Dynamic marking: cresc.crescendo: louder little by little.
Dynamic marking: dim.diminuendo: softer little by little. Decrescendo means the same.
Dynamic marking: fforte: loud. The word means strong.
Dynamic marking: fffortissimo: very loud.
Dynamic marking: ffffortississimo: as loud as possible.
Dynamic marking: fpforte piano: loud, then soft at once.
Dynamic marking: mfmezzo forte: medium loud. Mezzo means half.
Dynamic marking: mpmezzo piano: medium soft. Mezzo means half.
Dynamic marking: ppiano: soft.
Dynamic marking: pppianissimo: very soft.
Dynamic marking: ppppianississimo: as soft as possible.
Dynamic marking: sfzsforzando: a strong, sudden accent on one note or chord.
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Tempo 12
Get faster little by littleaccelerando: faster little by little. Short form: accel.
Get slower little by littleritardando: slower little by little. Short form: rit.
Go back to the speed before the changea tempo: in time. Return to the speed before the change.
Tempo: a little slower than allegroallegretto: moderately fast, a little slower than allegro.
Tempo: at a moderate speedmoderato: at a moderate speed.
Tempo: at a walking paceandante: at a walking pace, a moderately slow tempo.
Tempo: fast; the word means cheerfulallegro: lively and fast. The Italian word means cheerful.
Tempo: lively, between allegro and prestovivace: lively, faster than allegro and not as fast as presto.
Tempo: slow; the word means at easeadagio: slow, and slower than andante. The word means at ease.
Tempo: slow; the word means broadlargo: slow. The Italian word means broad.
Tempo: very fastpresto: very fast.
Tempo: very slow and seriousgrave: very slow and serious, among the slowest tempos.
Articulation and expression 12
A curved line joining two notes of the same pitchtie: the two notes sound as one long note.
A curved line over notes of different pitchslur: play the notes under the line smoothly, without a break.
A dot over or under a note: short and detachedstaccato: each note short and separate, the reverse of legato.
Give this one note extra stressaccent: extra stress on one note or chord.
Hold the note for its full valuetenuto: held. Give the note its full length.
Hold this note longer than its written valuefermata: hold the note or rest longer than written. Also called a hold.
In a singing stylecantabile: in a singing style.
Marked: play every note with stressmarcato: marked. Play each note as if it had an accent.
Smooth and connected, with no gapslegato: smooth and connected, the opposite of staccato.
Strings: pluck the string with a fingerpizzicato: pluck the string with a finger, not the bow.
Sweetly and gentlydolce: sweetly and gently.
With expressionespressivo: expressively. Short forms: espress. and espr.
Repeats and endings 12
A double bar with dots: play the section againrepeat sign: a double bar with dots. Play the section again.
The bracket marked 1: play it the first time onlyfirst ending: the bars under bracket 1, played the first time only.
The bracket marked 2: play it on the repeatsecond ending: the bars under bracket 2, played on the repeat.
The closing section a piece can skip ahead tocoda: a tail: the passage that brings a piece to its end.
D.C.da capo: from the head. Go back to the beginning.
D.S.dal segno: from the sign. Go back to the sign.
Go back to the sign and stop at the word fineD.S. al fine: dal segno al fine. From the sign to the word fine.
Go back to the sign, then skip to the codaD.S. al coda: dal segno al coda. From the sign, then on to the coda.
Go back to the start and stop at the word fineD.C. al fine: da capo al fine. From the beginning to the word fine.
Go back to the start, then skip to the codaD.C. al coda: da capo al coda. From the beginning, then on to the coda.
The sign that D.S. sends the player back tosegno: the sign. D.S. means go back to it.
The word that marks where to stop after a repeatfine: the end. It marks where the repeated part stops.
Intervals by half steps 12
Interval: 1 half stepminor second: 1 half step, as from C up to D flat.
Interval: 2 half stepsmajor second: 2 half steps, as from C up to D.
Interval: 3 half stepsminor third: 3 half steps, as from C up to E flat.
Interval: 4 half stepsmajor third: 4 half steps, as from C up to E.
Interval: 5 half stepsperfect fourth: 5 half steps, as from C up to F.
Interval: 6 half stepstritone: 6 half steps, C up to F sharp. Also augmented fourth or diminished fifth.
Interval: 7 half stepsperfect fifth: 7 half steps, as from C up to G.
Interval: 8 half stepsminor sixth: 8 half steps, as from C up to A flat.
Interval: 9 half stepsmajor sixth: 9 half steps, as from C up to A.
Interval: 10 half stepsminor seventh: 10 half steps, as from C up to B flat.
Interval: 11 half stepsmajor seventh: 11 half steps, as from C up to B.
Interval: 12 half stepsoctave: 12 half steps, as from C up to the next C.
Chords 12
A chord of three notes stacked in thirdstriad: three notes: a root with the third and fifth above it.
