Reading Music

Question 1

What is a beat?

Answer 1

It is the basic unit of time

Question 2

What is a measure?

Answer 2

Beats or pulsations often grouped into units of two, three, and four

Question 3

What is a time signature?

Answer 3

It tells us the number of beats per measure such as: 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4

Question 4

What time signature does the C symbol define?

Answer 4

Commonly defines the 4/4 measure

Question 5

What is the symbol for a whole note, or semibreve?

Answer 5

O, or a dark circle like a chocolate donut

Question 6

How many beats to a whole note?

Answer 6

4 beats

Question 7

What is the symbol for a half note, or minim?

Answer 7

Looks like a lower case ‘d’. Or a chocolate donut with an upward tail

Question 8

How many beats to a half note?

Answer 8

Two beats per half note

Question 9

What is the symbol for a quarter note, or crotchet?

Answer 9

Looks like a chocolate jelly donut with an upward tail, or the lower-case letter d, but with the circle filled in

Question 10

What is a dotted note?

Answer 10

When a note is dotted, it is adding a beat worth half the note duration to which it is applied.

Question 11

What does a whole note rest duration look like?

Answer 11

Upside down hat

Question 12

What does a half note rest duration look like?

Answer 12

Right side up hat

Question 13

What does a quarter note rest duration look like?

Answer 13

Fish hook squiggly looking thing

Question 14

What is a quaver? What does it look like?

Answer 14

Eighth note, or half a quarter note. Quarter note where the stem has a flag

Question 15

What is a semiquaver? What does it look like?

Answer 15

Sixteenth note, or one-fourth a quarter note. Quarter note where the stem has two flags

Question 16

How are multiple quavers or semiquavers in a row usually expressed?

Answer 16

It is common practice to attach the flag of one note to the other note when part of same beat, i.e., they are beamed together

Question 17

What does quaver, or eighth note rest look like?

Answer 17

A seven with a bulbous cross brace

Question 18

What does quaver, or eighth note rest look like?

Answer 18

A seven with a two bulbous cross braces a instead of one

Question 19

What is a triplet?

Answer 19

A beat divided into 3 equal parts

Question 20

How are triplets denoted?

Answer 20

Writing the number 3 above the group of beats that form the triplet

Question 21

Where do we find the beat unit?

Answer 21

The bottom number, e.g., 2/4 says that the quarter note gets the beat, and 2/2 says the half note gets the beat unit

Question 22

How do we know it’s a compound meter?

Answer 22

The top number is a 6, 9, or 12

Question 23

Where are musical notes written?

Answer 23

On a staff of 5 ledger lines

Question 24

Which notes are found on ledger spaces?

Answer 24

F A C E— spells ‘face’

Question 25

Which notes are found on ledger lines?

Answer 25

E G B D F— ‘every good boy does fine’

Question 26

What is an accidental?

Answer 26

These correspond to black piano keys

Question 27

How do we write black keys?

Answer 27

E.g., between C and D we have either C# or Db