Learning even a minimal amount of music notation and terminology can greatly increase your enjoyment playing the piano. But which terms should you learn? If you browse through a music dictionary, there are an overwhelming number of terms, often followed by lengthy, technical definitions. And on sheet music, you will see unfamiliar symbols, and, not knowing their names, you will be unable to look them up in a straight-forward manner.
Because of this, I have wanted to make a short list of some of the most often encountered terms and symbols. Then I could give definitions that apply specifically to the piano, and, in addition, point out some interesting things associated with these terms. Unfortunately, it has become clear to me that I am just not going to have time to do this. I can supply the list, but you will have to do all the rest yourself by using various online or hardcopy dictionaries of music notation.
Look up each word in the list below. Memorize the term, learn the meaning, and get a mental picture of the notation that will be used in the sheet music. Learn them at your leisure and have fun!
8, 8VA, 8VA bassa
augmentation dot
beam
bar line
bass clef
chord
common time, half time
DS coda
DC coda
flag
flat, sharp, double flat, double sharp, natural
grand staff
hold/pause/fermata
key signature
ledger line
measure
middle C location (just below trademark on piano)
notes (whole, half , quarter, eighth)
octave
phrase, paragraph, period, stanza
rests (full, half, quarter )
repetition
staccato
slur
section repetition
staff
stem
stave
treble clef
triplet
tremelo
trill
tie
tuplets
waltzClick the Back button in your browser
or