Ap Music Theory Chapter 1 Real Key Terms

Front 1

staff

Back 1

five horizontal lines spaced equal distances apart.

Front 2

Letter names

Back 2

The various pitches are referred to by the first seven letters of the alphabet.

Front 3

staff

Back 3

five horizontal lines spaced equal distances apart.

Front 4

Letter names

Back 4

The various pitches are referred to by the first seven letters of the alphabet.

Front 5

Clefs

Back 5

A symbol placed at the beginning of a line of music that establishes the letter names of the lines and spaces of the staff

Front 6

Treble Clef

Back 6

An ornate letter G. The curved line terminates at the second line of the staff, thus designating the letter name of a note on that line as G

Front 7

Bass Clef

Back 7

Derived from the letter F. The dots are placed above and below the fourth line of the staff, designating that line as F.

Front 8

Grand Staff

Back 8

Together the treble and bass staves make up a grand staff.

Front 9

Middle C

Back 9

The point at which the two staves converge. The two C's are the same pitch: middle C.

Front 10

Ledger Lines

Back 10

Pitches that go beyond the limits of the staff are written by adding ledger lines.

Front 11

C Clef

Back 11

The C Clefs are a set of movable clefs that designate middle C. The crotch of the C clef is on C.

Front 12

Accidentals

Back 12

symbols that are placed to the left of the note heads to indicate the raising or lowering of a pitch.

Front 13

Sharp

Back 13

#, raises the pitch a half step

Front 14

Flat

Back 14

b, lowers the pitch a half step

Front 15

Natural

Back 15

cancels any previous sharp or flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered, pitch.

Front 16

Double sharp

Back 16

x, raises the pitch two half steps

Front 17

Double Flat

Back 17

bb, lowers the pitch two half steps

Front 18

Intervals

Back 18

the relationship between two tones

Front 19

Enharmonic Equivalents

Back 19

tones that have the same pitch but different letter names.

Front 20

Meter

Back 20

A regular, recurring pattern of strong and weak beats.

Front 21

Meter Signature (Time Signature)

Back 21

identifies the recurring pattern of durations at the beginning of a composition.

Front 22

Simple Meter

Back 22

Each beat is divided in two parts (simple division). The upper numbers in simple meter time signatures are usually 2, 3, or 4.

Front 23

Compound Meter

Back 23

each pulse is a dotted note, which is divided into groups of three parts (compound division). The most common compound meter signatures are 68, 98, and 128

Front 24

Complex Meter

Back 24

indicates the pulse cannot be divided into equal groups of 2 or 3. The upper numbers in complex meters are usually 5 or 7.

Front 25

Syncopation

Back 25

If a part of the measure that is usually unstressed is accented, the rhythm is considered to be syncopated.

Front 26

Liber Usualis

Back 26

The first great book of musical notation, spawned modern musical notation. Collected and transcribed by the Benedictine monks in the 16th century.