Pitch
refers to the highness or lowness of a sound; named using the first seven letters of the alphabet: A,B,C,D,E,F,G.
Staff
the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written
ledger lines
used to extend the range of the staffs
clef
determines which pitches are associated with which lines and spaces in the staff
grand/great staff
created when two staves are joined by a brace (usually intended to be played by one performer, e.g. a pianist)
Major Scale
Pattern of notes encomposing an octave where the pattern consists of Whole Step, Whole Step, Half Step, Whole Step, Whole Step, Whole Step, Half Step
Half Step
defined on the piano as moving from one key to the very next key, white or black.
Accidentals
alter the pitch of a note by raising or lowering it based on the accidental.
Sharp (#)
raised a half-step from the note denoted on the staff
Flat (b)
lowered a half-step from the note denoted on the staff
Double sharp (x)
raised a whole step from the note denoted on the staff
Double Flat (bb)
lowered a whole step from the note denoted on the staff
Natural sign
cancels any accidentals preceding it
Tonic
First note of a scale
Supertonic
Second note of a scale
Mediant
Third note of a scale
Subdominant
Fourth note of a scale
Dominant
Fifth note of a scale
Submediant
Sixth note of a scale
Leading Tone
Seventh Note of a scale
Key
used to identify the first degree of a scale
Key Signature
pattern of sharp or flats that appears at the beginning of a staff that indicates certain notes are to consistently raised or lowered