6th, 7th and 8th Grade Music Terms and Symbols
August-September revised 08/18/2014
treble staff(draw one)
a) lines (from bottom to top) E G B D F
b) spaces (from bottom to top) F A C E
bass staff (draw one)
a) lines (from bottom to top) G B D F A
b) spaces (from bottom to top) A C E G
grand staff- (draw one)
middle C- the note that is exactly between the treble and bass staves (at the center of the grand staff) (draw it)
bar line- vertical line on the staff (draw one)
double bar line- is found at the end of a composition (draw one)
measure- the distance between two bar lines
repeat sign- indicates to play a section of music twice
whole note- (draw one)
whole rest-(draw one)
half note-(draw one)
half rest-(draw one)
quarter note-(draw one)
quarter rest -(draw one)
eighth note-(draw one)
eighth rest-(draw one)
Sixteenth note-(draw one)
Sixteenth rest-(draw one)
(draw them)
dotted note or rest- a dot added to the right of a note or rest increases its duration by one half of its original value/ for example- a half
note or rest is 2 counts, add a dot, and it is 2 + 1 counts = 3 counts
Sharp- a symbol that raises pitch ½ step (draw one)
Flat- a symbol that lowers pitch ½ step (draw one)
Natural- a symbol that cancels a sharp or a flat (draw one)
Accidental- a sharp, flat or a natural that is not part of a key signature
key signature- is either sharps or flats at the beginning of a piece to indicate what key or scale the piece is in
Time signature- usually two numbers at the beginning of a composition that tell you about the beat
Commonly seen time signatures.
Top number of a time signature- tells about the number of beats per measure
Bottom number of a time signature- tells the kind note that gets the beat
Simple time signatures- top number is usually 2, 4, or 8
Compound time signaturesa) top number is a multiple of three that is 6 or greater: 6, 9, 12, 15, etc…
b) the number of beats in a measure of compound time is found by dividing the top number by 3- for example, 6/8
time has two beats per measure c) the note that gets the beat in compound time is a dotted note that is the next larger note
value than the bottom number of the bottom number. For example 6/8 the 8 stands for an eighth note, so the next larger
note is a quarter note, dot the quarter note and you have the note that gets the beat, a dotted quarter note
Single Meter- one beat Duple Meter- two beats
Quadruple Meter- four beats
Triple Meter- three beats
Four orchestral instrument families- Brass(vibration of the lips), Percussion(hitting, rubbing or shaking), String(plucking or
bowing a string), Woodwind(air blowing across an edge)
Dynamic
ppp- pianississimo- very very soft
pp- pianissimo- very soft
p- piano- soft
mp- mezzo piano- medium soft
mf- mezzo forte -medium loud
f- forte- loud
ff- fortissimo- very loud
fff- fortississimo- very, very loud
introduction- music at the beginning
interlude- music in the middle
coda- a short section of music added at the end of a
composition
theme and variations- a composition that is based on a
melody(theme) that has changes (variations) made to the
theme on each repetition
I IV V chords- the most common harmony in music
Scale – pitches climbing step by step
Vocal Ranges
Soprano- highest female voice
Mezzo soprano-second highest female voice
Alto- lowest female voice
Tenor- highest male voice
Baritone- second highest male voice
Bass- lowest male voice
Interval- distance between two pitches
Whole step- made of two ½ steps
Half Step- smallest interval in “Western” music
Major Scale- a scale having half steps between 3-4 and
7-8(all other consecutive steps are whole steps)
Minor Scale - a scale having half steps between
2-3and 5-6 (all other consecutive steps are whole steps)
Pentatonic Scale- five tone scale(major scale with the 4th
and 7th steps missing)
Chromatic Scale- a scale made of all ½ steps