Parts of the Staff
Treble, Alto, Bass, and Tenor are all examples of this symbol found at the beginning of music.
What are clefs?
Major, minor, diminished and augmented are all different examples of this three-note harmonic construct.
What is a triad?
>, meaning to play with emphasis.
What is an accent?
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C# and D
What is D major?
When members of an ensemble match their pitch at the beginning of a rehearsal, they are fixing this.
What is intonation/tuning?
This symbol, typically two numbers, tells you how many beats per measure and what note value is a beat.
What is a time signature?
This refers to the position a triad is in when the bass note is the primary note in the chord.
What is root position?
^, meaning to play full length but articulated on both ends.
What is marcato?
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
This scale contains a lowered 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degree.
What is A minor?
This device shows the progression of key signatures: clockwise you add a sharp, and counterclockwise you add a flat.
What is the Circle of Fifths?
This section at the beginning of the staff tells you how many sharps or flats are in a piece of music.
What is the key signature?
This refers to when a triad does not have the root as the bass note, and is instead in one of these.
What is an inversion?
_ , to play smooth and connected.
What is tenuto/legato?
G, A, B, D, E
It's name is based of how many notes are in it: 5.
What is G pentatonic?
This is when two notes are spelled differently, but sound the same pitch.
What are enharmonics?
What is a Grand Staff?
In jazz, triads are typically expanded on by adding this scale degree on top of it.
This symbol means to continue playing a note until stopped by the conductor.
What is a fermata?
Bb, D, Eb, E natural, F, Ab, Bb
Commonly used for improvisation over a 12-bar form sharing it's name.
What is the Bb Blues Scale?
Slang for where you need to go to practice, it is also where people commonly store yard working equipment or farm equipment?
What is the shed/wood shed?
The easiest way to tell if a piece of music has ended; you always find this symbol at the end of your sheet music.
What is a double bar line?
The 4th, 5th, and 8th scale intervals in a major scale have this "flawless" denotation.
What is Perfect?
What is a grand pause/caesura?
C, D, E, F#, G#, A#
There are no half steps here!
What is C whole tone?
Seeing this in a piece of music means to "play the note up the octave". Piccolos beware!
What is 8va?