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Brandy Kraemer

Updated Articles and Resources

By Brandy Kraemer, About.com Guide

Updated Articles and Resources
  • lebhaft Created: Friday, January 23, 2009 Updated: Thursday, May 23, 2013
    Learn the meaning, BPM, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the German tempo command 'lebhaft.'
  • assez large Created: Friday, March 29, 2013 Updated: Thursday, May 23, 2013
    Learn the meaning, BPM, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the French tempo command 'assez large.'
  • allegrissimo Created: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Updated: Thursday, May 23, 2013
    Learn the meaning, BPM, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the Italian tempo command 'allegrissimo.'
  • Illustrated Guide to Middle C Created: Friday, January 02, 2009 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
    Are you wondering where the middle C is on your smaller keyboard? These illustrations will help you find it on each of the four standard keyboard sizes.
  • Musical Symbols of Piano Music: Part Two Created: Monday, January 05, 2009 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
    Take a visual tour of written piano music. Learn different musical symbols; note accents and articulation; how to write dynamics and volume changes, and understand how key signatures work in piano ...
  • keynote Created: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
    What is a keynote? The musical term "keynote" refers to a basic idea in music theory; not so much an actual note on the staff. Learn the meaning of keynote, and get an in depth look into key signat...
  • Minor Piano Scales - Practice Piano Scales in Minor Created: Sunday, May 23, 2010 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
    Find piano practice scales in the minor keys; and browse by keynote, mode, or type of accidental. View minor piano scales with or without piano fingering -- and learn the chords found in each scale...
  • langsamer Created: Sunday, March 13, 2011 Updated: Tuesday, April 30, 2013
    The German musical term "langsamer" is a tempo command, and is often seen in the phrase "langsamer werden." Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and synonyms of langsamer, and view more German musical...
  • dal niente Created: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical phrase "dal niente" is the opposite of "al niente," and affects the dynamics of a song. Learn the meaning and pronunciation of dal niente, and see how it affects piano music.
  • al niente Created: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical phrase "al niente" affects a song's dynamics, and has some common synonyms. Learn the meaning and pronunciation of al niente, and see how it affects piano music.
  • morendo Created: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical term "morendo" can refer to tempo or dynamics, but commonly affects both. Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the musical command morendo.
  • smorzando (smorz.) Created: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical term "smorzando," is often confused with sforzando. Learn the meaning and pronunciation of the Italian musical term "smorzando," and see how it affects piano music; also seen as...
  • (sfz) sforzando Created: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical term sforzando looks quite strange to most people, but its definition is simple. Learn the meaning and pronunciation of sforzando (abbreviated as "sfz") and see how it affects p...
  • (rfz) rinforzando Created: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical term "rinforzando" affects dynamics, and is usually abbreviated to rfz. Learn the meaning, pronunciation & multilingual synonyms of 'rinforzando.'
  • accent prononcé Created: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    Learn the meaning, pronunciation & multilingual synonyms of the French musical phrase 'accent prononcé.'
  • retenu Created: Thursday, January 22, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The French musical term "retenu" can refer to tempo. Learn the meaning of "retenu," and see its Italian equivalent.
  • (riten.) ritenuto Created: Thursday, March 05, 2009 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
    The Italian musical term "ritenuto" is often confused with another musical command. Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and abbreviations for ritenuto, and learn how it affects the tempo in piano mus...
  • leggermente Created: Friday, April 26, 2013 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the Italian musical command 'leggermente.'
  • leggerissimo Created: Friday, April 26, 2013 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and multilingual synonyms of the Italian musical command 'leggerissimo.'
  • transposing keyboard Created: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    A transposing keyboard is a manual that allows a performer to quickly change the home key of an instrument. In early Flemish harpsichords, a second manual was permanently tuned a fourth above the m...
  • choir Created: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    In stringed instruments, choirs are sets of strings of one length, which are responsible for one octave or register. String choirs are similar to the ranks of pipes in organs; learn more about stri...
  • disposition Created: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Musical disposition refers to the amount and combination of "choirs" (or sets of string lengths) on a stringed keyboard instrument, namely the harpsichord. Learn the common variations of musical di...
  • broken octave Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Broken octaves replaced the "short octave" -- which omitted certain unused notes -- after it became obsolete. Early keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord used broken octaves in their keyboar...
  • short octave Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    A "short octave" was used on many early keyboard instruments to make use of the limited space allowed for keys. Short octaves omitted certain accidentals that were rarely used in music of the time;...
  • chordophone Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    A chordophone is an instrument that is sounded by a string or strings. The piano, clavichord, harpsichord, hurdy-gurdy, harp, cello, and guitar are all examples of chordophones; the first four of w...
  • aerophone Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Aerophones are musical instruments that are voiced with air. Learn about early keyboarded aerophones, as well as popular ones that exist today.
  • bent side Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    Grand pianos and other horizontal keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, have a bent side that leads into the tail of the instrument; learn about the parts of the piano, and the bent-side o...
  • F Major Piano Scales With Fingering Created: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    F Major / D minor has one flat: Bb. These easy, beginner piano scales will improve your ability to read key signatures with a lot of accidentals; and optional fingering will help you learn to play ...
  • action Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    The "action" refers to the moving mechanism inside a piano that is activated when a key is depressed, which ultimately produces sound by striking a hammer against a string. The piano action is made...
  • plectra Created: Friday, October 15, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    A plectrum (plural: plectra) is part of an instrument's "plucking action." Plectra are often made of wood, quill, leather, or metal; or may be separate from the instrument, like a guitar pick. Lear...
  • ledger line Created: Monday, September 13, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    A ledger line (or "leger line") is a horizontal line used to accommodate notes that are too high or too low to be written on the staff. Middle C is the first ledgered note below the treble staff an...
  • G-clef Created: Monday, September 13, 2010 Updated: Friday, April 26, 2013
    The G-clef, or "treble clef," is the large musical symbol that marks the beginning of the top staff in piano music. The G-clef is named after the treble staff line it wraps around: the G. Learn mor...

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