Downloadable and printable references
The difference between tied notes and slurred notes in music can cause confusion—which is not surprising, since they are both noted the exact same way! Both slurs and ties are indicated with arc-shaped lines placed either above a grouping of notes (if the notes’ stems are pointing down) or below a grouping of notes (if the stems are pointing up).
Just like notes, rests have precise rhythms; every type of note value has a corresponding rest with the same time value. And although there is no sound, in order to play with rhythmic accuracy, rests must be carefully counted.
The following chart breaks down the types of rests you are most likely to find in music…
n our “Intro to Intervals,” we learned how to recognize major, minor, and perfect intervals—first, recognizing the distance between the two notes on the staff and then counting the precise number of steps between the two pitches. In addition to major, minor, and perfect, there are two other interval qualities that can come into play: augmented and diminished…
To confidently identify intervals, you’ll first need to master your understanding whole-steps and half-steps—also known as tones and semi-tones. A half-step (semi-tone) is two different notes with the smallest possible distance between them—for example, B up to C, or E down to Eb. Think of two frets right next to each other on a guitar, or two keys (including the black keys) right next to each other on the piano. A whole-step (tone) is made up of two half-steps—for example, B up to C#, or E down to D…
Enharmonics are notes that sound at the same pitch but have a different name, such as F# and Gb. Here are a few tips on understanding enharmonics.
Cadences are chord progressions that either break up or conclude a particular section or piece of music. Here are a few different types of cadences.
Understanding less common time signatures can be tricky. Fortunately, we have a few tips to help you count them out and make sense of them.
Many terms we use in music today come from other languages, so it isn’t always easy to determine what they mean. Here is a list of common musical terms.
Musical ornaments, such as grace notes, trills, and turns, are a great way to add color and variation to a melodic line of music.
When playing in cut time, notes are played at half the duration they would normally be played at. A whole note is two beats, a half note is one beat, etc.