Music Theory

time signature (metre)

Numbers at the beginning of a piece that indicate how many beats per bar

dynamics

The volume of sound

staff notation

Music that is notated on the 5 lines and 4 spaces

stick notation

Music that is notated without a musical staff

forte

play or sing loud

fortissimo

play or sing very loud

timbre

description of sound

mezzo forte

moderately loud

mezzo piano

moderately soft

piano (dynamic)

play or sing softly

treble clef

a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it are generally higher

bass clef

a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it are generally lower

tempo

the speed of the music

beat

pulse in a song that remains consistent based on the tempo given

texture

how many instruments or parts there are at one time in a song

tonality

the key a piece is written in

pentatonic scale

a five note scale consisting of do, re mi, so, la

interval

the distance between 2 notes

rhythm

the pattern of the words or the duration of a note without a pitch

whole note

a note that lasts for 4 beats

half note (two-oo)

a note that lasts for 2 beats

quarter note (ta)

a note that lasts for 1 beat

eighth note (ti-ti)

a note that lasts for half a beat

sixteenth note (tika tika)

four notes fit into one beat

quarter note rest (ta rest)

structure/form

the way the music is divided into sections

phrase

a musical sentence sung or played where you take a breath or a small rest to indicate the end

bar (measure)

a small section of music with a set number of beats indicated by the time signature

bar line

a line that separates each bar or music notation

andante

walking speed

vivace

quick and lively

presto

extremely fast

allegro

fast and cheerful

moderato

moderate speed

lento

slow

largo

very slow