Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Music terms - trivia 10

1) What does D.C. al Fine mean?

a) to go back to the Segno sign and play until the ending at Fine
b) to repeat from the beginning and play until the ending at Fine

2) What does D.S. mean?

a) to go back to the Segno sign and play until the ending at D.S.
b) to repeat from the beginning and play until the ending at D.S.

Check comments for the answers.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Notes - trivia 13

1) How many thirty-second notes equal a whole note?

a) 32
b) 64

2) How many sixty-fourth notes equal a whole note?

a) 64
b) 128

Check comments for the answers.

Notes - trivia 12

1) How many eighth notes equal a whole note?

a) 7
b) 8

2) How many sixteenth notes equal a whole note?

a) 15
b) 16

Check comments for the answers.

Notes - trivia 11

1) How many half notes equal a whole note?

a) 2
b) 3

2) How many quarter notes equal a whole note?

a) 3
b) 4

Check comments for the answers.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

D.S. al Coda

D.S. al Coda means to go back to the Segno sign, repeat to the Coda sign, skip to the Coda section and play until the ending.

D.C. al Coda

D.C. al Coda means to repeat from the beginning to the Coda sign, then skip to the Coda section and play until the ending.

D.S.

D.S. or Dal Segno means to go back to the Segno sign and play until the ending at D.S.

D.C.

D.C. or Da Capo means to repeat from the beginning and play until the ending at D.C.

D.S. al Fine

D.S. al Fine means to go back to the Segno sign and play until the ending at Fine.

D.C. al Fine

D.C. al Fine means to repeat from the beginning and play until the ending at Fine.

Modes - trivia 3

1) Which mode has the same notes as a major scale?

a) Ionian
b) Locrian

2) Which mode has the same notes as a natural minor scale?

a) Lydian
b) Aeolian

Check comments for the answers.

Modes - trivia 2

1) Which note of a major scale does the Locrian mode start on?

a) seventh
b) eighth

2) Which note of a major scale does the Dorian mode start on?

a) first
b) second

Check comments for the answers.

Modes - trivia 1

1) How many modes are there?

a) 6
b) 7

2) Which note of a major scale does the Ionian mode start on?

a) first
b) second

Check comments for the answers.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Music terms - trivia 9

1) What does pianississimo mean?

a) very, very soft
b) very, very loud

2) What does a fermata mean?

a) to hold the note shorter
b) to hold the note longer

Check comments for the answers.

Music terms - trivia 8

1) What does largo mean?

a) to play at a very slow tempo
b) to play at a very fast tempo

2) What does dolce mean?

a) to play aggressive
b) to play sweetly and gently

Check comments for the answers.

Music terms - trivia 7

1) What does mano sinistra mean?

a) play with the left hand
b) play with the right hand

2) What does maestoso mean?

a) to play in a majestic way
b) to play very fast

Check comments for the answers.

Notes - facts 19

1) Thirty-two thirty-second notes equal a whole note.

2) Sixty-four sixty-fourth notes equal a whole note.

Notes - facts 18

1) Eight eighth notes equal a whole note.

2) Sixteen sixteenth notes equal a whole note.

Notes - facts 17

1) Two half notes equal a whole note.

2) Four quarter notes equal a whole note.

Modes - facts 6

1) The Ionian mode (first mode) has the same notes as a major scale.

2) The Aeolian mode (sixth mode) has the same notes as a natural minor scale.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Modes - facts 5

1) The Aeolian mode starts on the sixth note of a major scale

2) The Locrian mode starts on the seventh note of a major scale.

Modes - facts 4

1) The Lydian mode starts on the fourth note of a major scale

2) The Mixolydian mode starts on the fifth note of a major scale.

Modes - facts 3

1) The Dorian mode starts on the second note of a major scale

2) The Phrygian mode starts on the third note of a major scale.

Modes - facts 2

1) Each mode starts on a different note of a major scale.

2) The Ionian mode starts on the first note of a major scale.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Modes - facts 1

1) The seven modes are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

2) The mode order can be remembered by "I Don't Play Loud Music Any Longer".

Monday, June 14, 2010

Presto

Presto means to play at a very fast tempo (168-200 bpm).

Mano sinistra

Mano sinistra (MS) means to play with the left hand. The opposite of mano sinistra is mano destra.

Mano destra

Mano destra (MD) means to play with the right hand. The opposite of mano destra is mano sinistra.

Largo

Largo means to play at a very slow tempo (40-60 bpm). It is the same as lento.

Maestoso

Maestoso means to play in a majestic way.

Dolce

Dolce means to play sweetly and gently.

Tempo primo

Tempo primo means to return to the original tempo. It is the same as a tempo.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Slur

A slur means to play the notes smoothly together; legato. It is the opposite of playing staccato. Slurred notes have a curved line above or under them. Slurs are different from ties in that slurs join notes of varying pitches. Ties join notes of the same pitch.

Allegro

Allegro means to play at a fast tempo (120-168 bpm). Allegro is faster than allegretto.

Allegretto

Allegretto means to play at a moderately fast tempo (116 bpm). Allegretto is not as fast as allegro.

Moderato

Moderato means to play at a moderate tempo (108-120 bpm).

Andante

Andante means to play at a walking tempo, moderately slow (76-108 bpm).

Fortississimo

Fortississimo means very, very loud. It is indicated by a fff.

Pianississimo

Pianississimo means very, very soft. It is indicated by a ppp.

Fermata

A fermata means to hold the note longer. Fermata notes have a dot and a half circle above or below them.

Accent

A accent means to play the note louder than the other notes. Accent notes have a right arrow (>) above or below them.

Marcato

A marcato means to play the note much louder than the other notes. Marcato notes have a right arrow facing up (^) above or below them.

Pianissimo

Pianissimo means very soft. It is indicated by a pp.

Fortissimo

Fortissimo means very loud. It is indicated by a ff.

Piano

Piano means soft. It is indicated by a p.

Forte

Forte means loud. It is indicated by a f.

Mezzo piano

Mezzo piano means moderately soft. It is indicated by a mp.

Mezzo forte

Mezzo forte means moderately loud. It is indicated by a mf.

Pianos - trivia 3

1) Where is the soft pedal on a piano?

a) the right most pedal
b) the left most pedal

2) What is the damper pedal also called?

a) loud pedal
b) sustain pedal

Check comments for the answers.

Rests - trivia 2

1) Which line does a whole rest hang from on a staff?

a) third
b) fourth

2) Which line does a half rest sit on?

a) third
b) fourth

Check comments for the answers.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

a tempo

a tempo means to return to the original tempo. It is the same as tempo primo.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Intervals - facts 4

1) Harmonic intervals are when two notes are written one above the other and played at the same time.

2) Melodic intervals are when two notes are played one after the other.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Scales - facts 13

1) The relative minor scale of a major scale is three semitones lower.

2) The relative major scale of a minor scale is three semitones higher.

Scales - facts 12

1) Compared to a natural minor scale, in a harmonic minor scale, the 7th note is raised a semitone, ascending and descending.

2) The natural minor scales have a subtonic for the 7th note rather than a leading tone.

Scales - facts 11

1) Compared to a natural minor scale, in a melodic minor scale, the 6th and 7th notes are raised a semitone.

2) When a melodic minor scale is descending, the 6th and 7th notes are normal.