Music Theory Basics Flashcards
Grade 6 · Music · Flashcards
Review essential music theory vocabulary including notes, rhythm values, scales, and notation symbols.
Flashcards
- Staff (stave)
- Five horizontal lines on which music is notated; notes placed on lines and spaces indicate pitch.
- Treble clef
- A symbol (resembling a stylized G) placed on the staff to indicate higher pitches; used for violin, flute, and right hand of piano.
- Bass clef
- A symbol placed on the staff to indicate lower pitches; used for cello, tuba, and left hand of piano.
- Whole note
- Receives 4 beats; looks like an open oval with no stem.
- Half note
- Receives 2 beats; looks like an open oval with a stem.
- Quarter note
- Receives 1 beat; looks like a filled oval with a stem.
- Eighth note
- Receives half a beat; looks like a filled oval with a stem and one flag (or beam when grouped).
- Rest
- A symbol indicating a period of silence for a specific duration, equivalent to a note of the same value.
- Measure (bar)
- A unit of music between two bar lines on the staff, containing a fixed number of beats determined by the time signature.
- Time signature
- Two numbers stacked at the beginning of a piece; top = beats per measure, bottom = note value that gets one beat.
- Major scale
- An eight-note sequence following the pattern: W-W-H-W-W-W-H (whole and half steps), creating a bright, happy sound.
- Tempo
- The speed of a piece of music, indicated by Italian terms (allegro = fast, adagio = slow) or BPM (beats per minute).
- Pitch
- The highness or lowness of a musical note, determined by the frequency of vibration.
- Dynamics
- The volume level of music; from pianissimo (very soft) to fortissimo (very loud).
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