Grade 1 Flashcards
What is the name of this note?
a semibreve (whole note)
What is the name of this note?
A minim (half note)
What is the name of this note?
A crotchet (quarter note)
What is the name of this note?
A quaver (eighth note)
What is the name of this note?
semi-quaver (sixteenth note)
How are notes grouped together in written music?
Notes are grouped together into measures, also known as bars.
What are the lines called, which seperate bars?
bar or measure lines
At the beginning of each piece of music is a time signature. What is a time signature?
The time signature consists of 2 numbers, shown on top of each other. The top figure shows how many beats there will be in a bar. The bottom figure shows what kind of beats they are.
for example 4/4 = 4 beats per bar, each beat = 1/4 note
3/4 = 3 beats per bar, each beat = 1/4 note
What is common-time?
Common time is another name for 4/4 time and is shown as:
What is a beamed note?
When there are 2 or more quavers or semiquavers in a bar, they can joined together by a beam.
What are the letter names of notes?
The notes are named after the first 7 letters of the alphabet:
A B C D E F G
What is a stave, or staff?
The staff, or stave, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch (note).
What is the purpose of a clef?
To show what note is A, B etc a clef is placed at the beginning of each stave.
What are the 2 most common clefs called?
The treble clef and the bass clef.
What is another name for the treble clef?
The treble clef is also known as the G-clef, because it curls around the 2nd line, which is the G line.
What is another name for the bass clef?
Another name for the base clef is the F clef, because it has 2 dots in it’s symbol, which go each side of the F line.
In the treble stave, what are the notes on the lines?
E G B D F
In the treble stave, what are the notes on the spaces?
F A C E
In the bass stave, what are the notes on the lines?
G B D F A
In the bass stave, what are the notes on the spaces?
A C E G
What are the 3 elements of a note called?
- note head
- stem
- flag
If a note is shown below the middle line of the stave, how should it be drawn?
The note should be drawn, such that the stem goes up on the right.
If a note is shown on or above the middle line of the stave, how should it be drawn?
The note should be drawn, such that the stem goes down on the left.
When quavers or semiquavers are drawn, what happens to the flag?
The flag is always drawn to the right regardless of whether the stem goes up or down.
It is sometimes necessary to write notes that are higher or lower than those on the stave. What happens in those cases?
Short extra lines are added below or above the stave to accomodate the note(s).
These are called ledger lines.
They are only long enough for the notes which need them and are never joined up.
What are the black notes on the piano called?
The black notes on the piano are known as sharps and flats. A black note to the right of a white key has the same letter as the white key but has a ‘sharp’ (#) added. A black note to the left of a white key has the same letter note as the white key but has a ‘flat’ (b) added.
What is the full name of a white note. e.g. C?
C natural
What is the distance between 2 notes called?
The distance between 2 notes is called the interval.
What is the interval between 2 adjacent keys on the piano called?
A semitone. 2 semitones together make a tone.
If all the white notes from C to C are played. What has been played?
A scale has been played. C major.
What are the notes that comprise the C-major scale and what are the intervals between each note?
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
The intervals are WWHWWWH
where W=whole tone & H=half tone.
This interval pattern (WWHWWWH) is the same for all Major scales.
What notes comprise the G major scale and what are the intervals between the notes?
G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G
Again, The intervals are WWHWWWH
What notes comprise the D major scale and what are the intervals between the notes?
D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D
Again, The intervals are WWHWWWH
What notes comprise the F major scale and what are the intervals between the notes?
F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F
Again, The intervals are WWHWWWH
What does a rest do?
It signifies the length of a period of silence. Rests are measured in beats, as musical notes are.
What is the name of this rest?
a semibreve (whole rest)
What is the name of this rest?
A minim (half rest)
What is the name of this rest?
A crotchet (quarter rest)
What is the name of this rest?
A quaver (eighth rest)
What is the name of this rest?
A semiquaver (sixteenth rest)
How is a completely silent bar marked?
A completely silent bar is marked with a semibreve rest, not only in 4/4 time, but also in 3/4 and 2/4 time.
What is a musical tie?
A tie joins notes, which are next to each other and which have the same pitch. Tied notes become one continuous note. Not a tie always goes from the head of one note to another.
What does a dot (.) after a note signify?
A dot (.) after a note makes it longer, by half its value.
What is the key note of a scale?
A piece of music made from the notes of a scale are said to be in the key of that scale. The first note of that scale is said to be the key note of the scale.
e.g. A song is in the key of D major. The key note is D.
What is a key signature?
Sharps or flat signs are placed after the time signature to indicate the key signature of the piece. The key signature tells one how many sharps or flats are in the scale
Which major scale has the following key signature. How many sharps and flats does it have and which notes are sharpened or flatted?
C major. There are no sharps or flats.
Which major scale has the following key signature. How many sharps and flats does it have and which notes are sharpened or flatted?
G major. There is one sharp, F sharp.
Which major scale has the following key signature. How many sharps and flats does it have and which notes are sharpened or flatted?
D major. There are 2 sharps, F sharp and C sharp.
Which major scale has the following key signature. How many sharps and flats does it have and which notes are sharpened or flatted?
F major. One flat B flat.
What is an accidental?
Individual notes can be raised or lowered a semi-tone by using a sharp, a flat or natural sign.