A seventh chord with a ninth added on topninth chord: five notes: root, third, fifth, seventh and ninth.
A triad with a seventh added above the rootseventh chord: four notes: root, third, fifth and seventh.
Chord position: the fifth is the lowest notesecond inversion: the fifth of the chord is the lowest note.
Chord position: the root is the lowest noteroot position: the root is the lowest note. Also called fundamental position.
Chord position: the third is the lowest notefirst inversion: the third of the chord is the lowest note.
Chord recipe: 1, 3, 5major triad: root, major third and perfect fifth. On C: C, E, G.
Chord recipe: 1, 3, 5, flat 7dominant seventh: a major triad and a minor seventh, built on step 5. In C: G, B, D, F.
Chord recipe: 1, 3, sharp 5augmented triad: root, major third and augmented fifth. On C: C, E, G sharp.
Chord recipe: 1, flat 3, 5minor triad: root, minor third and perfect fifth. On C: C, E flat, G.
Chord recipe: 1, flat 3, flat 5diminished triad: root, minor third and diminished fifth. On C: C, E flat, G flat.
The note a chord is built up fromroot: the note a chord is built on. C is the root of C, E, G.
Scale steps and scales 12
The minor scale that shares a major key signaturerelative minor: the minor scale with the same key signature as a major scale.
Minor scale with step 7 raised a half stepharmonic minor: the minor scale with step 7 a half step higher.
Scale step 1, the home note of the keytonic: step 1, the home note that names the key.
Scale step 2, just above the tonicsupertonic: step 2, one whole step above the tonic.
Scale step 3, midway from tonic to dominantmediant: step 3, halfway between the tonic and the dominant.
Scale step 4, a fifth below the tonicsubdominant: step 4, the lower dominant, a fifth below the tonic.
Scale step 5, a fifth above the tonicdominant: step 5, a fifth above the tonic and second to it in importance.
Scale step 6, midway from tonic down to subdominantsubmediant: step 6, halfway between the tonic and the subdominant below it.
Scale step 7, a half step below the tonicleading tone: step 7, a half step below the tonic, which it leads up to.
Scale step 8, the tonic again but higheroctave: the eighth note, the tonic again 12 half steps higher.
Scale that moves by half steps onlychromatic scale: every step is a half step: 12 notes to the octave.
Scale with the steps W W H W W W Hmajor scale: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.
How this list was compiled: Own wording for every card. Each term, sign and meaning was checked in two sources. The first is Wikipedia: the Glossary of music terminology at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_music_terminology and the articles Dynamics, Tempo, Interval, Degree, Triad, Seventh chord, Chord, Major scale, Minor scale, Chromatic scale, Da capo, Dal segno, Coda, Repeat sign, Fermata, Tenuto, Tie, Accent and Semitone. The second is Karl W. Gehrkens, Music Notation and Terminology, 1914, a public-domain book at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19499 on Project Gutenberg. The half steps in each interval and the numbers in each chord recipe were counted from the thirds, fifths and seconds both sources give. The two spell two words differently: pianississimo and fortississimo here, pianisissimo and fortisissimo in Gehrkens. The cards print the first. Checked 2026-09-30. Licence: own work
How it works
Music theory flash cards in seven sets: dynamics, tempo, articulation and expression, repeats and endings, intervals by half steps, chords, and scale steps. The front gives a marking, a meaning or a recipe; the back gives the term.
Read the full guide
Seven sets, one sheet each
Dynamics shows a marking such as mf and asks for its name. Tempo and expression give the meaning and ask for the Italian word. Intervals count half steps: 4 make a major third. Chords give a recipe by scale number, such as 1, flat 3, 5 for a minor triad. Scale steps runs from tonic to leading tone. Turn one card, then pick one set under Show only, or open More options to type the answers.
Print a set for the music folder
Each set fills one sheet of twelve cards. Turn a card, then press the print button under it, print double-sided and flip on the long edge: mezzo forte lands behind its marking.
Typed answers ignore capitals, and other common names count: hold for fermata, half step for minor second.
The tritone has two spellings, augmented fourth and diminished fifth. Both are 6 half steps.
Questions and answers
What are the basics of music theory?
How music is written and built: how loud (dynamics), how fast (tempo), how notes are played (articulation), the distance between two notes (intervals), notes sounded together (chords) and the notes of a key (scales). These cards take each in turn.
How many half steps are in each interval?
Minor second 1, major second 2, minor third 3, major third 4, perfect fourth 5, tritone 6, perfect fifth 7, minor sixth 8, major sixth 9, minor seventh 10, major seventh 11, octave 12.
What is the difference between D.C. al fine and D.S. al fine?
D.C. al fine sends the player back to the beginning; D.S. al fine sends the player back to the sign, the segno. Both stop at the word fine, which means the end.
What are the names of the scale degrees?
Tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant and leading tone, for steps 1 to 7. The eighth note is the tonic again, an octave higher.