Download Music Theory

Reading, Writing, and
Making Music
Clef Notes
Dynamics
Tempos
Articulations
Terms
Accent – the emphasis placed on a musical
sound.
Meter – the aural aspect of music in which a
certain number of beats are grouped
together.
Measure – the division of beats into defined
groups separated by a bar line.
Time signature – used to specify how many
beats are in each measure and what note
value constitutes one beat.
Note and Rest Symbols
Subdividing Notes
•The number plus the
and equals ONE FULL
beat.
•Therefore, just the
number WITHOUT the
and will only equal
HALF a beat.
Clef Notes
Treble Clef
Line Notes: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Space Notes: F A C E
Bass Clef
Line Notes: Great Big Dogs Fight Always
Space Notes: All Cars Eat Gas
Musical Terms
 A great many musical terms are
in Italian. It shouldn't be
surprising that so many musical
terms are Italian, since many of
the most important early
composers in the renaissance
period were Italian, and that
period is when numerous
musical indications were used
extensively for the first time.
Dynamics
Dynamics tell the performer or conductor
how loud or how soft to play a piece of
music.
Dynamics are used in a piece of music to
help maintain the interest of the listener.
Dynamics
Fortissimo ff – very loud
Forte f – loud
Mezzo forte mf – medium loud
Mezzo piano mp – medium soft
Piano p – soft
Pianissimo pp – very soft
Crescendo
– to gradually get louder
Decrescendo
– to gradually get softer
Tempos
Largo – very slow
Adagio – slow
Andante – walking tempo
Moderato – moderately
Allegro – fast; quickly
Vivace – very fast
Accelerando (accel.) – to gradually get faster
Ritardando (rit.) – to gradually get slower
Music Theory:
Articulations
 Staccato
– to play the notes short and detached
 Accent
emphasis
– to play the note louder, with a special
 Tenuto
– to hold the note for its full value
 Fermata
– to hold the note longer than its
normal value; approximately twice the normal duration