MUSICAL CHEAT SHEET

Ear training is the process of connecting music theory (notes, intervals, chords, etc.) with the sounds we hear. The more we train our ear to recognize
this connection, the more we enjoy singing music, because we learn to understand what we sing. training your ear will widen your understanding and
mastery of music as a whole, and will simply help you become a better musician!

Musical Intervals
An interval is a combination of two notes, or the distance between their pitches. Intervals are labeled according to the number of staff positions they
encompass. Both the lines and the gaps between lines are counted, including the position of the lower note. For instance, the number of staff positions
from C to G is 5, therefore the interval C-G is a fifth (denoted P5 in the figure below). The name of any interval is qualified using the terms perfect
(P), major (M) and minor (m).


Interval Ascending Descending
m2
White Christmas (Irving Berlin)
nd
(also called a half step)
Joy to the World (Christmas)
M2
Silent Night (Christmas)
nd
(also called a whole step)

The First Noel (Christmas)
m3 Greensleeves
rd
Frosty the snowman (Christmas)
M3 Sweet Hour Of Prayer
rd
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
P4 Amazing Grace
th
Oh, come all ye faithful
Tritone Simpsons

P5 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
th
Flintstones theme
m6 In My Life (Beatles)
th
Love story theme
M6 It came upon a midnight clear (Christmas)
th
Nobody knows the trouble Ive seen
m7 Somewhere (West side story)
th
An American in Paris (Gershwin)
M7 Bali HaI: 1st-3rd pitch (South Pacific)
th
I Love You (Cole Porter)
P8 Somewhere over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz) Willow Weep for Me
Musical Symbols
_
Sharp. A tack is sharp.
What happens when you sit
on a tack? You jump
UP

,
Flat. A flat tire goes down.

Natural. If there was a sharp
or flat before, ignore it and
go back to the natural note.
_
Treble clef women usually
sing in the treble clef.
_
Bass clef men usually sing
in the bass clef.

Tenor clef will look like a
soprano part, but sung an
octave lower. Used in mens
choruses
; ;; q
Mezzo Forte (medium loud);
forte (loud); fortissimo (very
loud)
_; ,;
Mezzo piano (medium soft);
piano (soft); pianissimo (very
soft)
-
Fermata. Hold that note out.











Time Signatures (Most Common )
2/2 or
(Cut Time)
Two beats per measure; half
note gets one beat.
4/4 or
Four beats per measure;
quarter note gets one beat
3/4 Three beats per measure;
quarter note gets one beat
6/8 Six beats per measure; eigth
note gets one beat


Notes

Whole note
-
Half note
.
Quarter note
.
Eighth note
.
16
th
note