Making Music Theory Easy - Flashcards

Flashcards for key vocabulary and concepts from 'Making Music Theory Easy' by Ben Dunnett.

Pitch

How high or low a note sounds.

Staff

A series of 5 lines (or stave) upon which music is written.

Ledger Lines

Additional lines which can be put above or below the staves to extend the pitch range of the stave.

Clefs

Symbols put at the beginning of a stave to assign specific lines/spaces to specific pitches.

Middle C

The C which is closest to the centre of a piano.

Octave

A run of 8 notes from A-A, B-B, C-C, etc.

Chromatic Scale

A run of 12 notes, including black notes; the distance between each note is a semitone.

Semitone

The distance between each note on the chromatic scale.

Sharps (#)

Raise the note by a semitone.

Flats (b)

Lower the note by a semitone.

Enharmonic Equivalent

Every sharp has a corresponding flat (e.g. C# is the same note as Db).

Scales/Keys

The dialect within the language of music.

Tempo

The speed of a piece of music.

Pulse

The rhythmic recurrence of strokes; the heartbeat of a piece of music.

BPM

Beats Per Minute; indicates the tempo of a piece.

Accelerando (accel.)

Speeding up.

Rallentando (rall.) /Ritardando (rit.)

Slowing down.

A Tempo

Return to the original tempo.

Bars

Groupings of beats.

Time Signature

Made up of 2 numbers (one on top of the other) found at the beginning of the stave; shows how many beats are in a bar and what type of beats they are.

Barlines

Show where the groupings are divided.

Duration

The length of time something continues or exists; the length a note is held for.

Whole Note (Semibreve)

A note length.

Half Note (Minim)

A note length.

Quarter Note (Crotchet)

A note length.

Eighth Note (Quaver)

A note length.

Sixteenth Note (Semiquaver)

A note length.

Thirty Second Note (Demisemiquaver)

A note length.

Rhythm

The movement with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent or the like.

Dynamics

The variation and gradation in the volume of musical sound.

Piano (p)

Quiet.

Forte (f)

Loud.

Crescendo (Cresc.)

Getting gradually louder.

Diminuendo (Dim.)

Getting gradually quieter.

Accent

Sudden emphasis on a note.

Tenuto

Leaning on a note.

Sforzando

Play a note suddenly with force.

Harmony

When 2 or more notes are played together.

Da capo (D.C.)

Go back to the start of the piece.

Dal segno (D.S.)

Go back to a specified sign.

Fine

End.

Coda

A short, independent passage at the end of a piece which is there to bring the piece to a satisfactory conclusion.

Staccato

Short, detached.

Legato

Smooth, together.