Study guides · Stuff Every Music Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Music merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing Music Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard
Instruments are grouped by how they make sound: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboard.
Groan of the day: The brass section really blew me away.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: The written notes and signs for a piece
A score is written music that shows notes, rhythms, and signs telling you how to play.
Groan of the day: The score was a real page-turner.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: A creative work that belongs to its creator
Intellectual property is a creation of the mind, like a song, that the creator owns.
Groan of the day: That song is their property, so don't take it for granite.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: Use legal services and follow the rules
Proper sharing means getting music legally and following the rules for copying and sharing.
Groan of the day: Sharing legally keeps you on the right track.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: Shaping musical lines with natural pauses
Phrasing means shaping a melody into musical sentences with natural pauses and flow.
Groan of the day: Phrasing well means you know where to pause for breath.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: How loud or soft the music is
Dynamics describe the loudness or softness of a piece or a section of it.
Groan of the day: The dynamics were loud and clear.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The speed of the music
Tempo is how fast or slow music is played, such as fast swing or slow blues.
Groan of the day: Keep tempo and you won't lose the beat.
Sources: Music
Short answer: How high or low a sound is
Pitch reflects whether a sound is higher or lower than another sound.
Groan of the day: That note was pitch perfect.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A series of notes played one after another
A melody, or tune, is a series of pitches sounding in succession, often rising and falling.
Groan of the day: That melody really carries a tune.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Pitches played or sung together at the same time
Harmony refers to pitches sounded together at the same time, creating chords.
Groan of the day: Good harmony means everyone is in agreement.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The arrangement of sounds and silences in time
Rhythm is how sounds and silences are arranged in time.
Groan of the day: Rhythm is all about good timing.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The quality of a sound that makes instruments differ
Timbre is the tone color that makes the same note sound different on different instruments.
Groan of the day: Timbre gives each instrument its own color.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A single melody with no harmony part
Monophony is one melody alone, like a mother singing a lullaby.
Groan of the day: A solo melody stands on its own two notes.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Multiple independent melody lines at the same time
Polyphony is several independent melody lines interweaving at once, like a round.
Groan of the day: A round is polyphony you can sing in a circle.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A clear melody with chordal accompaniment
Homophony is a clear melody supported by chordal accompaniment, common in popular music.
Groan of the day: The melody leads and the chords follow along.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Creating music spontaneously as you play
Improvisation is making up music on the spot, often over a chord progression.
Groan of the day: Improvisers make it up as they go along.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A sequence of chords in a song
A chord progression is a sequence of chords that a song follows.
Groan of the day: The chords progress nicely through the song.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A page showing melody, chords, and lyrics
A lead sheet notates the melody, chords, lyrics, and structure of a song.
Groan of the day: A lead sheet leads you through the song.
Sources: Music
Short answer: All the music parts for the whole group
A score includes all the music parts of an ensemble piece.
Groan of the day: The conductor reads the whole score at once.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Showing where to play notes on a guitar
Tablature shows note locations on a fingerboard using a diagram.
Groan of the day: Tabs point you to the right fret.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A structured practice until the music is right
A rehearsal is repeated practice until the music is played correctly and together.
Groan of the day: Practice makes perfect, and rehearsal makes it together.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A conductor
Rehearsals of orchestras, concert bands, and choirs are led by a conductor.
Groan of the day: The conductor keeps everyone on the same beat.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Music for a small ensemble with few players per part
Chamber music is for a small ensemble with only one or a few of each instrument.
Groan of the day: Chamber music is intimate, like a musical chat.
Sources: Music
Short answer: One singer or player performing alone
A solo is when one singer or instrumentalist performs alone.
Groan of the day: A soloist gets the spotlight all to themselves.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A low musical line played by bass instruments
A bassline is a low line played by instruments like double bass, electric bass, or tuba.
Groan of the day: The bassline holds up the whole song.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The home note the music resolves to
The key determines the home note, or tonic, that the piece generally resolves to.
Groan of the day: The tonic is where the music feels at home.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Regular pulse groupings called measures
Meter groups time into regular pulses called measures or bars.
Groan of the day: Meter keeps the music marching in step.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Accents on beats two and four
In 4/4 time, the backbeat accents beats two and four, often on the snare drum.
