02/11 2. Reading and Understanding Musical Notation Free Online FlashCards

What is a musical staff?

A staff has five horizontal lines and four spaces, counted from the bottom upward.

When are ledger lines used?

Ledger lines are short additional lines used for pitches above or below the staff.

What is the grand staff?

The grand staff combines two staves: usually treble clef above and bass clef below.

What pitch does the treble clef identify?

The treble clef places G above middle C on the second line of the staff.

What does a key signature indicate?

A key signature identifies recurring altered pitches, but it does not by itself prove whether the key is major or relative minor.

What does a sharp do?

A sharp raises a note by one half step.

What is the major-scale interval pattern?

The major-scale pattern is whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

How is an interval number determined?

Count the letter names inclusively. For example, C to E is a third and C to G is a fifth.

What does a tie indicate?

A tie connects notes of the same pitch and combines their durations into one sustained sound.

What does a dot add to a note?

A dot adds one-half of the original note or rest value. A dotted half note therefore equals three quarter-note beats.

What do the numbers in a time signature mean?

The top number shows how many beat units are in each measure; the bottom number identifies the note value serving as the unit.

How is 6/8 commonly felt?

In 6/8, six written eighth-note units are commonly felt as two main beats, each divided into three eighth notes.