Music Theory Terminology

1st and 2nd endings

play the 1st ending the first time throughl repeat the music, but skip over the 1st ending and play the 2nd ending instead

accent

play the note with a strong attack

accidentals

sharps, flats, or naturals not included in the key signature

allegro

a fast tempo

alto clef

third line of staff is middle C

arpeggio

the notes of a chord played one after another

bass clef

fourth line on the staff is f

chord

three or more notes played at the same time

chromatics

a series of notes that move in half steps

concerto

a composition for orchestra and soloist

courtesy accidentals

accidentals that appear in parantehese as a reminder of the key signature

crescendo

gradually play louder

D.C. al Fine

repeat from the beginning and play to the Fine

decrescendo

gradually play softer

dot

increases the length of the note by half its value

double bar line

indicates the end of a section or a composition

dynamics

changes in volume

fermata

hold the note longer than its normal value

Fine

the end of a piece of music

forte-piano

indicates to play forte the first time, and then piano on the repeat

fortepiano

indicates to play forte and then suddenly soften to piano

half step

the smallest distance between two notes

interval

the distance between two notes

key signature

appears at the beginning of the staff, and indicates which notes will be played sharp or flat

ledger line

short, horizontal line used to extend a staff either higher or lower

octave

the interval of an 8th

mezzo forte

medium loud

pentatonic scale

a scale with five notes

piano

play softly

rallentando

becoming gradually slower

ritardando

becoming graudually slower

round

music in which players start the piece at different times

scale

a series of notes that go up or down the musical alphabet in a specific order of whole steps and half steps; the lowest and highest ntoes of the scale are always the same letter name

slur

a curved line placed above or below two or more differnt notesl it tells you to play the notes without breaking the notes

solo

a piece that is performed alone or with an accompanist

staccato

play short and detached, separate the notes

tempo marking

indicates the speed of the music

tenuto

hold the notes for its full value and play smoothyl

theme

a central musical idea or melody

variations

changes of the theme

tie

a curved line that connects two or more notes of the same pitch; the tied notes are played as onelonger note with the combined value of both notes

time signature or meter

indicates the number of beats in each measure and the type of note that receives one beat

treble clef

indicates second line of the staff is G

a tempo

return to the original tempo

alla marcia

to play in a march-like manner

binary form

AB

cantabile

to play in a singing manner

chamber music

playing a piece of music with one player per part

D.C al Coda

repeat from the beginning and play to the "to Coda" and then skip to the Coda

dolce

to play sweetly

D.S. al Coda

repeat from the sign and play to the "To Coda" and then skip to the coda

D.S. al Fine

repeat from the sign and play to the Fine

form

the oranization and musical structure of a piece

fortissimo

play very loud

intonation

the ability to play or sing in tune

maestoso

to play in a majestic manner

mezzo piano

play medium soft

pesante

to play in a heavy manner

pianissimo

play very softly

syncopation

occurs when there is emphasis on a weak beat

tutti

everyone plays together

marcato

an accented or stressed note

sight-reading

to play or read a piece for the first time

sforzando

a sudden and/or strong accent

tertiary form

ABA

transpose

change a composition from one key to another

tempo order

grave
lento
largo
adagio
andante
moderato
alleretto
allegro
vivace
presto
prestissimo

Unison

Same note

Opera

The Magic Flute- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart