Music Terms (Beginner)

Front 1

Accelerando

Back 1

tempo gets gradually faster

Front 2

Accidental

Back 2

symbols such as sharps or flats and naturals that raise or lower and pitch

Front 3

Adagio

Back 3

slow speed (not too slow)

Front 4

Allegro

Back 4

fast tempo/speed

Front 5

Adante

Back 5

play/sing the music at a moderately low speed

Front 6

Bar Line

Back 6

a vertical line on the staff to separate measures in a composition

Front 7

Beam

Back 7

a straight line connecting two or more notes such as eighth and sixteenth notes

Front 8

Beat

Back 8

a musical pulse or unit of time/the steady pulse of music

Front 9

Chord

Back 9

a combination of three or more notes sounding at the same time/multiple notes sounding simultaneously

Front 10

Clef

Back 10

a symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to indicate names of lines and spaces

Front 11

Conductor

Back 11

the director of a group of musicians

Front 12

Crescendo

Back 12

gradually get louder

Front 13

Decrescendo

Back 13

gradually get softer

Front 14

Dot

Back 14

a small symbol placed to the right of a note that increases the duration of the note by one half

Front 15

Dynamics

Back 15

symbols that indicate a change in volume of a song

Front 16

Enharmonic

Back 16

two notes that sound the same but are spelled differently

Front 17

Fermata

Back 17

a pause in the music, indicated by the sign

Front 18

Flat

Back 18

a symbol written to the left of a note that lowers the pitch by a half step

Front 19

Forte

Back 19

loud

Front 20

Half Step

Back 20

the distance between one key and the next adjacent white or black key on a keyboard

Front 21

Interval

Back 21

the difference in pitch between two notes

Front 22

Largo

Back 22

slow and stately

Front 23

Ledger Line

Back 23

a small line written above or below the staff to extend the range of notation

Front 24

Legato

Back 24

playing notes in a smooth, connected manner

Front 25

Measure

Back 25

the space between one bar line and the next

Front 26

Moderato

Back 26

medium tempo/speed

Front 27

Octave

Back 27

the interval between two adjacent notes of the same name

Front 28

Orchestra

Back 28

a large groups of instrumentalists consisting of woodwind, brass, string, and percussion

Front 29

Pentatonic

Back 29

a scale having five tones to octave, usually avoiding half steps

Front 30

Phrase

Back 30

a complete musical thought

Front 31

Piano

Back 31

soft

Front 32

Pizzicato

Back 32

pluck strings instead of bowing

Front 33

Presto

Back 33

very fast tempo or speed

Front 34

Recorder

Back 34

an end-blown flute-like instrument that has a whistle mouthpiece, available in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass

Front 35

Refrain

Back 35

the melody of a song that is repeated after each verse

Front 36

Repeat Sign

Back 36

a sign that indicates a section of music to be played again

Front 37

Rest

Back 37

a symbol used to indicate silence in music

Front 38

Sharp

Back 38

a symbol written to the left of a note that raises the pitch by a half step

Front 39

Slur

Back 39

a curved line connecting two or more different notes, indicating to play the music smoothly

Front 40

Staccato

Back 40

a dot over or under notes that indicate playing the music short and detached

Front 41

Staff

Back 41

horizontal lines on which notes are written

the musical staff has five line and four spaces

Front 42

Syncopation

Back 42

a rhythm accented on notes that are not usually stressed

Front 43

Tempo

Back 43

the speed of a composition

Front 44

Tie

Back 44

a curved line connecting two notes indicated to play them as a single note

Front 45

Vivace

Back 45

lively and quick tempo

Front 46

Whole Step

Back 46

a whole step is equal to two half steps