Groan of the day: The backbeat has your back.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Chord instruments, bass, and drums
The rhythm section includes chord instruments, a bass instrument, and a drum kit player.
Groan of the day: The rhythm section is the heartbeat of the band.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The overall structure or plan of a piece
Form describes the overall structure or plan of a song, divided into sections.
Groan of the day: Form gives a song its shape.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Verses with new lyrics and a repeating chorus
Verse-chorus form has verses with new lyrics and a chorus that repeats.
Groan of the day: The chorus keeps coming back like a good friend.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Groups start the same melody at different times
A round is polyphony where different groups start the same song at different times.
Groan of the day: A round goes around and around.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Oral tradition, learned by ear
Folk music was often preserved in memory and handed down orally or by ear.
Groan of the day: Learning by ear means you really listen.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Creates music, often writing it as notation
Composition is creating music, often including writing it as notation.
Groan of the day: Composers have a lot of notes to write.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A performer's choices about how to play a piece
Interpretation is deciding how to perform music, such as tempo and phrasing choices.
Groan of the day: Interpretation is all about how you read the music.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A style or category such as jazz or blues
Genres are styles and categories of music, like blues, jazz, or classical.
Groan of the day: Genre is a matter of musical taste.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: Religious singing and worship
Gospel is a musical style often sung in religious settings.
Groan of the day: Gospel singers raise the roof with joy.
Sources: Scouting America: Music
Short answer: A dramatic work sung with instrumental accompaniment
Opera is a musical drama where singers perform with instrumental accompaniment.
Groan of the day: Opera singers hit the high notes and the drama.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A large work for orchestra
A symphony is a major orchestral work, often in several movements.
Groan of the day: A symphony is a big deal for the whole orchestra.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A polyphonic form with interweaving melodic lines
A fugue is a polyphonic form where melodic lines interweave.
Groan of the day: A fugue weaves melodies like a musical braid.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Music for a film, TV show, or game
Music is used in soundtracks for films, TV shows, operas, and video games.
Groan of the day: A soundtrack sets the scene for a movie.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Recording and editing music on a computer
A digital audio workstation is software used to record and edit music on a computer.
Groan of the day: A workstation is where musical ideas get to work.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Leads the group and keeps everyone together
A conductor leads the ensemble, keeping the players together in rhythm and tempo.
Groan of the day: The conductor is the group's guiding hand.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Art of the Muses
The English word music descends from the Greek phrase mousike techne, meaning art of the Muses.
Groan of the day: The Muses really struck a chord with that name.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal
The Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal, found on clay tablets at Ugarit, is the oldest surviving notated music.
Groan of the day: That hymn really made the clay sing.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Same melody with slight variations by each player
Heterophony is when performers play the same melody but vary rhythm or add ornaments.
Groan of the day: Two fiddlers, one tune, a little extra spice.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Many layers of instruments
A thick texture contains many layers of instruments, like a string section plus a brass section.
Groan of the day: That sound is layered like a cake.
Sources: Music
Short answer: A virtuoso solo improvised by the performer
In the Classical era, solo performers and singers improvised virtuoso cadenzas during concerts.
Groan of the day: That soloist really took the spotlight.
Sources: Music
Short answer: Keyboard plus bass instruments
The basso continuo group had harpsichord, organ, or lute plus bass instruments chosen by the leader.
Groan of the day: The continuo kept things grounded.
Sources: Music
Short answer: The fortepiano
The fortepiano, forerunner of the modern piano, replaced the harpsichord as the main keyboard instrument.
Groan of the day: The fortepiano was a key change.
Sources: Music
The whole guide on one screen. Screenshot it, print it, stick it on the fridge.
Think of your answer first, then peek.
Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard. Instruments are grouped by how they make sound: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboard.
The arrangement of sounds and silences in time. Rhythm is how sounds and silences are arranged in time.
A structured practice until the music is right. A rehearsal is repeated practice until the music is played correctly and together.
Verses with new lyrics and a repeating chorus. Verse-chorus form has verses with new lyrics and a chorus that repeats.
Music for a film, TV show, or game. Music is used in soundtracks for films, TV shows, operas, and video games.
Read a chapter, then play the deck and see how much stuck.
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