Group of sharps or flats at the beginning of each piece of music; denotes the key of the piece.

A single segment of music; length determined by time signature.

Single vertical line used to divide a musical staff into measures.

Two vertical lines (one thicker) that indicates the end of a composition.

Symbol placed at the beginning of the staff for notes sounding higher than “middle c.”

Symbol placed at the beginning of the staff for notes sounding lower that “middle c.”

Symbol that indicates a section of music should be repeated.

Set of five horizontal lines and four spaces each represent a different musical pitch.

The pace, or speed, of music.

Loudness or softness of a sound, specified by symbols.

The way time is organized in a piece, combinations and divisions of beat to create long and short sounds.

The steady pulse of a piece of music; equal segments of time into which music is divided.

The highness or lowness of a sound; illustrated by a notes position on the staff.

The distance between two pitches.

A line of notes that moves upward, downward, or repeats; the main, most recognizable line of a song.

When two or more notes sound at the same time; the complimentary line or lines of a song.

Symbol that raises the sound of a pitch by one half step (#).

Symbol that lowers the sound of a pitch one half step (b).

Symbol that tells the musician to play the pitches original sound; cancels out a sharp or flat from the key signature or earlier in the measure.

The “shape” of a melody; made by the way it moves up or down by steps, leaps, or repeated notes.

Dynamic telling the musician to play soft (p).

Dynamic telling the musician to play loud (f).

Dynamic telling the musician to play medium-soft (mp).

Tells the musician to start quietly, then get louder; appears as a symbol in the music or is often abbreviate: crec. (<).

Tells the musician to start loudly, then get softer; appears as a symbol in the music or is often abbreviate: decresc. (>).

Dynamic telling the musician to play medium-loud (mf).

Tells the musician to play notes short and detached; sometimes notated by dots above each note.

Tells the musician to play smoothly; sometimes notated by an arching line over many notes.

Tells the musician to slow down while playing; often abbreviated: rit.

Tells the musician to speed up while playing; often abbreviated: accel.

Symbol telling the musician to play notes stronger or louder than those around it.

“Happy” sounding; used to describe a scale or key that contains a major third from its first to third note.

“Sad” sounding; used to describe a scale or key that contains a minor (or lowered) third between its first and third note.

Arched line that connects two notes of the same pitch so the musician plays only one sustained note.

An arched line between/over two or more notes of different pitches that tell the musician to play the notes without separation.

A symbol that tells musicians to play the note for its full value.

Dynamic telling the musician to play extra-soft (pp).

Dynamic telling the musician to play extra-loud (ff).

A louder version of a regular accent, tells the musician to play more forcefully than the notes around it.

Part of a rhythmic symbol; adds half the value of the symbol its attached to.