Note heads are positioned on a line or within a space to indicate pitch.
What is the color of a note head?
Is a note head filled or unfilled?
Is the note head a circle or an ellipse?
Is the axis of the note head parallel to the staff lines or at an angle to the staff lines?
How tall is a note head measured in staff units? One staff unit is the height of one space.
A melody is written in treble clef for a single instrument like the flute. There are vertical stems attached to the note heads.
When do the stems go up or down?
If the stem is going up is it attached to the left or right side of the note head?
If the stem is going down is it attached to the left or right side of the note head?
How long is the stem measured in staff units? One unit is the height of one space.
Choir music often writes two voices in a single clef, soprano and alto in treble clef and tenor and bass in bass clef.
Which direction would the stems go now?
Accidentals are the sharps, flats and naturals that affect the pitch of a note.
Is the accidental placed to the left or right of the note it affects?
How close is it to the note head?
Are the vertical lines of a sharps, flats, and naturals perpendicular to the staff lines or at an angle to the staff lines?
Are the horizontal lines of a sharps and naturals parallel with the staff lines or at an angle to the staff lines?
How tall is an accidental measured in staff units?
How do you know which line or space the sharp affects?
How do you know which line or space the flat affects?
How do you know which line or space the natural affects?
How do you know which line or space the double sharp affects?
How do you know which line or space the double flat affects?
Barlines are vertical bars that separate the music into sections. The most common type of barline is the single barline that separates the staff into measures. Measures are used to group notes into similar time frames.
Are barlines perpendicular or slanted to the staff lines?
How tall is a barline?
When is a barline used at the left edge of a staff?
When is s a barline used at the right edge of a staff?
There are several types of barlines each with a different symbol and meaning. How many barline types can you name?
Flags can be added to note stems. The more flags, the shorter the duration of the note. Flags are most often used on a single note.
Given a note with a stem is going up, is the flag attached to the left or right side of the stem?
Given a note with a stem is going down, is the flag attached to the left or right side of the stem?
Describe the curve of the flag?
Do you know the maximum and minimum number of flags that can be attached to a single stem?
Beams are preferred over flags to connect multiple notes of together. The more beams, the shorter the duration of the individual notes.
Beams can be slanted up, slanted down, or parallel to the staff lines. How is the beam slant determined?
Beams are thicker that staff lines. How thick is a beam measured in staff units?
When beams occur within the staff lines, how much slant should they have?
Do you know the maximum and minimum number of beams that can connect a group of notes?
"Dotted notes" have 50% more duration than the same note without a dot.
Is the dot placed above, below, to the right or to the left of the note?
If the note is on a space where does the dot go?
If the note is on a line where does the dot go?
Revised by John Ellinger, Spring 2012.