What effect does this accidental have on a note?
This accidental (flat) lowers the pitch of the following note by a semitone.
e.g. G …. Gb/F#
N.B.
The accidental is in force for the remainder of the measure and all G’s in that measure will be flattened to Gb/F#
What effect does this accidental have on a note?
This accidental (sharp) raises the pitch of the following note by a semitone.
e.g. G …. G#/Ab
N.B.
The accidental is in force for the remainder of the measure and all G’s in that measure will be sharpended to G#/Ab
What effect does this accidental have on a note?
This accidental (natural), cancels out any flats or sharps and returns a note to its original natural value.
e.g. a sharp raises G …. G#/Ab. This accidental cancels the sharp and G is G natural.
What is meant by the degree of a scale?
The various notes of a scale are also known as the degrees of a scale.
1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.
The 1st note is the 1st degree, the 2nd is the 2nd degree and so on.
What is the 1st degree of a scale also known as?
The 1st degree of a scale is also known as the Tonic.
The tonic note of the C major scale is C.
What is a Tonic Triad?
When the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of a scale are played together, that is a tonic triad.
C tonic triad = C + E + G
Which 3 notes comprise a C major tonic triad?
C + E + G
Which 3 notes comprise a G major tonic triad?
G + B + D
Which 3 notes comprise D major tonic triad?
D + F# + A
Which 3 notes comprise F major tonic triad?
F + A + C
What is an interval?
An interval is how far apart 2 notes are. The number of an interval is the number of scale degrees it contains or put simple, the number of letter names which are included in it.
- C … D = 2nd
- C … E = 3rd
What is a harmonic interval?
If 2 notes are played together, that is a harmonic interval.
What is a melodic interval?
If 2 notes are played one after the other, that is a melodic interval.
What is meant by beaming notes together?
Quaver (eigth) and semiquaver (sixteenth) notes can be joined together with a beam to help the performer read the music more easily and quickly.
What are the rules for beaming in 2/4 time?
In 2/4 time there are two crotchet beats per bar. There is one strong beat, which is the first beat of the bar. The second crotchet beat is the weak beat.
Notes are normally beamed together to make up one crotchet beat.
If there are four quavers in a bar, they can all be beamed together.
What are the rules for beaming in 3/4 time?
In 3/4 time there are three crotchets per bar. There is one strong beat, which is the first beat of the bar, followed by two weak beats.
The quavers can be beamed right across two or three whole crotchet beats, but the first note of the group must fall on the beat, not on an off beat.
What are the rules for beaming in 4/4 time?
In 4/4 time there are four crotchet beats per bar.The first beat of the bar is the strong beat. The second and fourth beats are the weak beats. But the third beat is a secondary strong beat.
You can beam together quavers which make up to two crotchets’ worth of beats, but only if they fall on beats 1-2 or 3-4. You cannot beam together quavers or semiquavers which cross from beats 2-3.
What does the following performance direction mean?
accelerando
gradually getting quicker
What does the following performance direction mean?
adagio
slow
What does the following performance direction mean?
allegretto
fairly quick
What does the following performance direction mean?
allegro
quick
What does the following performance direction mean?
andante
medium (walking) pace
What does the following performance direction mean?
cantabile
in a singing style
What does the following performance direction mean?
crescendo (or cresc)
gradually getting louder
What does the following performance direction mean?
da capo (D.C)
repeat from the beginning
What does the following performance direction mean?
dal segno (D.S.)
repeat from the sign
What does the following performance direction mean?
decrescendo (or descreasc.)
gradually getting quieter
What does the following performance direction mean?
fine
the end
What does the following performance direction mean?
f (forte)
loud
What does the following performance direction mean?
ff (fortissimo)
very loud
What does the following performance direction mean?
legato
smoothly
What does the following performance direction mean?
lento
slow
What does the following performance direction mean?
mezzo
half
What does the following performance direction mean?
mf (mezzo forte)
moderately loud (half loud)
What does the following performance direction mean?
mp (mezzo piano)
moderately quiet (half quiet)
What does the following performance direction mean?
moderato
moderately quick
What does the following performance direction mean?
p (piano)
quiet
What does the following performance direction mean?
pp (pianissimo)
very quiet
What does the following performance direction mean?
poco
a little
What does the following performance direction mean?
rallentando (or rall.)
gradually getting slower
What does the following performance direction mean?
ritardando (ritard or rit)
gradually getting slower
What does the following performance direction mean?
ritenuto (riten or rit)
held back
What does the following performance direction mean?
stacatto (or stacc.)
detached
What does the following performance direction mean?
tempo
speed, time
What does this symbol mean?
Cresecendo (gradually getting louder)
What does this symbol mean?
diminuendo (gradually getting quieter)
What does this symbol mean?
This symbol is a ‘slur’. Can also go over 2 or more notes. It means perform the notes smoothly.
What do these symbol mean?
Over a note or notes, play 1 octave higher.
Under a note or notes, play 1 octave lower.
What does this symbol mean?
A dot over or under a note means play staccato.
What does this symbol mean?
Accent the note
What does this symbol mean?
pause on the note or rest
What does this symbol mean?
Repeat marks. At the 2nd sign , go back to the first sign and repeat the music from there.
What does this symbol mean?
120 crotchet beats in a minute
