Music Theory Concepts

Click here for printable music theory worksheets for students!

Music Terminology

Musicians will come across many different terms in the lesson books and music they are playing in rehearsals. Below you will find a glossary of different musical terms that students may see in their music. Please select the link for your specific instrument!

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Music Theory Concepts

Measures and Repeats

Music is created by using measures and other symbols/terms to help musicians know what to play and when. Below you will find a chart that shows different musical symbols and what they mean.

Rhythmic Values

Music utilizes different rhythmic values in combination with notes to convey meaning through music. Below you will find a chart of different rhythmic values that you will see in your music. 

Click here for a pdf copy of a rhythm chart. 

Meter

Meter is the grouping of beats that occur in stressed and unstressed patterns. The most common meters are duple meters (rhythmic pattern of two beats); triple meter (three beats); or quadruple meter (four beats). Below you will find a chart of common time signatures that will be seen in orchestra.

Sharps, Flats and Naturals

Music is written with notes containing sharps, flats and naturals which change the sound of the note by a half step. Below you will find a chart explaining what all of these symbols are.

Key Signatures

Key signatures organize music into different combinations of sharps and flats that create a tonal center for music. For example, if music is written in the key of C Major, there will be no sharps or flats and will center around the note "C".

There are 15 Major and Minor Key Signatures that can be used in music. As shown below, each Major key signature has a minor key that corresponds with the same number of sharps or flats. (For example, both C Major and a minor do not have any sharps or flats).

The circle of fifths is an arrangement of keys that ascend by fifths. This also displays how many sharps or flats occur in each key. All of the Major keys are noted in capital letters on the outside of the circle (G, G, D, etc.) while the minor keys are noted in lowercase letters on the inside of the circle (a, e, b, etc.)

Dynamics

Music utilizes dynamics, or volume, to add emotion or excitement to songs. Dynamics also make the music more interesting to play and listen to. Below you will find a list of dynamics commonly found in pieces that we will play in orchestra.

In addition to dynamic levels, other symbols are utilized to tell musicians to change the volume of the piece by a small amount. These are shown below.

Tempo

Music can be performed in different tempos, or speeds. There are many different tempos that can be utilized in music, and there may be times where tempo changes within a specific piece. Click here to see all of the different tempos that can be written in music.

For more information on Tempo, click here.