Music Fundies!

Treble Clef

Used for the higher sounding pitches. Also known as the G clef.

Bass Clef

Used for the lower sounding pitches. Also called F clef.

Alto Clef

used for viola and trombone to avoid excessive ledger lines: middle C is the center line

Tenor Clef

used for cello, trombone, bassoon and double bass: middle C is the fourth line from the bottom

Chromatic Scale

Includes all twelve notes of an octave.

Eharmonic Pitches

Different labels used for same pitch (Ex. A# and Cb)

Diatonic Scale

consists of seven whole and half steps whose patterns form 1 major and 3 minor scales

Leading Tone

7th scale degree

Tonic Pitch

first note of a scale

Dominant Pitch

fifth scale degree

Minor Third

3 half steps

Perfect Fourth

5 half steps

Augmented Fourth

6 half steps

Perfect Fifth

7 half steps

Major Sixth

9 half steps

Minor Sixth

8 half steps

Major Seventh

11 half steps

Octave

12 half steps

C Major Scale

C D E F G A B C

G Major Scale

G A B C D E F# G

Diminished Third

2 half steps

A Major Scale

A B C# D E F# G# A

Minor Scale

WHWWHWW

Major Scale

WWHWWWH

Harmonic Minor

The natural minor with a raised 7th scale degree

Relative Major and Minor

Major and minor keys which have the same key signature

Parallel Major and Minor

keys sharing the same tonic note

Blues Inflections

Combining the elements of both major and minor scales

Blues Scale

a major scale in which the 3rd, the 7th, and sometimes the 5th degrees are lowered

Melody

series of successive pitches that add up to a recognizable whole

Harmony/Counterpoint

when two or more tones are sounding simultaneously

Transposed Melody

Starts on a different note but keeps the sequence of intervals constant

Contour

how the melody moves up and down

Conjunct Melody

stepwise melodic movement using mostly whole and half steps

Disjunct Melody

melodic motion by leaps of large intervals

Tessitura

the range within which most notes lie

High tessitura

high pitch

Low tessitura

low pitch

Soprano

highest female voice

Alto

lowest female voice

Tenor

Highest male voice

Bass

lowest male voice

Rhythm

the way music is organized in time

Beat

steady pulse underlining most music

Tempo

speed of the beat

Allegro

fast tempo

Ritardando

slowing tempo

accelerando

increasing tempo

poco a poco

gradual speed up or slowing down of beat

subito

sudden speed up or slowing down of beat

Unmetered Music

When there is no steady or discernible tempo

rubato

tempo that speeds up or slows down for expressive effect

Measures/Bars

metric grouping of beats, notated on the musical staff with bar lines

Bar lines

Vertical lines used to organize the basic beat patterns

Downbeat

first beat of a measure; usually the strongest tone

Duple Meter

two beats per measure

Irregular Meter

asymmetrical groupings with different numbers of beats per measure

Most common meter

Quadruple meter

Pickup/Anacrusis

when the first word falls before the downbeat

Whole note

4 beats

Stem

line that can be added to a whole note

Half note

2 beats

Quarter note

1 beat

Eighth note

1/2 beat

Dot

adds half value to original value of the note

Tie

curved line that ties together notes of the same pitch

Rest note

Meaning silence

time signature

a musical notation indicating the number of beats to a measure and kind of note that takes a beat

6/8 time signature

6 eighth notes per measure

2/4 time signature

2 quarter notes per measure

Common time

4/4 time signature

Cut time

2/2 time signature

Simple subdivision

Division of beat into two equal parts

Compound subdivision

A division of the beat into three equal parts.

Mixed meter

measures with different meters that occur in rapid succession

Accent

indicates a note should receive a greater stress than those around it

Polymeter

two or more meters sounding simultaneously

Syncopated rhythm

when accented or emphasized

notes fall on weak beats, or in between beats.

Polyrhythm/cross-rhythm

when two conflicting rhythmic patterns are present simultaneously

Harmony

when two or more tones are playing simultaneously

common-practice tonality

The system of organizing pitch and harmony that we find intuitive today in Western cultures

Chord

Three or more notes of music played together.

triad

three note chord

Major triad

a major third interval between its two lower pitches and a minor third between the upper two pitches

Minor triad

a minor third on the bottom and a major third above

Diminished triad

two minor thirds

Augmented triad

two major thirds

root

lowest of the three notes

third

The middle note of the triad

fifth

The highest note in a triad

Root position

when the root is on the bottom of the chord

First inversion

Third of the chord is in the bottom.

Second inversion

Fifth of the chord is in the bottom

Inverted triads

The configuration of the top to bottom elements of a chord

Key

the set of seven notes on which a composition is based

Key signatures

Set of flats and sharps placed on the staff to indicate which notes should be performed at higher or lower pitches than their natural pitches on the staff.

Harmonic progression

series of chords that moves from dissonance to consonance

Dissonace

Unpleasant or unharmonious sound, tense

Consonance

pitches sounding agreeable and stable

Accidentals

Sharps, flats and naturals not in the key signature