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Music Facts—Music Theory1. Rhythm and Note Parts
1
Beat
or
Count— the consistent pulse that occurs throughout a rhyme, song or recordedmusical selection. In music, we show the pulse (
or
beats) by tapping our foot. We can say orcount the rhythm by giving each note or rest a number or syllable.
2
Duration—
how long a sound lasts, or the number of beats or counts that a note or rest lasts
3
Notation—the way in which music is written down, usually on a staff, indicating specific pitchesand the duration of each pitch or rest.
4
Rhythm—the notation (or written form) of sound and silence using notes and rests
5
Note—a symbol which shows the duration of the sound and the pitch of the sound
6
Rest—a symbol which shows the duration of silence between notes
7
Note head—the oval shaped part of a note
8
Stem—the vertical line attached to the right orleft side of the note head
9
Flag—a flag-shaped symbol attached to theright side of a stem which changes the durationof a note
10
Stem direction rule—if the note head is on orabove the third line of the staff, the stem goesdown and is attached to the left side. If the notehead is below the third line, the stem goes upand is attached to the right side.
2. Basic Notes and Counting
11
Line notes—notes whose note heads circle a linein the staff
12
Space notes—notes whose note heads arebetween 2 lines in the staff
13
Whole note—4 counts of soundCounting: 1 - - - (wuh-uh-uh-un)
14
Whole rest—one complete measure of silenceCounting: R - - - (reh-eh-eh-est)
15
Half note—2 counts of soundCounting: 1 -,
or
2 -,
or
3 – (wuh-un,
or
too-ooh,
or
three-ee)
16
Half rest—2 counts of silenceCounting: R – (reh-est)
Revised 02/09/081
17
Quarter note—1 count of soundCounting: 1,
or
2,
or
3,
or
4 (one,
or
two,
or
three
or
four)
18
Quarter rest—1 count of silenceCounting: R (rest)
19
Dotted half note—3 counts of soundCounting: 1 - -,
or
2 - - (wuh-uh-un,
or
too-oo-ooh)
20
Te (pronounced TAY)—the syllable for the second half of a count, or the off beat
21
Dotted quarter note—1 ½ counts of soundCounting: 1 -,
or
3 – (wuh-un,
or
three-ee)
22
Eighth note—1/2 count of soundCounting: note on the beat—1,
or
2,
or
3,
or
4;note off the beat—te (pronounced tay)
23
Eighth rest—1/2 count of silenceCounting: r (rest)
24
Eighth notes—2 or more eighth notes beamedtogether. 2 eighth notes equal 1 count.Counting: note on the beat—1,
or
2,
or
3,
or
4;note off the beat—te (pronounced tay)
25
Sixteenth notes—1/4 count of sound. 4 sixteenthnotes equal 1 count.Counting: 1 ta te ta,
or
2 ta te ta,
or
3 ta te ta,
or
4 ta te ta (pronounced tah tay tah)
3. Staff Symbols26
Staff—the five lines and four spaces on whichmusic is written. The lines and spaces arenumbered from the bottom to the top.
27
Bar line—a vertical line which divides the staff into measures
28
Measure—a group of beats and the notes andrests written on the beats in the space between2 bar lines
29
Double bar line—a thin line and a thick linewhich shows the end of a piece of music
Revised 02/09/082
30
Repeat—two dots placed before a double barline, which mean to go back without stopping tothe beginning or to an interior repeat and playagain
31
Clef—a symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to indicate the pitch of the notes on thestaff.
32
Treble clef—the clef sign used for the staff onwhich notes for higher sounding pitches arewritten, also called G clef because it circles theG line
33
Bass clef—the clef sign used for the staff onwhich notes for lower sounding pitches arewritten, also called F clef because the 2 dots areon either side of the F line
34
Ledger—a short line above
or
below the staff used to write notes higher
or
lower than thenotes in the staff
4. Meter and Time Signatures
35
Meter—the grouping of accented and unaccented beats in a pattern of two (ONE, two, ONE,two) or three (ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three) or combinations of two and three, whichgives organization, consistency and flow to the music.
36
Time or Meter Signature—a symbol usually consisting of two numbers. The top number tellshow many counts or beats are in a measure, and the bottom number tells what kind of notegets one beat or count.
37
Revised 02/09/083
4 beats per measureQuarter note gets one beat2 beats per measureQuarter note gets one beat3 beats per measureQuarter note gets one beat4 beats per measureQuarter note gets one beat
Common time—the same as
6 beats per measureEighth note gets one beat2 beats per measureHalf note gets one beat2 beats per measureHalf note gets one beat
Cut time—the same as 2/2
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