STUDY
GUIDE
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A Tempo - back to original tempo |
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Accelerando (Accel.)
- gradually faster |
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Adagio - slow |
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Agitato - agitated or nervous |
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Alla Marcia - in the style
of a march |
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Allargando - growing broader; louder, slower |
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Allegretto - little bit fast-not as fast as
allegro |
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Allegro - fast |
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Andante - slow walking tempo |
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Andantino - little bit slow-not as slow as
andante |
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Animato - animated |
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Cantabile - in a singing style (Cantor-Singer) |
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Con - with |
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Con Fuoco - with
fire |
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Con Moto - with
motion |
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Da Capo - from the beginning |
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Dal Segno - from the sign |
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Dolce - sweetly |
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Espressivo (espr.)
- expressively |
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Giocoso - in a jovial mood |
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Leggiero - lightly; swiftly |
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Lento - slow |
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L'istesso Tempo - same tempo |
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Maestoso - majestically |
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Marcato - marked and somewhat detached |
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Meno – less |
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Moderato - Moderate tempo |
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Molto - much |
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Morendo - dying away |
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Mosso - motion |
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Pesante - played heavily |
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Piu - more |
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Poco a Poco
- little by little |
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Presto - very fast |
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Rallentando (Rall.)
- Gradually slower |
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Sempre - Always or in the
same manner |
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sfz - one note played
with force and emphasis |
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Simile - in the similar style |
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Sordino - mute |
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Staccato - light and somewhat detached |
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Stringendo - nervous (high
strung); agitated-gets faster |
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Subito - suddenly |
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Tacet - omit; no part for
this instrument |
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Tempo di Valse - waltz style - usually conducted in 1 |
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Tenuto - Sostenuto -
sustained |
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Troppo - too (much) |
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Tutti - Everyone plays |
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Unis. – all play the same
part |
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Vivace - fast; firey |
Determining the number of flats or
sharps in a scale
Sharps:
The order of the sharps is: FCGDAEB
To determine how many sharps are in a scale, you must see how sharps are in the key signature and find the last sharp. This sharp is the leading tone of the scale it represents (Scale degree number 7). If you go up one note you will know the name of the scale.
Example: If D is the last sharp, then you are playing in the key of E.
Flats:
The order of the flats is the exact opposite of the order of the sharps, it is:
Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
To determine how many flats are in a scale, you must see how many flats are in the key signature and find the next to the last flat. This will determine what scale you are playing.
Example: If you have four flats they are Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db. The next to the last flat is Ab. Therefore, you are playing in the key of Ab.
Transpositions
C - 0
Bb - up 2
F - up 5
Eb - up 6
¨ Example: If you were a Eb instrument and were asked to play in Db concert , you would play which of the following scales?
A) Eb scale B) Ab scale C) Bb scale D) F scale E) B scale
1) Figure out what the Dd concert scale is: Dd, Ed, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C ,Dd
2) Now count up six notes (remember to count the first note as 1): Db - 1, Eb - 2, F - 3, Gb - 4, Ab - 5, Bb - 6.
3) The answer is: letter C, the Bb scale.
¨ Another example: IF you were a Bb instrument and were asked to play in C concert, you would play which of the following scales?
A) Db scale B) G scale C) F scale D) D scale E) E scale
1) Figure out what the C scale is" C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
2) Now count up 2 notes (remember to count the first note as 1): C - 1, D - 2
3) The answer is letter D, the D scale.
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General Music Questions
¨ A tenuto is a straight line that is placed over the top of a note. This is a type of articulation marking that signifies that the composer wants the note to be sustained its full value.
¨ A staccato mark is used to shorten the length of a note. The length of the note is determined by the tempo and style the music is written in.
¨ Why is it important to play to the end of a phrase? A phrase is a musical thought. When you don't complete a phrase correctly, it is the same as singing the National Anthem and saying the words "Oh, say can you …… " It only makes sense to finish the musical thought before you begin again. The same can be said for not finishing a ……...
¨ Where you breathe in a phrase also makes a difference in its interpretation. In your music " , " are used to signify breath marks. Breath marks are small interruptions the musical phrase that are used to allow the musicians the opportunity to refill their lungs and finish the musical statement.
¨ What does the following mean? MM = 180
It signifies how many beats there are per minute. In this case, there are 180 beats/minute.
¨ When you are asked to sight-read a selection of music there are several steps that you must consider. These steps are listed in sequential order of importance:
1) Look at the Key signature 2) Look at the Time Signature 3) Look at the tempo markings 4) Look at the rhythms and find the difficult measures 5) Look at the articulation markings 6) Look at the dynamic markings 7) Look for the signs (D.C. or D.S. , Repeat signs, and Coda markings).