TASC Music cheat sheet

The staff has five lines and four spaces; a treble clef curls around the G line (second line from bottom), a bass clef's two dots bracket the F line (second line from top).

Ledger lines extend the staff above or below; middle C sits one ledger line below the treble staff and one ledger line above the bass staff.

Note values in 4/4: whole = 4 beats, half = 2, quarter = 1, eighth = 1/2, sixteenth = 1/4; each dot adds half the note's value.

A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one duration; a slur connects different pitches to be played legato.

Key signatures order sharps F-C-G-D-A-E-B and flats B-E-A-D-G-C-F; the last sharp is a half step below the major tonic, and the second-to-last flat names the major key.

Interval size counts letter names inclusively (C to E is a third); quality (major, minor, perfect, augmented, diminished) depends on semitone count.

Enharmonic equivalents share pitch but differ in spelling, e.g., F-sharp and G-flat; the choice depends on harmonic context and key.

Major scale pattern in semitones: 2-2-1-2-2-2-1; natural minor: 2-1-2-2-1-2-2; harmonic minor raises scale degree 7.

Triad qualities from stacked thirds: major (major third + minor third), minor (minor + major), diminished (minor + minor), augmented (major + major).

Diatonic triads in a major key: I ii iii IV V vi vii° - uppercase major, lowercase minor, ° diminished.

Common cadences: authentic V–I, plagal IV–I, half ending on V, deceptive V–vi.

Simple binary form is AB; ternary is ABA; theme and variations is A A' A''; rondo is ABACA.

Dynamics from soft to loud: pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff; crescendo means growing louder, diminuendo growing softer.

Tempo terms from slow to fast: largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto; a tempo returns to the prior speed after a change.

Instrument families: strings (bowed or plucked), woodwinds (air through reed or edge), brass (buzzing lips), percussion (struck or shaken).