Chapter+One

Chapter One Terms and Questions

Define the following terms:

Accidental- An accidental can be a sharp, flat or natural symbol that is placed before a note to raise or lower the pitch.

Clef- The clef is the symbol that appears to the far left of every staff and indicate which line or space represents which pitch.

Alto clef- The alto clef is a C-clef where the middle C is indicated to be on the middle line.

Bass clef- The Bass clef or the F-clef is a clef where the two dots next to the cursive F shape indicate the F below the middle C.

C-clef- The C-clef can appear in different positions on the staff, and the spot where the two curves of the clef joins together indicates where middle C is on the staff.

Tenor clef- Tenor clef is a C-clef where the middle C is indicated to be on the fourth line, the fourth line from the bottom.

Treble clef- The Treble clef or the G-clef is a clef where the end of the central curving line rests on the staff line for G.

Double flat- The double flat is used to lower a note that is already flat by lowering a pitch two half steps below its letter name.

Double sharp- The double sharp is used to raise a note that is already sharp by raising a pitch two half steps above its letter name.

Dynamics- Dynamics tell the musicians how loud or soft to play and can help determine the character of the piece. Enharmonic- The enharmonic is different letter names for the same pitch or pitch class.

Flat- A flat is an accidental that lowers a pitch by one half step.

Grand staff- The Grand staff is two staves, one in the treble clef and one in the bass clef, connected by a curly brace.

Half step- The half step is the interval between any pitch and the next-closest pitch on the keyboard.

Interval- The interval is the musical distance between any two notes.

Ledger Line- Ledger lines are extra lines drawn through the stems or note heads to designate a pitch when the notation extends above or below a staff.

Musical Alphabet- The musical alphabet is the first seven letters of the alphabet used to name musical tones.

Natural- A natural is an accidental that cancels a sharp or a flat.

Octave equivalence- Octave equivalence is the concept that two pitches an octave or eight letter names apart are functionally equivalent, or the same.

Pitch- A pitch is a tone sounding in a particular octave.

Pitch class- A pitch class in comprised of notes an octave or several octaves apart that have the same name.

Sharp- A sharp is an accidental that raises a pitch by one half step.

Staff- The staff is the 5 parallel lines on which we write music.

Whole step- The whole step is the combination of two adjacent half steps.

Questions for review

1. How do the staff and clefs work together to identify letters of the musical alphabet? The clef tells which lines or spaces represent which pitch, and the notes are notated on the lines and spaces. The different lines and spaces represent different tones of the musical alphabet.

2. How can we distinguish between pitches and pitch classes when we name notes? A pitch is a tone sounding in a particular octave. A pitch class is all of the notes that have the same letter name.

3. What is the function of a. C –clef- A C-clef shows the position of middle C on the staff.

b. Accidentals- Accidentals raise or lower pitches.

c. Ledger lines- Ledger lines allow one to notate notes that appear above or below the staff.

4. How do the piano’s white and black keys help us determine whole and half steps? Whole steps always have to have a black key in between the two white keys.

5. What special relationship do B and C have? E and F? There is no black key between B and C or E and F on the piano. Thus, there is a half step between B and C and a half step between E and F.


 * Do not need to study octave numbers.