8th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.
Accents
Indications instructing the player to put special emphasis on notes.
Accidentals
Sharps, flats and naturals that do not appear in a key signature.
Blocked Chords
Chord tones played together that are not part of an accompaniment pattern.
Clef Changes
More than one clef used in a staff in a single piece or movement.
Forte
An indication instructing the player to play loudly.
Ledger Lines
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.
Legato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play smoothly and seamlessly, with the notes slightly overlapped.
Octave Higher and Octave Lower
Symbols that indicate playing a note or range of notes either an octave higher or lower than notated.
Piano
An indication instructing the player to play softly.
Quarter Rests
Silence that equals the length of one quarter note.
Sforzando
Indications instructing the player to play with sudden emphasis.
Sustain Pedal
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.
Swing 8ths
A technique of playing 8th notes where the first 8th note is held longer than the second of a grouping of two; used often in jazz and blues.
Syncopation
Temporary displacement of established meter by the stressing of a weak beat.
- Choose Good Fingerings
- Demonstrate
- Hands Separate Practice
- Play Similar Passages Together
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice