ORELA Music (NT504) cheat sheet

Staff pitch is read by clef: treble clef (G clef) curls around the second line from the bottom, which is G4; bass clef (F clef) dots straddle the fourth line from the bottom, which is F3.

Interval quality depends on semitone count: perfect intervals (unison, 4th, 5th, octave) are perfect when they contain 0, 5, 7, or 12 semitones; major intervals lower by one semitone become minor, and minor lower by one semitone become diminished.

Inverting an interval: the number sums to 9 (3rd becomes 6th) and quality flips between major/minor, while perfect stays perfect and augmented becomes diminished.

Scale degree names: tonic (1), supertonic (2), mediant (3), subdominant (4), dominant (5), submediant (6), leading tone (7, a semitone below tonic; call it subtonic when a whole step below).

Major scale interval pattern is W-W-H-W-W-W-H; natural minor is W-H-W-W-H-W-W; harmonic minor raises 7, melodic minor raises 6 and 7 ascending and reverts to natural minor descending.

Triad construction uses stacked thirds: major = M3 + m3, minor = m3 + M3, diminished = m3 + m3, augmented = M3 + M3; the bass note names the inversion (root position, first inversion = third in bass, second inversion = fifth in bass).

Texture types: monophony (single line), homophony (melody with chordal accompaniment), polyphony (independent simultaneous lines), heterophony (simultaneous variants of one melody), and antiphony (alternating choirs or groups).

Chord progressions are labeled with Roman numerals relative to the key; uppercase = major or augmented triad, lowercase = minor or diminished (e.g., I-vi-IV-V in C major is C-Am-F-G).

Medieval era (c. 500-1400): Gregorian chant is monophonic and modal; organum adds a second voice; the Notre Dame school (Leonin, Perotin) develops florid polyphony; the motet arises in the 13th century.

Renaissance (c. 1400-1600): imitative polyphony peaks in the Josquin-to-Palestrina line; the Mass and motet are central sacred forms; the madrigal is the leading secular form; word painting becomes common.

Baroque (c. 1600-1750): basso continuo, terraced dynamics, and the ritornello form of the concerto grosso; genres include opera, oratorio, cantata, fugue, and suite; J. S. Bach and Handel are the era's endpoints.

Classical (c. 1750-1820): homophonic texture with clear periodic phrasing; sonata form (exposition-development-recapitulation), theme and variations, minuet/scherzo, and rondo; Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven define the Viennese style.

Romantic (c. 1820-1900): expanded harmony and chromaticism, program music and the symphonic poem (Liszt), character pieces (Chopin, Schumann), lieder (Schubert), and national schools (Dvorak, Grieg, the Russian Five).

Twentieth century onward: impressionism (Debussy, Ravel), expressionism and twelve-tone serialism (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern), neoclassicism (Stravinsky), and later aleatory, minimalism (Reich, Glass), and electronic music.

Style identifiers for listening questions: basso continuo and harpsichord signal Baroque; Alberti bass and balanced four-bar phrases signal Classical; dense chromatic harmony and rubato signal Romantic; unresolved dissonance and irregular meter signal modern.

Note values halve in sequence: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth; a dot adds half the note's value, and a tie combines durations across a barline.

Time signature numerator = beats per measure, denominator = note value receiving the beat; 4/4 and 2/2 are simple duple/quadruple, 6/8 is compound duple (two dotted-quarter beats, each dividing into three eighths).

Simple meter subdivides each beat into two; compound meter subdivides each beat into three; the rule for compound signatures is numerator divisible by 3 and greater than 3.

Key signatures follow the order of sharps (F C G D A E B) and flats (B E A D G C F); the last sharp is the leading tone (up a semitone = major key), and the second-to-last flat names the major key.

Relative minor sits a minor third below the major tonic and shares its key signature; the parallel minor shares the tonic but adds three flats (or removes three sharps).

Common tempo markings in order: largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, vivace, presto; ritardando and accelerando change tempo gradually, while rubato is flexible tempo.

Dynamic markings in order: ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff; crescendo and decrescendo indicate gradual change, and sforzando is a sudden accent.

Articulation and ornament symbols: staccato (detached dot), tenuto (full value line), accent (>), fermata (hold), trill (rapid alternation with upper neighbor), and mordent (single rapid alternation).

Learning sequence in the Kodaly approach: prepare, present, and practice; rhythm syllables (ta, ti-ti) and solfege with Curwen hand signs support inner hearing.

Orff-Schulwerk uses speech, movement, singing, and barred percussion (xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels); ostinato and bordun accompaniments are core devices.

Dalcroze eurhythmics teaches rhythm and expression through whole-body movement; Gordon's Music Learning Theory centers on audiation, the ability to hear music in the mind without sound.

Standard ensemble seating and transpositions: B-flat clarinet and trumpet sound a major second lower than written; F horn sounds a perfect fifth lower; double bass sounds an octave lower than written.

Instrument families: woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), strings (violin, viola, cello, bass), percussion (definite and indefinite pitch).

Concert pitch vs. transposed score: a conductor's score may be in C (concert pitch) or transposed, so identify the score type before reading pitches.

Assessment design: use performance rubrics with observable criteria (tone, intonation, rhythm, expression), plus portfolio and self-assessment, and align objectives to national or state music standards.

Rehearsal fundamentals: warm-ups address breath support, tone, and intonation; tuning is checked against a reference pitch; balance and blend are adjusted across sections by dynamic level and role.