The Staff

• The staff consists of five lines and four spaces, each representing a different pitch.
• Modern music notation generally uses the treble clef and the bass clef.
• The position of a note on the staff determines its pitch and each space or line represents a white key on a keyboard.
• Ledger lines are used to extend the staff when notes are outside of the normal range of the staff.

Clefs

• A clef is a musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written notes.
• The treble clef, or G clef, is used for higher pitch ranges and often used for instruments like the flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin and voice.
• The bass clef, or F clef, is used for lower pitch ranges and often used for instruments like the cello, bassoon, trombone, tuba, and double bass.
• The alto clef and tenor clef are C clefs used for some instruments like the viola or the trombone.

Notes and Rests

• The note determines the pitch and duration of a sound.
• The note head, stem, and flag are parts of the note. A note head can be filled (black) or open (white) and each type changes the note's duration.
• A rest is a symbol indicating a silence of a specific duration.
• There are different types of rests including whole-rest, half-rest, quarter-rest, and eighth-rest, among others, mirroring the rhythmic value of notes.
• Semibreve (whole note), minim (half note), crotchet (quarter note), quaver (eighth note), and semiquaver (sixteenth note) are the most common rhythmic note lengths.

Time Signature

• The time signature is written at the start of a musical selection, and gives information about the number of beats in a measure.
• It is represented as one number over another - top number indicates the number of beats in each measure, the bottom number indicates the type of note that receives one beat.
• Common time signatures include 2/4, 3/4, 4/4.

Key Signature

• The key signature shows what sharps or flats are present in the music.
• It's placed right after the clef at the start of a line of music.
• It's based on the scale associated with the key of the piece.
• Changes to the key signature within the piece are called modulations.

Tempo and Dynamics

• Tempo markings define the speed of the music, often given in Italian terms like Adagio (slow), Moderato (moderate), Allegro (fast), Presto (very fast).
• Dynamics in music refer to the loudness or softness of a sound or note. Dynamic terms are also often in Italian, such as fortissimo (very loud), mezzo forte (moderately loud), piano (soft), pianissimo (very soft).
• Crescendo means getting louder, and decrescendo or diminuendo means getting softer.