BASICS - GENERAL KNOWLEGE Flashcards
Ascending
rising in pitch, or going up the piano keyboard from left to right.
Cadence
a short sequence of notes or chords at the end of a musical phrase
Chord
more than two notes played at the same time
Descending
falling in pitch, or going down the piano keyboard from right to left
Diminished fifth
an interval of a perfect fifth flattened by one semitone
Dominant
the fifth note of the scale, an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic
extended
extended chords contain extra notes added from further up the keyboard. A major ninth chords, for instance, contains: root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth
harmonic interval
notes of different pitches played together at the same time, as opposed to one after the other
harmony
a tune that complements a melody when played at the same time, also refers to the relationship between a series of chords
interval
the difference between two note pitches. intervals are named according to the number of letter names they span, e.g. from C to D is a 2nd, C to F is a 4th etc.
inversion
the order of notes in a chord is changed, a first inversion would see the root shifted up an octave to the top of a chord
key
the scale on which a piece if music is based, the key takes its name from the tonic, or first note of this scale
major scale
the most common scale in western music, a series of eight notes with a set pattern of intervals:2-2-1-2-2-2-1
major second
an interval of two semitones between two different notes, for example, C to D is a major second interval
major seventh
the interval between the root and the seventh pf a major scale, equivalent to 11 semitones
major sixth
an interval of nine semitones between two different notes, C to A for example
major third
an interval of four semitones between two different notes, examples include: C to E, G to B, D to F#
melodic interval
when two notes of different pitches are played after one another
melody
a sequence of notes played one after the other to produce a tune
minor scale
the sad-sounding sequence of notes you get when you play a major scale from the sixth note upwards
minor second
an interval of one semitone between two notes. for example, C to Db is a minor second interval
minor third
an interval of three semitones between two different notes. for example, C to Eb is a minor third interval, as is G to Bb
minor seventh
the interval between the root note and the flattened seventh note of a major scale. equivalent to ten semitones
minor sixth
an interval of eight semitones between two different notes. for example, C to Ab is a minor sixth interval
