American English vs British English Musical Terms¶
General¶
• Staff (sing.) / staves (plur.) = Stave (sing.) / staves (plur.)
• Grand staff = Great stave
• Measure = Bar
• Bar, barline (line between bars) = Barline
• Fermata = Hold, pause, fermata
• Phrasing slur = Brackets
Note values¶
• Double whole = Breve
• Whole note = Semi-breve
• Half note = Minim
• Quarter note = Crotchet
• Eighth note = Quaver
• Sixteenth note = Semiquaver
• Thirty-second note = Demisemiquaver
• Sixty-fourth note = Hemidemisemiquaver
• One-hundred-and-twenty-eighth note = Semihemidemisemiquaver
• Larger values, Smaller values = Long value, Short value
Rest values¶
• Double-whole rest = Breve rest
• Whole Rest = Semibreve Rest
• Half Rest = Minim Rest
• Quarter Rest = Crotchet Rest
• Eighth Rest = Quaver Rest
• Sixteenth Rest = Semiquaver Rest
• Thirty-second rest = Demisemiquaver rest
• Sixty-fourth rest = Hemidemisemiquaver rest
• One-hundred-and-twenty-eighth rest = Semihemidemisemiquaver rest
Cadences¶
• Authentic cadence = Perfect cadence V -> I
• Perfect Authentic cadence = No British label for that concept V5 -> I5
• Imperfect authentic cadence = No British label for that concept V -> I (at least one is not in root position)
• Half-cadence (semi-cadence) = Imperfect cadence V
• Plagal cadence = Plagal cadence IV -> I
• Deceptive cadence = Interrupted cadence V -> VI
Intervals and degrees¶
• Half step = Semitone
• Whole step (noun) = Tone (noun) (but as an adjective, whole-tone scale = whole-tone scale)
• Leading tone = Leading note
• Picardy third = Tierce de Picardie
Last Updated: 06.01.2020