Tonal Harmony - Chapter 1

Pitch

• the highness or lowness of a sound

• from any c up or down to the next c

• an extension of lines above or below the five lines and four spaces on the staff

• specific pattern of whole steps and half steps; W W H W W W H

Octave

• all pitches from one C only up to, but not including, the next C

• used to indicate the precise pitch desired

• From any C up or down to the next C

• appears at the beginning of the staff to indicate which pitches are associated with which lines and spaces

All pitches from one C up to, but not including, the next C

Used to indicate the exact pitch desired

Ledger Lines

• the highness or lowness of a sound

• An extension of lines above or below the five lines and four spaces on the staff; indefinitely

• distance from a key on the piano to the very next key, white or black

• used to indicate the exact pitch desired

Appears at the beginning of the staff to indicate which pitches are associated with which lines and spaces; most common are treble, bass, alto, and tenor

Grand Staff

• used to indicate the precise pitch desired

• A combination of two staves joined by a brace (top staff treble, bottom staff bass)

• All pitches from one C up to, but not including, the next C

• specific pattern of whole steps + half steps; W W H W W W H

Major Scale

• four note patterns separated by a whole step (W W H) W (W W H)

• Symbol that raises or lowers a pitch by a half step

• pattern of sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff that indicates notes meant to be consistently raised or lowered

• Specific pattern of whole steps and half steps; W W H W W W H

Order of a major scale

Half Step

• distance from a key on the piano to the very next key, white or black

• an extension of lines above or below the five lines and four spaces on the staff; indefinitely

• notes that have the same pitch, but are spelled different. Ex: E and F-flat

• skips the very next key and goes to the next one