Glossary
- Accent
- to play one note louder than the others, signified by ">"
- Accidental
- symbols written within a piece of music to indicate that a certain note should be played higher or lower than written, the tree most common accidentals are sharps, flats, and naturals
- Aeolian Scale
- a basic mode, is the true relative minor of the major scale whose sixth degree it starts on
- Augmented Chord
- chord consisting of the first, third, and raised fifth of a major scale
- Bar
- see measure
- Bar Line
- one of several thin vertical lines that divides a song into measures of equal beats
- Bass Clef
- signifies the bottom five lines of the grand staff; it is denoted by the "" symbol; also referred to as the "F Clef"
- Blues Scale
- scale derived from the minor pentatonic scale, it usually includes the first, second, minor third, third, fifth, sixth, and sometimes seventh of a major scale
- Broken Chord
- a chord that is played one note at a time, and not all at once
- Chord Progression
- the order of a series of chords within a song
- Common Time
- 4/4 time, four beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat
- Compound Time Signature
- a time signature that appears as a non-reduced fraction (i.e. 6/8)
- Cut Time
- 2/2 time, two beats per measure and a half note gets one beat
- D.C. al Fine
- instruction to return to the begining of a song and end where indicated by the word "Fine"
- Degree
- how far away a note is from the first note of a scale
- Diminished Chord
- chord consisting of the first, flatted third, and flatted fifth of a major scale
- Dominant Seventh Chord
- see "seventh chord"
- Dorian Scale
- a basic mode, begins on the second degree of any major scale, resembles the natural minor with a raised sixth
- Double Bar Line
- a thin vertical line followed by a thicker one that denoted the end of a piece of music
- D.S. al Coda
- instruction to return to an earlier part of a song and repeat until the end or otherwise instructed
- F Clef
- see bass clef
- Fake Book
- a songbook used for improvisational music that contains the melody of a song but requires a made-up harmony
- Fine
- "the end"
- First Inversion
- the position of a chord with the third degree at the bottom, followed by the fifth and first going up
- Flat
- indicates that a note is to be played one half step lower than written, represented by the symbol "
"
- Fret
- A division on the neck of a guitar that tells the player where a 1/2 step is; *Fretting fingers are placed behind the fret you wish to play
- G Clef
- see "Treble Clef"
- Grand Staff
- the treble and bass clefs united by a bracket
- Harmonic Minor Scale
- a scale that follows the major scale except for a flatted third and sixth whether ascending or descending
- Harmony
- notes other than the harmony added to a song for a fuller sound
- Inversion
- when the order of notes from highest to lowest in a chord is changed around
- Ionian Scale
- a basic mode, see "major scale"
- Key
- the name of a certain group of notes found by following a certain scale pattern; defined by the key signature
- Key Signature
- group of accidentals found at the beginning of a piece of music that indicates which scale the piece is based on, these accidentals are to be observed throughout except where otherwise indicated
- Leger Line
- a short line added to a note to signify it lies beyond the expanse of the staff (i.e. middle C lies on a leger line between the bass and treble clefs)
- Locrian Scale
- a basic mode, begins on the seventh degree of a major scale
- Lydian Scale
- a basic mode, begins on the fourth degree of a major scale, resembles the major scale with a raised fourth
- Major Chord
- chord consisting of the first, third, and fifth of a major scale
- Major Pentatonic Scale
- five-note scale that consists of the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth degrees of a major scale
- Major Scale
- a scale that follows the step pattern of whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half, also known as the "Ionian"
- Major Seventh Chord
- chord consisting of the first, third, fifth, and seventh of a major scale
- Measure
- one of several small segments of a piece of music divided into equal beats by bar lines; also called a "bar"
- Melodic Minor Scale
- scale that follows the major scale except for a flatted third on the way up and a lowered third, sixth, and seventh on the way down
- Melody
- the main tune observed throughout a piece of music
- Minor Chord
- chord consisting of the first, flatted third, and fifth of a major scale
- Minor Pentatonic Scale
- five-note scale that corresponds to the major pentatonic scale as a relative minor (i.e. the C minor pentatonic scale is the same as the Eb major pentatonic scale)
- Mixolydian Scale
- a basic mode, begins on the fifth degree of a major scale, resembles the major scale except for a lowered seventh
- Mode
- scale derived from the modes of ancient Greece and developed in the 9th century as a basis of Gregorian chant and other religious music, formed by displacing the first note of a given scale without changing its interval formula
- Natural
- indicates that a note is to be played as written, it cancels out any previous accidentals
- Note
- one of several small circular symbols placed on a staff to determine timing and pitch
- Octave (8va)
- eight notes (from middle C to the next C farther up the keyboard is a jump of one octave)
- Phrygian Scale
- a basic mode, begins on the third degree of the major scale, resembles the natural minor with a flatted second
- Pitch
- sound emitted by a source that is dependent upon its frequency
- Primary Chords
- the I, IV, and V7 chords of any key
- Relative Minor
- the minor key that starts on the sixth degree of a major scale and follows the same interval pattern
- Repeat Sign
- a double bar line preceded by two small circles; tells musician to 1) go back to the beginning and play again or 2) play only measures between two repeat signs a second time before proceeding
- Rest
- one of several symbols placed on a staff to signify the time that no sound should be played
- Root Position
- the position of a chord with the first degree at the bottom, followed by the third and fifth going up
- Scale
- a group of notes that follow a certain pattern of whole and half steps
- Second Inversion
- the position of a chord with the fifth degree at the botton, followed by the first and third going up
- Seventh Chord
- chord consisting of the first, third, fifth, and flatted seventh of a major scale, also called the "dominant seventh chord"
- Sharp
- indicates that a note is to be played one half step higher than written, represented by the symbol "
"
- Slur
- an arc written between two notes of different pitch; it tells the musician to make the transition between these two notes as smooth as possible
- Staff
- five lines and the spaces between them on which music is written
- Tie
- arc written between two notes of equal pitch; it tells the musician to hold that note for the full time signified by both notes added together
- Time Signature
- a fraction found at the beginning of a song that denotes how many beats are in a measure and which kind of a note should receive one beat
- Transpose
- to change the key of a piece of music while still keeping the same melody and harmony
- Treble Clef
- signifies the top five lines of the grand staff; it is denoted by the "" symbol; also referred to as the "G clef"
- Value
- the number of beats a certain note or rest should be held for