Musical Terms
To play notes detached from one another
What is staccato?
Start by reading this so you know what to practice
What is an assignment sheet?
A major pentascale has a half step between these two scale degrees
What is the 3rd and 4th?
These tell you to play the note with added emphasis
What are accents?
These strike the strings when a key is depressed
What are hammers?
The first note of a scale
What is the tonic?
Use these removable pieces of paper to mark work zones
What are PostIt notes?
Do this to change a major pentascale into a minor one
What is lower the 3rd scale degree?
This tells you to go back to the beginning and replay a portion of the piece, until the "end"
What is D. C. al Fine?
There are 88 of these
What are keys?
This shows how the beats in a piece are organized
What is a time signature?
You'll need these "tune collections" to practice
What are music books?
This type of scale shares the same key signature as a major scale
What is a relative minor?
This marking tells you to pause
What is a fermata?
These fall onto the strings when a key is released, stopping the sound
What are dampers?
A mark that combines the value of two notes of the same pitch
What is a tie?
Keep one of these handy for marking fingerings
What is a pencil?
Raise this scale degree in a natural minor to create a harmonic minor
What is the 7th?
You'll often see this marking after a ritardando
What is a tempo?
The lowest of these are wrapped in copper
What are strings?
The fifth note of a scale
What is the dominant?
A helpful practice tool for keeping a steady beat
What is a metronome?
In scales using all of the black keys, these fingers play the group of three black keys
What are 2-3-4?
You'll need to put on the brakes when you see this marking
What is ritardanto?
Depressing this allows the sound to reverberate even when keys are released
What is the damper pedal?