, and around which all music is written.

Line Notes

Notes written on the staff where a line runs through the middle of the note head.

Space Notes

Notes positioned between the lines of the staff in a space.

Clef

A symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that indicates the pitch of one of the staff lines.

Treble Clef

Also called the G Clef, it curls around the second line of the staff to show the position of the note G.

Ledger Lines

Small lines added above or below the staff to extend its range.

Bar Lines (Bars)

Vertical lines that divide a piece of music into equal measures.

Time Signature

Figures placed at the beginning of the music that regulate the number of notes or rests contained in each measure.

Double Barline

A symbol consisting of two vertical lines used to indicate the end of a section or an entire musical composition.