Glossary of music terms

accidental

A sign before a note that raises or lowers it: a sharp, a flat, a natural, a double sharp or a double flat. It holds until the end of the measure.

bar line

A vertical line across the staff that separates one measure from the next.

bass clef

The F clef: its two dots surround the second line from the top, where the F below middle C is written. Used for low voices and the left hand of the piano.

beat

The steady pulse of music, the thing you tap your foot to. Note values are counted in beats.

chord

Three or more notes sounded together.

clef

The sign at the start of the staff that tells which notes its lines stand for.

dotted note

A dot after a note makes it half as long again: a dotted half note lasts three quarter notes.

double flat

The sign 𝄫 lowers a note by two semitones, that is, by a whole tone.

double sharp

The sign 𝄪 raises a note by two semitones, that is, by a whole tone.

enharmonic notes

Notes that are written differently but sound the same, such as C sharp and D flat.

flat

The sign ♭ lowers a note by one semitone: on the piano, the very next key to the left.

interval

The distance in pitch between two notes, sounded together or one after another.

key (tonality)

A mode built on a particular note: C major is the major mode with C as its tonic.

key signature

The sharps or flats written right after the clef. They hold for the whole piece and show its key.

ledger line

A short extra line above or below the staff for a note that does not fit on the five lines.

major

The mode with a major third above the tonic. It sounds bright.

measure

A stretch of music between two bar lines. Every measure holds the number of beats given by the time signature.

melody

A succession of notes heard as one line: the tune.

metronome

A device that clicks out the beats at a set tempo. Before a rhythm exercise it counts in: those first clicks are not part of the music.

minor

The mode with a minor third above the tonic. It sounds darker than major.

mode

A system of notes that lean on one another and on a home note. Major and minor are the two most common modes.

natural sign

The sign ♮ cancels a sharp or a flat: the note is played unaltered again.

note

The sign for one musical sound. Its place on the staff shows the pitch, its shape shows how long it lasts.

octave

The distance from a note to the next note of the same name, twelve semitones away; also the group of notes from one C to the next.

pitch

How high or low a sound is.

rest (silence)

A sign for silence of a set length. Every note value has a rest of the same length.

rhythm

The pattern of long and short sounds and silences in time.

scale

The notes of a key in order, step by step, from the tonic to the tonic an octave higher.

semitone

The smallest distance between two notes in Western music: from any piano key to the very next one, black or white.

seventh chord

A chord of four notes stacked in thirds: a triad with one more third on top.

sharp

The sign ♯ raises a note by one semitone: on the piano, the very next key to the right.

staff

Five parallel lines on which music is written. Notes sit on the lines and in the spaces between them: the higher on the staff, the higher the sound.

tempo

How fast the beats follow one another, measured in beats per minute.

tie

A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch: they sound as one note of their combined length.

time signature

Two numbers after the clef: the upper one says how many beats a measure has, the lower one which note value is one beat.

tonic

The home note of a key: its first and most stable note, where music comes to rest.

treble clef

The G clef: its curl wraps around the second line from the bottom, where the G above middle C is written. Used for high voices and the right hand of the piano.

triad

A chord of three notes stacked in thirds: the root, the third and the fifth.

whole tone

Two semitones: the distance between two piano keys with exactly one key between them.