TASC Music flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Treble clef

A clef whose spiral circles the second line from the bottom of the staff, fixing that line as G above middle C; also called the G clef, used for higher voices and instruments.

Bass clef

A clef whose two dots bracket the second line from the top of the staff, fixing that line as F below middle C; also called the F clef, used for lower voices and instruments.

Middle C

The pitch C nearest the center of the piano keyboard, written on one ledger line below the treble staff or one ledger line above the bass staff; it links the two staves.

Dotted note

A note followed by a dot, which adds half of that note's original value to its duration; a dotted half note therefore lasts three beats in a 4/4 measure.

Tie versus slur

A tie connects two consecutive notes of the same pitch, combining their durations into one sound; a slur connects different pitches, indicating smooth legato articulation.

Time signature meaning

Two stacked numbers at the start of a piece: the top tells how many beats per measure, the bottom tells which note value receives one beat, as in 4/4 or 6/8.

Sharp key order

Sharps appear in key signatures in the fixed order F, C, G, D, A, E, B; the final sharp sits one half step below the major key's tonic.

Flat key order

Flats appear in key signatures in the fixed order B, E, A, D, G, C, F; the second-to-last flat names the major key, except in F major, which has one flat.

Enharmonic spelling

Two note names that sound the same pitch but are written differently, such as F-sharp and G-flat; spelling choice depends on the key and harmonic function.

Interval inversion

When an interval is inverted by moving the lower note up an octave, the size numbers add to nine and major swaps with minor while perfect stays perfect.

Rest values

Silence written with matching symbols: whole rest hangs below the fourth line, half rest sits on the third line, quarter rest is a squiggle, and eighth rest has one hook.

Accidental

A symbol placed before a note that alters its pitch for the measure: sharp raises a half step, flat lowers one, natural cancels a previous alteration.

Octave and register

The distance of eight letter names between two pitches where the higher has twice the frequency of the lower; register describes how high or low a sound lies.

Major scale pattern

The sequence of whole and half steps 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 between successive scale degrees, producing a major scale such as C D E F G A B C.

Natural minor scale

The scale pattern 2-1-2-2-1-2-2, which lowers scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 relative to the parallel major; also called the Aeolian mode.

Harmonic minor scale

A natural minor scale with scale degree 7 raised by a half step, creating a leading tone and an augmented second between degrees 6 and 7.

Major triad

A three-note chord built of a root, third, and fifth, containing a major third then a minor third; for example C-E-G.

Minor triad

A three-note chord built of a root, third, and fifth, containing a minor third then a major third; for example A-C-E.

Diminished triad

A three-note chord made of two stacked minor thirds, spanning a diminished fifth from root to fifth; it occurs naturally on scale degree 7 of a major key.

Authentic cadence

A harmonic close moving from the dominant chord to the tonic, V to I; it gives the strongest sense of final resolution in tonal music.

Plagal cadence

A cadence moving from the subdominant chord to the tonic, IV to I; often called the amen cadence because of its use at hymn endings.

Deceptive cadence

A cadence where the dominant chord resolves unexpectedly to the submediant, V to vi, delaying rather than confirming the tonic arrival.

Ternary form

A three-part musical structure diagrammed ABA, where a contrasting middle section is followed by a return of the opening material.

Rondo form

A form built on a recurring main theme alternating with contrasting episodes, commonly diagrammed ABACA or ABACABA.

Theme and variations

A form in which an initial melody is presented and then repeated in altered versions, changing elements such as rhythm, harmony, texture, or instrumentation.

Sonata form

A large-scale structure with three main stages: exposition presenting themes, development transforming them, and recapitulation restating them in the home key.

Dynamics markings

Symbols indicating loudness, ordered from soft to loud as pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff; crescendo means growing louder and diminuendo means growing softer.

Tempo terms

Italian speed indications ordered slow to fast: largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto; ritardando slows gradually while accelerando speeds up.

Instrument families

Groups of instruments classified by sound production: strings (bowed or plucked), woodwinds (air through reed or edge), brass (buzzing lips), and percussion (struck or shaken).

Transposing instruments

Instruments whose written pitch differs from sounding pitch, such as a B-flat trumpet, which sounds a major second lower than written.

Texture in music

How melodic lines combine: monophonic has one line, homophonic has melody with chordal accompaniment, and polyphonic has two or more independent simultaneous melodies.

Circle of fifths

A diagram arranging keys by perfect fifths; moving clockwise adds sharps, moving counterclockwise adds flats, and adjacent keys differ by one accidental.