Reference
Glossary
A
Accidental
These are small symbols within the music that alert
the player that they need to alter a note into a sharp
or a flat or a natural.Arpeggio
A collection of notes in a chord, played one by one
up or down the keyboard, instead of at the same
time as you would play a full chord.Articulations
Articulations tell you to play each note in a particular
style, expressed by little symbols near the note.
Some of these include:t4UBDDBUP
To play in a clipped, short fashion, shown by a small
dot either above or below a note.t-FHBUP
To smoothly slur the notes together, shown by
curved lines which link notes.t"DDFOU
Tells you to add some extra oomph to a note,
shown with a right-facing ‘open-wedge’ shape.B
Bar
Divide the stave into measured sections. Each
measure ties in with the time signature, for example
in 4/4 time, each bar will contain four crotchet/
quarter note beats.Beat
A measured unit of time in a piece of music. The
time signature organises the number of beats per
bar and also dictates the length of a beat. The
speed of the beat is dictated by the song’s tempo.C
Chord
A chord is a group of notes, usually three or four,
played all at the same time.Clef
The symbol right at the start of each stave. It tells
you which pitch to allocate to the notes of the stave.D
Dynamics
Instructions within the music relating to its volume.
They will be in the form of symbols (such as a
crescendo) or Italian words such as piano (quiet) or
forte (loud).t.F[[PGPSUF
Mezzo means ‘medium’ and it’s often added before
a word for a moderate effect, for example mezzo
forte means ‘medium loud’ and mezzo piano
‘medium quiet’.t1JBOJTTJNP
It is not uncommon to see a fair number of ‘iss’
added to a word, which exaggerate its effect. Eg,
fortississimo means very, very loud and pianissimo
means very quiet.E
F
Flat
An accidental that looks like a squashed b, which
alters a note by decreasing its pitch by a semitone.G
H
I
J
K
,FZTJHOBUVSF
A collection of sharps or flats expressing the key
of the song, found at the beginning of the stave.
Symbols are on the line or in the space that the note
occupies. If a flat symbol is placed on the centre line
on the treble clef, every B note that you play will be
a B flat, unless its cancelled out by an accidental.L
-FEHFSMJOFT
When notes are higher or lower than the reach of
the stave lines, they are placed with ledger lines that
extend the stave.M
.BKPS
Jolly, happy-sounding notes characterise a major
scale or key..JEEMF$
The middle-most C key on your keyboard, it sits in
the middle of the grand stave in notation and it’s
also generally the divide between the notes played
by your right and left hands.i"SUJDVMBUJPOTUFMMZPVUPQMBZFBDIOPUFJO
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