Keys are the levers which are pressed by the fingers to create sound.
Keyboard - there are two definitions:
1. The whole set of keys as found on a piano, organ or other keyboard instrument.
2. An electronic musical instrument with a piano type keyboard as the
primary means of controlling the sound.
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A Staff is what music is written on. (See diagram below).
Each staff consists of five Lines and four Spaces upon which symbols are written called musical Notes . See Diagram:
These notes help to tell the musician which keys to play. (They also tell you how long to hold the keys down - see the section on rhythm .)
The First Line of a staff is always the bottom line. Therefore, the top line of a staff will be the fifth line.
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Clefs are signs written at the beginning of each Staff which tells the musician which lines and spaces represent which notes.
The G Clef , better known as Treble Clef , establishes G as the second line of the staff:
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The F Clef , known as the Bass Clef establishes F as the fourth line of the staff:
When a Treble Clef is placed on a Staff it becomes the Treble Staff.
When a Bass Clef is placed on a Staff it becomes the Bass Staff .
The combination of the Bass and Treble Staves form what is known as the
Grand Staff .
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Ledger Line - (Dictionary Definition) - A short line drawn underneath or above the staff for notes too low or too high to appear on the staff.
In other words, a Ledger Line is an added line above or below a staff.
Middle C is the 'C' near the middle of the Piano. It is notated on the first ledger line above the Bass staff, or on the first ledger line below the Treble Staff. (Click here to view diagram.)
A Pitch means how high or low a note is. Low pitches are played by using the keys to the left (on the keyboard), high pitches are played by using the keys to the right.
In music there are Notes and Rests .
A Note tells the musician to play (that is press a key), thus creating musical sound. The position on the staff, and the type of clef will tell him which keys to play.
Rests tell the musician not to play, thus creating silence.
The Musical Alphabet specifies notes using the first 7 letters of the regular alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, G).
There are different types of notes and rests which tell the musician how long to hold a key down, or how long to 'rest'. (For more information about these types of notes, see the section on Note Values)
Rhythm (Pronounced 'Rith-em') - A concept pertaining to the duration of (i.e. long - short) of musical sounds. Sometimes rhythm is entirely free, but it usually has a steady pulse, called a beat .
A beat is an equal unit of time. Depending on how fast or slow a piece of music goes, this beat may be a smaller or larger unit of time. Through most pieces of music this beat remains steady, thus it remains the same 'size'. (You can hear a beat in most popular songs by listening to the drums.)
a Count - The same thing as a beat.
Tempo - The rate of speed of a piece of music.
Note Values
There are
Notes , which represent musical sound,
and Rests which represent silence.
These notes and rests all have mathematical values called Note Values .
They are measured in terms of beats (or counts), which is the most basic measurement of rhythm.
Below is a listing of some basic NOTE VALUES, and how many beats they are usually equal to in 4/4 time:
| Note Value: | Looks like: | is Equal to: |
|---|---|---|
| Eighth Note |  |
½ beat. |
| Quarter Note |  |
1 beat. |
| Half Note |  |
2 beats. |
| Whole Note |  |
4 beats. |
A measure is a group of (usually) two or more beats. These groups of beats are seperated by vertical lines that are drawn through the staff called Bar Lines . In musical 'slang' measures are sometimes called ' Bars .'
Tie - an arching (curved) line connecting two notes of the same pitch, indicating that the second note should not be played, but its note value should be added to that of the first.
A Dot to the side of a note adds half of the original value of the note to the note. A Melody is a succession of notes (pitches) to form what usually can
be a tune that can be sung or recognized.
An Interval is the distance (in pitch), between two notes. An Octave (Otherwise known as '8va') is the distance from one note name on the keyboard (A,B,C, Etc.) to the closest note name (of the same letter) found on the keyboard. (For example, the distance from Middle C to the closest C that can be found on the keyboard is an octave.) (for clarification click here to view diagram.)
Half Step - The smallest interval that can be played on a keyboard.
It is the distance from one note to the very next note. Whether or not that
note is black or white makes no difference. A Whole Step is the distance of two half-steps. A chord is the result of three or more notes (pitches)
being played at the same time. However, some combinations of notes
would be considered chords, while others would not. A triad is a three note Chord. A Sharp means to raise a note by one half-step.
Dynamics or Dynamic Markings are indications of how loud (or soft)
to play a section of music. We all hear songs on the radio and CD's etc. We also hear other music, such as background music behind movies, television shows, and commercials. We also might hear somebody playing an instrument by himself, or with others. This music might be with singing, or without. There are terms that to relate to some of these different forms of music, and although it is not always clear exactly what these terms mean, the following will be some basic definitions of these terms.
Articulation affects the phrasing of the music greatly. In actuality, articulation is how long the musician holds down each note he or she plays, and how much space there is between each note. Repeat Sign - to repeat the section of music that falls in between the two
repeat signs. If there is no repeat sign to repeat back to, then you go all
the way back to the beginning of the song. D.C. al fine (Da Capo al fine) means to go back to the beginning of the song
and play until you get to where you see the word 'fine'.
(A dot above or below the note indicates staccato. See the section on articulation.)
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Part 3 - Melody and related concepts:
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Part 4 - Harmony and related concepts:
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Part 5 - Sharps & Flats and related terms:
A Flat means to lower a note by one half-step.
A Natural cancels the effect of sharp or flat.
A Key Signature is a series of flats or sharps at the beginning of each staff that establishes which notes are to be lowered or raised. (View Diagram)
An Accidental is a flat, sharp or natural not found in the key signature.
Accidentals occur before individual notes.
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Part 6 - Dynamics:
Here are some basic dynamic markings:
Piano ( p ) - Play softly.
Forte ( f ) - Play loudly.
Mezzo Piano ( mp ) (pronounced 'met-zo pia-no') - Play moderately soft.
Mezzo Forte ( mf ) (pronounced 'met-zo for-te') - Play moderately loud.
Note: When you see a dynamic marking you play at that level until you see
another dynamic marking.
(Did you know that the word 'Mezzo' means half in italian, so translated literally, Mezzo-Forte
means Half-Loud!)
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Part 7 - 'Forms' of music
The word Composition is the most general word when referrring to musical form. It is a musical work of any kind, but the word is used most often when referring to classical music. The word composition is derived from the word 'compose' which means to make up or to create.
The term piece of music actually means the same thing as a composition.
Sometimes this term is shortened to piece .
A song in its purest definition is a 'piece of music for voice'
or a 'piece in a lyrical style', but the common usage of this word has been abused to mean any composition.
(piece of music).
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Part 8 - Articulation
Staccato means to play each note very short (not faster) with alot of space between the notes.
Legato means to connect all the notes with no space between them.
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Part 9 - Repeats and related information:
![[repeat sign image not available]](../Images/repeatSign.gif)
*Note: fine (pronounced 'FEE-Neh') means 'end'.
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