accidentals the signs of chromatic alteration as opposed to the signature accelerando quickening the tempo adagio tempo term meaning slow alla breve a tempo mark of C with a vertical line through it indicat- ing duple time. ex: 2/2 instead of 4/4 allegretto tempo term meaning somewhat quick allegro tempo term meaning quick lively andante tempo term meaning moderately quick animato with spirit bar a line drawn from the top to the bottom of the staff to markoff a measure bass clef or F clef, the two dots mark F below middle C used extensively in keyboard music beat in 4/4 time there are 4 beats, in 3/4 time 3 beats, 2/4 two beats, 5/4 5 beats etc. cadence harmonic formula which occurs at the end of a composition, section or phrase chord simultaneous occurrence of several tones - ex: C-E-G the C major triad chromatic succeeding progression of notes such as C c# D E F F# G G# etc. clef a sign written at the beginning of the staff in order to indicate the pitch of notes. Most used are treble and bass con with; for instance con brio-with vigor crescendo increasing in tone volume - has a sign something like < da capo abbreviated D.C. - from the beginning diatonic standard major or minor scale of eight tones to the octave without chromatic deviation diminuendo diminishing in tone volume - has a sign something like > double flat the sign bb which indicates the lowering of the pitch of a note by two half steps e.g. E to Ebb double sharp the sign x which indicates the raising of the pitch of a note by two half tones e.g. F to Fx eighth note solid note with stem. it also has a single tail. In 4/4 time it gets a half beat fine end flat the sign b which indicates the lowering of the pitch of a note by a half step e.g. from E to Eb forte sign of f - loud fortissimo sign of ff - very loud grazioso graceful half note hollow note with a stem, gets two beats in a measure half step the smallest interval up or down after a note, e.g. F to F# harmony any simultaneous combination of sounds homophonic one voice leads melodically, being supported by an accompaniment interval difference in pitch between two tones in the diatonic scale Ex: unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, octave key the base or root tone indicating the key signature of a piece e.g. G that contains one sharp F# larghetto tempo term meaning somewhat broad and slow largo tempo term meaning broad, very slow ledger lines short lines drawn through the stem of notes which are too high or low to be represented on the staff legato connected lento tempo term meaning slow major for two types of scales (major and minor). Which are distinguished by their third (C-E), minor third (C-Eb) measure group of beats (units of musical time) denoted by a beginning bar and an ending bar line mezzo sign of m - half; mf - not so loud as f middle C C near the middle of the piano keyboard. It is one ledger line below the treble clef staff minor see major moderato tempo term meaning moderately fast monophonic a single melodic line without accompaniment natural a note that would be altered, either by the signature or by a previous accidental note the signs by means of which music is fixed in writing the term is also used for the sound indicated by a note octave 8th tone of the scale. Acoustically the tone with twice the frequency of the home tone phrase a natural division of the melodic line, comparable to a sentence of speech. phrasing a method of ending a musical statement and the beginning of another with delicacy and good taste pianissimo sign of pp - very soft piano sign of p - soft pitch the absolute vibrations of one specific tone e.g. A above middle C is 440 vibrations piu more; ex:piu forte-louder; piu mosso- more rapid poco little; poco a poco-litte by little, gradually polyphonic combination of several simultaneous voices presto tempo term meaning very fast prestissimo tempo term meaning as fast as possible quarter note solid filled note with stem, in 4/4 time it gets one beat per measure rest signs by which pauses are inserted in music, ex: whole, half, quarter, 8th, 16th, 32nd ritardando retarding motion ritenuto holding back rubato a certain elasticity and flexibility of tempo scale the tonal material of music arranged according to rising pitches. 45 major, harmonic and melodic minor scales exist sharp the sign # which indicates the raising of a note by a half step e.g. from C to C# signature signs placed at the beginning of a composition,indicating the key sixteenth note solid note with a stem, It has two tails and gets a quarter of a beat in 4/4 time staccato detached, disconnected staff a series of 5 horizontal lines, upon which the musical notesare written thus, indicating their pitch tempo in order to indicate the pace at which a piece is played a number of Italian terms are used thirty2nd note solid note with stem and three tails. In 4/4 time it gets 1/8 beat tie a curved line, which connects two successive notes of the same pitch into single sound for duration of both values time signature the fraction at the beginning of the staff. 3/4 means that a quarter note gets one beat, three beats to a measure tranquillo tranquil treble clef or G clef, marks the G above middle C, used extensively in keyboard music vivace tempo term meaning lively voce voice whole note hollow note with no stem, gets full time value for the measure whole step two half tones or a major 2nd interval. e.g. F to G. A half step is the smallest interval between notes, e.g. F to F#
