Accidental — a sign used to show a temporary change in pitch of a note (i.e., sharp # , flat b , double sharp! , double flat~ , or natural @ ). The sharps or flats in a key signature are not regarded as accidentals.
Ad lib — to be played at the performer’s own discretion.
Anacrusis — a note or notes occurring before the first bar of music (also called "lead-in" notes).
Arpeggio — the playing of a chord in single note fashion.
Bar — a division of music occurring between two bar lines (also called a "measure").
Bar line — a vertical line drawn across the staff which divides the music into equal sections called bars.
Chord — a combination of three or more different notes played together.
Chord progression — a series of chords played as a musical unit (e.g., as in a song).
Chromatic scale — a scale ascending and descending in semitones.
e.g., C chromatic scale:
Common time — an indication of * time — four quarter note beats per bar (also indicated by Q)
D.C al fine — a repeat from the sign (indicated thus V ) to the word "fine"
Duration — the time value of each note.
Dynamics — the varying degrees of softness (indicated by the term "piano") and loudness (indicated by the term "forte") in music.
Eighth note — a note with the value of half a beat in * time, indicated thus 5 (also called a quaver).
Eighth rest — indicating half a beat of silence is written: j
Enharmonic — describes the difference in notation, but not in pitch, of two notes, e.g.:
First and second endings — signs used where two different endings occur. On the first time through ending one is played (indicated by the bracket Z); then the progression is repeated and ending two is played (indicated X).
Harmony — the simultaneous sounding of two or more different notes.
Improvise — to perform spontaneously, i.e., not from memory or from a written copy.
Interval — the distance between any two notes of different pitches.
Key — describes the notes used in a composition in regards to the major or minor scale from which they are taken, e.g., a piece "in the key of C major" describes the melody, chords, etc. as predominantly consisting of the notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, and B — i.e., from the C scale.
Key signature — a sign, placed at the beginning of each stave of music, directly after the clef, to indicate the key of a piece. The sign consists of a certain number of sharps or flats, which represent the sharps or flats found in the scale of the piece’s key. e.g.:
indicates a scale with F# and C#, which is D major; D E F# G A B C# D. Therefore the key is D major (or its relative minor, Bm).
Lead-In — same as anacrusis (also called a pick-up).
Ledger lines — small horizontal lines upon which notes are written when their pitch is either above or below the range of the staff, e.g.:
Legato — smoothly, well connected.
Major scale — a series of eight notes in alphabetical order based on the interval sequence tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone, giving the familiar sound do re mi fa so la ti do.
Melody — a succession of notes of varying pitch and duration, and having a recognizable musical shape.
Metronome — a device which indicates the number of beats per minute, and which can be adjusted in accordance to the desired tempo.
e.g.: MM (Maelzel Metronome) 3 = 60 — indicates 60 quarter note beats per minute.
Natural — a sign (@) used to cancel out the effect of a sharp or flat. The word is also used to describe the notes A, B, C, D, E, F and G, e.g., "the natural notes".
Octave — the distance between any given note with a set frequency, and another note with exactly double that frequency. Both notes will have the same letter name;
Pitch — the sound produced by a note, determined by the frequency of the string vibrations. The pitch relates to a note being referred to as "high" or "low".
Repeat signs — in music, used to indicate a repeat of a section of music, by means of two dots placed before a double bar line:
In chord progressions, a repeat sign C indicates an exact repeat of the previous bar.
Semitone — the smallest interval used in conventional music.
Sharp — a sign (#) used to raise the pitch of a note by one semitone.
Staccato — to play short and detached. Indicated by a dot placed above (or below) the note: x
Staff — five parallel lines together with four spaces, upon which music is written. Syncopation — displacing the normal flow of accents in music. Usually from on the beat to off the beat.
Tempo — the speed at which a piece is played.
Tie — a curved line joining two or more notes of the same pitch, where the second note(s) is not played, but its time value is added to that of the first note.
Timbre — a quality which distinguishes a note produced on one instrument from the same note produced on any other instrument (also called "tone color"). A given note on the guitar will sound different (and therefore distinguishable) from the same pitched note on piano, violin, flute etc.
Transposition — the process of changing music from one key to another.
