My Garden Notebook

Angeline Bell

Notes whose lengths are equal to one-sixteenth the value of a whole note or one quarter of a quarter note.

Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.

An Italian term meaning "in time"; an indication instructing the player to return to the original tempo after a deviation.

An accompaniment that uses a variety of blocked intervals with a relatively equal rate of occurrence. 

Chord tones played one note at a time that are not part of an accompaniment pattern.

More than one clef used in a staff in a single piece or movement.

A time signature where the fundamental beat is subdivided in groupings of three instead of two.

Indications instructing the player to play gradually louder (crescendo) or softer (diminuendo).

The physical motion of crossing fingers 2, 3, 4, or 5 over the thumb; used when playing scalar passages or outside of five finger scales.

The physical motion of crossing the thumb under fingers 2, 3, 4, or 5; used when playing scalar passages or outside of five finger scales.

A type of accompaniment pattern where only one note is played at a time, usually within a single five finger scale and with simple rhythms.

Hand positions that require stretching beyond a five finger scale; usually to play intervals that are 6ths or greater.

Indications placed above or below notes instructing the player to hold those notes longer than their original notated length.

A type of texture where one or both hands play more than one voice at a time with large intervals, many hand positions, and complex rhythms.

Additional lines added above or below the staff in order to place very high or very low notes that wouldn't normally fit on the staff.

An Italian term meaning "delaying"; an indication instructing the player to decrease speed, often gradually.

A technique that requires the player to pick up and move their hand to a new position; usually from a five finger scale to another.

Also called the damper pedal, it is the rightmost pedal on the piano and used to sustain notes by moving the dampers away from the strings.

A type of accompaniment pattern that primarily uses repeating blocked 5ths in a single position with simple or slow-moving rhythms.

Passages with constant step-wise motion and mainly 16th note rhythmic values.

Notes that occur several times in a row throughout a piece in mainly 16th note rhythms.