Download Quick reference guide to Musical Terms

Quick reference guide to Musical Terms
Semiquaver
Basics – pitch
Stave
Clef
The five lines on which music is written
A symbol that appears at the beginning
of the stave to show which lines
correspond to which pitches
Treble Clef (G clef) Clef showing position of the G
above middle C
Bass Clef (F clef)
Clef showing position of the F
below middle C
Notehead
The round part of the note symbol
that sits either on or between
the stave lines
Stem
Vertical line extending either up or
down from the note head
Tail
’Squiggle’ that extends from the top of the
stem to
signify a quaver or semiquaver
Beam
Thick horizontal line used to join two
or more stems together
Semitone
The distance between a white note
on the piano and the black note
immediately above or below it
Tone
Twice the distance of a semitone
or the distance between two adjacent
white notes on the piano
(apart from E-F and B-C)
Accidental
A symbol altering the pitch of a note
Sharp
Accidental altering pitch of note
upwards by a semitone
Flat
Accidental altering pitch of note
downwards by a semitone
Natural
Accidental cancelling the effect of
either a sharp or a flat
Key Signature
Grouping of either sharps or flats
to indicate accidentals that should
be applied throughout a piece.
Also indicates the key of a piece.
Basics – rhythm
Semibreve
Minim
Crotchet
Quaver
Note value of 4 beats
(US: whole note)
Note value of 2 beats
(US: half note)
Note value of 1 beat
(US: quarter note)
Note value of half a beat
(US: eighth note)
Rest
Beat
Bar
Meter
Time Signature
Tie
Dot
Note value of quarter of a beat
(US: sixteenth note)
Instruction to remain silent
The basic pulse of a piece of music
A repeated group of beats
The number of beats in a bar
Symbol that specifices number and
type of beats in the bar
Curved line joining two notes
together to create one longer note
Increases length of note by 50%
Finding your way around
D. C.
D. S
Fine
Coda
Go back to the beginning
Go back to the sign (segno)
The end
Lit. the tail. A section of music at the
end of a piece
Rehearsal letters
Letters placed at key structural
points to help musicians find
their way around
Dynamics
Pianissimo (pp)
Piano (p)
Mezzo forte (mf)
Forte (f)
Fortissimo (ff0
Diminuendo (dim.)
Crescendo (cresc.)
Poco a poco
Sforzando (sfz)
Staccato
Marcato
Legato
Very quiet
Quiet
Quite loud
Loud
Very loud
Getting gradually quieter
Getting gradually louder
Little by little
Sudden accent
Detached
Marked
Played smoothly
How fast?
Tempo
Tempi
b.p.m.
Vivace
Allegro
Andante
Adagio
The speed of a piece of music
The plural of tempo
Beats per minute. A measure of tempo
Quick (120-140 b.p.m.)
Lively (100-120 b.p.m.)
Walking pace (70-100 b.p.m.)
Slowly (50-70 b.p.m.)
Accelerando (accel.)
Rallentando (rall.)
Ritenuto (rit.)
A tempo
Gradually speeding up
Gradually slowing down
Gradually slowing down
Back to the original speed