READING MUSIC

B

the 7th note in the scale of C major

bar

one of the short sections of equal length that a piece of music is divided into, and the notes that are in it

bar line

a straight line up and down used in written music to mark a division between bars

bass

the lowest tone or part in music, for instruments or voices

chord

three or more notes played together

clef

a symbol at the beginning of a line of printed music (called a stave or staff) that shows the pitch of the notes on it

coda

the final passage of a piece of music

crescendo

a slow steady increase in how loudly a piece of music is played or sung

crotchet

a note that lasts half as long as a minim

diminuendo

a slow steady decrease in how loudly a piece of music is played or sung

double bar

a pair of straight lines up and down at the end of a piece of music

dynamics

changes in volume in music

flat

used after the name of a note to mean a note a semitone lower

key

on musical instrument: any of the wooden or metal parts that you press to play a piano and some other musical instruments; music: a set of related notes, based on a particular note. Pieces of music are usually written mainly using a particular key

key signature

the set of marks at the beginning of a printed piece of music to show what key the piece is in

measure

one of the short sections of equal length that a piece of music is divided into, and the notes that are in it

minim

a note that lasts twice as long as a crotchet

natural

used after the name of a note to show that the note is neither sharp nor flat. The written symbol is (♮). B natural

notation

a system of signs or symbols used to represent information, especially in mathematics, science and music

octave

the difference (the interval) between the first and last notes in a series of eight notes on a scale

quaver

a note that lasts half as long as a crotchet

rest

a period of silence between notes; a sign that shows a rest between notes

scale

a series of musical notes moving upwards or downwards, with fixed intervals between each note, especially a series of eight starting on a particular note

score

a written or printed version of a piece of music showing what each instrument is to play or what each voice is to sing

semibreve

​enlarge imagea note that lasts as long as four crotchets

semiquarter

imagea note that lasts half as long as a quaver

sharp

used after the name of a note to mean a note a semitone higher

staff

a set of five lines on which music is written

tempo

the speed or rhythm of a piece of music

tie

a curved line written over two notes of the same pitch (= how high or low a note is) to show that they are to be played or sung as one note

time signature

a sign at the start of a piece of music, usually in the form of numbers, showing the number of beats (= units of rhythm) in each

treble

a child’s high voice; a boy who sings with a treble voice