Basics of Music
This term refers to the lines and spaces where notes are written.
What is a staff?
This type of chord consists of three notes played together.
What is a triad?
This is a minor scale that shares the same key signature as a major scale.
What is the relative minor scale?
In 4/4 time, 4 of this symbol would make up the whole measure.
What is a quarter note?
This is a series of eight notes in a scale.
What is an octave?
This sign, consisting of one dot, indicates that the note it comes after should be prolonged by half its value.
What is a dotted note?
The term for a chord in which the notes are played one after another, not simultaneously.
What is an arpeggio?
This term refers to the first note of a scale.
What is the tonic?
A rhythmic pattern with three evenly spaced notes played in quick succession.
What is a triplet?
Two or more melodic lines played simultaneously are called this.
What is a polyphony?
This is the name for a symbol that is placed before a note and indicates that the pitch will be raised by one semitone.
What is a sharp?
This type of chord consists of four notes played together.
What is a seventh chord?
This scale consists of five notes and is commonly used in blues, jazz and folk music.
What is the pentatonic scale?
The pattern of strong and weak beats in a piece of music is known as this.
What is rhythm?
This type of cadence gives a feeling of finality and is often used at the end of a musical piece.
What is authentic cadence?
This term refers to a gradual increase in volume in a piece of music.
What is a crescendo?
The Roman numeral representation of the tonic chord in the key of C major.
What is I?
This scale has a unique pattern of alternating whole and half steps.
What is the whole tone scale?
A partial measure with a single beat before the first measure in music.
What is upbeat?
This is a quality of intervals which consists of unisons, fourths, fifths, and octaves.
What is a perfect interval?
This term refers to the change from one key to another within a piece of music.
What is modulation?
The chord built on the fifth degree of a major scale is called this.
What is the dominant chord?
The pattern of intervals for a major scale.
What is W-W-H-W-W-W-H?
A time signature with an 8 as the bottom number indicates this type of meter.
What is duple meter?
In first inversion, a minor triad has this note as its lowest pitch.
What is the third of the minor triad?