Music Theory

Grand Staff

A two-part staff consisting of the treble staff on top and the bass staff on the bottom. These staves are connected by a bracket.

Barlines and measures

Barlines are vertical lines.Measures are the spaces between the barlines.

Treble Clef Lines

Every Good Boy Does Fine (E G B D F )

Treble Clef Spaces

F A C E

Staff

A stave is composed of 5 lines and 4 spaces.

Counting Lines and Spaces

You count from the bottom to top.

Flat

Lowers a pitch 1/2 step.

Sharp

Raises a pitch 1/2 step.

Natural Sign

Cancels a flat or a sharp.

Double Bar Line

Is drawn at the end of a section or a piece of music. Shown is the FINAL Double Bar Line.

Music Alphabet

A B C D E F G

Tempo

pace of music (how fast or how slow the music should be performed)

Dynamics

The loudness or softness of music.

forte

play loudly

piano

play softly

half step

(or semitone) is the distance from one key on the keyboard to the next adjacent key. A half step is not always from a black key to a white key.

whole step

(whole tone) is the same distance as two half steps.

Memorize these two half steps

EF and BC

mezzo piano

moderately soft (louder than p)

fortissimo

Very loud

staccato

play notes short (non legato)

C stands for ?

Common time- same thing as 4/4 ; 4 beats per measure, each quarter receives a beat.