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Musical Terminology

Musical terms are words and phrases that are specific to reading, writing, and playing music.

500 Questions

How many semi-quavers are there in a breve?

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Semi quavers refer to sixteenth notes, and breves are double whole notes. In 4/4 time, semi quavers last 1/4 beats and breves last for 8 beats. So if there are 4 semi quavers in a crotchet and 8 crotchets in a breve, there are 32 semi quavers in a breve.

What is semitones?

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It is half a note in pitch

What is a chromatic scale in musical terms?

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A chromatic scale is a scale where each note of it is separated by a semiton - that is - it includes all the notes that exist.

C1, C1#, D1, D1#, E1, F1, F1# ... B1, C2, C2#, D2... etc

For instance, in a keyboard that would mean you'd play all the white and black keys sucessively.

What is swing in musical terms?

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In the most common senses of the word, to swing, or a swing, or swing, is to move backwards and forwards from a fixed position, the manner in which something is swung, a dance style, or a hanging seat in a children's playground.

What is the proper way of writing a time signature?

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The easiest way to do this is to listen to the piece, lightly tapping your finger to the beat...

Now the harder part is to find where the strong beat falls and to decide whether this is in Simple or in Compound time. try counting along with your tapping and feel the strong beat.

If you are feeling 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 it is in 2/4 Simple Duple Time

If you are feeling 1+a 2+a 1+a 2+a it is in 6/8 Compound Duple Time

1 2 3 1 2 3 it is in 3/4 Simple Triple Time

1+a 2+a 3+a it is in 9/8 Compound Triple Time

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 it is in 4/4 (common time) Simple Quadruple Time

1+a 2+a 3+a 4+a it is in 12/8 Compound Quadruple Time

Duple time will often feel quicker and lighter than 4 / 4

Triple time will feel 'waltz like'

Quadruple Time will feel march like

What does the C in the time signature stand for?

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The C in the time signature indicates that it is in 4/4 time or "common time." If there is a vertical slash through the C in the time signature that means it is in 2/2 time or "cut time."

What time signature is most Japanese taiko music?

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It varies, but most of it is 4/4. However, there are many trills and changes in tempo, so it is hard to tell.

What famous songs are written in alla breve time signature?

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You can find several good examples of alla breve on YOUTUBE of all places. I was searching this myself and it was frustrating, I spent all morning, there are many good examples there on YOUTUBE. Just put ALLA BREVE in their search window, and VOILA>>>>>>from BESSYCERKA in NH.......have fun

What is 'andante ma non troppo' when translated from Italian to English?

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"Moderately slow, but not too slow" is an English equivalent of the Italian phrase andante, ma non troppo lento. The feminine/masculine singular present participle, conjunction, adverbs, and masculine singular adjective translate literally as "(at) walking speed, but not too lengthy (long)" even though the above-mentioned version prevails as part of classical music's terminology and theory. The pronunciation will be "an-DAN-tey ma non TROP-po LEN-to" in Italian.

What is the Fifth note on the diatonic scale?

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This depends entirely on what key you are in.
The fifth note in the musical scale is the Dominant.

In C Major it would be G
In G Major it would be D
In D Major it would be A
In A Major it would be E
In E Major it would be B
In B Major it would be F#
in F# Major it would be C#
and in C# it would be G#

however in flat keys they are as follows

C remains the same (no key signature)
in F major it would be C
in Bb major it would be F
in Eb major it would be Bb
in Ab Major it would be Eb
in Db Major it would br Ab
in Gb major it would be Db
and in Cb major it would be Gb

there are also numerous minor keys to consider (natural, melodic, harmonic, jazz harmonic etc) and also the modes ([not including the major and minor] Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Locrian) which all have a different 5th degree.

In major keys your 5th is a dominant and is usually a 7th chord, (in roman numerals V7 depicting that there is a dominant 7 on the initial root position triad) also each chord of each scale has a 5th,

However in Chords it is the 3rd that denoted major or minor, however in the case of chord 7 (which is dinimished) it is a minor third and a diminished 5th that give it its characteristic tone.

The fifth also is used in most music near the end of a piece or phrase, as part of a perfect cadence, which is the fifth chord going to the tonic (1st chord) this is widely regarded as the strongest way to end a piece of music (in the majority of music from the renaissance up until present day. however there are times where this is not used. for example if the piece is in a minor key, it is not always strong to finish on a minor chord as it makes the piece feel unfinished and 'unsatisfied' (as my university lecturer likes to say) in this case a tierce de picadi is used which is ending a minor piece on a major chord, (this can be any chord in the key that is major or even one that is out of the key [usually the tonic chord played as a major]) this gives the piece its finality and also ensures to the listener that the piece is finished. Bach used this a lot in his minor chorales. however it is somtimes used in the middle of a piece at the end of a phrase. to lead into another key or as a point from which to continue in the progression.

For more info it would be better to talk to the music teacher at your school or college, or to go to any music/book store and purchase a music theory book. they would tell you all you needed to know about scales, chords, chord construction, and the use of the fifth in a number of contexts.

How do you write b flat musical terms on the computer?

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If you have the modern resources to do so, in a word document, a symbols button can be seen at the top of the page, this can include flat and other musical symbols. I am not aware of how to do it using a keyboard- but I hope I've helped!

What is the meaning of 4-4 in time signature?

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Five beats to the measure, quarter note equals one beat.

Is moderato faster than allegro?

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Yes.

Grave - Very Slow
Largo, Lento - Slow
Larghetto - A little faster than Largo
Adagio - Moderately Slow
Andante - "Walking" Tempo
Andantino - A little faster than Andante
Allegretto - A little slower than Allegro
Allegro - Fast
Vivace - Lively
Presto - Very Fast
Prestissimo - Very Very Fast
Moderato - Moderate(ly) Fast
Molto - Very

Is mezzo-alto is similar to soprano?

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No, altos are not the same as mezzo-sopranos. Altos are the lowest voice part, followed by mezzo-soprano. While most of the time they sing harmony to sopranos, they are not the same.

What does the bottom number in a time signature?

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The bottom number in a time signature is the denominator of the fraction denoting the note value that gets the beat. So if the bottom number in the time signature is a four, imagine it's the bottom of a fraction with a numerator of 1. 1/4 is a quarter, so the quarter note gets the beat.

How many semiquavers are there in a quaver?

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Two semiquavers are equivalent in duration to the time of a quaver.

What is the time signature of katakataka?

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Kuradang is a dance step and is in 2/4 time

What does ostinato mean?

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It's a phrase of music played repeatedly through a song. e.g. if you are singing a song, you can get someone to say "dudududududududud..." and so on, that is an ostinato. They repeat the phrase of music on and on. You can also have " dingdongdangdingdongdang..." e.t.c :)

:-P happy music playing!

What is dominant in musical terms?

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When working with a scale and chord progressions, each chord used in the scale has a name. The chord built on the first note is the tonic and the chord built on the fifth note is the dominant. It provides a resolution when the music moves from the firth to the first chord. In the key of C, the chord built on the first note, C-E-G, is the tonic chord, and the fifth is based on G-B-D. The dominant is the second most important step in the scale after the tonic.

What is slower than andante?

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Grave, Largo, Lento and Larghetto are all tempos slower than andante

What is the time signature for jar of hearts?

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i believe it's 3/4