Lesson 3 Flashcards
What is the bass clef?
One of the two most common clefs; an F clef
chromatic half step
a half step between two pitches of the same letter name; ex: C - C#
clef
a symbol that relates a position of a note on a staff to a pitch name with its octave
courtesy accidental
an accidental which, though not strictly necessary, helps a performer understand which pitch is to be played or sung
diatonic half step
a half step that appears between two pitches of different letter names; ex: C# - Db
double flat
an accidental (bb) that lower a pitch by two half steps (or one whole step)
double sharp
an accidental that raises a pitch by two half steps (or one whole step)
enharmonics
two pitches with different names that sound the same; ex: C#, Db
fifth
an interval involving five adjacent pitch letters
flat sign
a sign (b) that a pitch is to be lowered by a half step
frequency
the rate at which a sound wave vibrates
grand staff
a combination of two staves written one above the other and they are intended to be played at the same time, usually by one person
half step
the smallest pitch difference generally used in Common Western Music Notation; equal to the difference between two directly adjacent keys on the piano or two adjacent guitar frets
hertz
the number of vibrations per second of a sound wave; abbreviated as hz. A4 is usually at or near 440hz.
ledger line
a short line written above or below a staff that temporarily extends the staff to allow more notes
middle C
a name for C4, the pitch halfway between the highest line of the bass clef and the lowest line of treble clef
musical alphabet
the 7 letters A-B-C-D-E-F-G which name the pitches in Common Western Music Notation
notehead
a filled or empty oval which indicates the position of a note on a staff
notes
pitches written on a staff, usually with rhythmic information
octave
- two pitches with the same letter name whose sounds can be mistaken for each other.
- the distance between two pitches eight pitches apart (counting both pitches as two of the 8)
octave designation
a sign that specifies what octave a pitch belongs to. Middle C is C4. Octave designations increase between B and C; C starts a new octave
pitch
the description of the highness or lowness of a sound as humans perceive it
sharp sign
a sign (#) indicating that a pitch should be raised by a half step
staff
the five horizontal lines that pitches in CWMN are written on, including the spaces in between
third
an interval involving three adjacent pitch letters
transposition
rewriting a melody (or whole piece) so that it begins on a different note while preserving all intervals
treble clef
one of the two most common clefs, a G clef places on the second line of the staff, indicating G4
white-key accidental
an accidental that causes a pitch to have the same sound as a pitch with a natural. These occur only between E-F and B-C; ex: E# = F; Cb = B.
whole step
the difference in pitch between two white keys with no black key between them; the same as two half steps
a third above A
C
a third above B
D
a third above C
E
a third above D
F
a third above E
G
a third above F
A
a third above G
B
a third below A
F
a third below B
G
a third below C
A
a third below D
B
a third below E
C
a third below F
D
a third below G
E
a fifth above A
E
a fifth above B
F
a fifth above C
G
a fifth above D
A
a fifth above E
B
a fifth above F
C
a fifth above G
D
a fifth below A
D
a fifth below B
E
a fifth below C
F
a fifth below D
G
a fifth below E
A
a fifth below F
B
a fifth below G
C
