Glossary
A
Action- how far off the fingerboard strings sit. Us. described as high or low, too low will cause buzzing, too high is ok for slide or steel guitar. High action is hard to press down on and affects the intonation
Active Pickups- pickups that use a battery
Americana- general term for American music; Jazz, Blues, Country, Rockabilly, Surf, Folk, Soul/R&B and Roots Rock
Augmented- Major triad (135) chord with a raised fifth (135#)
Arpeggio- series of notes one after another
Ad Lib- improvisation, making it up
B
Bar- section of music also called a measure
Barre- at type of chord using 1 finger to press more than 1 string
Bass Note- lowest note in a chord
Bigsby- brand name, type of whammy/vibrato bar
Bolt On- type of neck secured with bolts. Most Fenders have bolt on necks. Glued necks are often called Set-Neck. There’s also neck-thru body style
Bottleneck- slide with a glass or metal tube
Bridge- area on the face of the guitar where the strings meet or connect with the body
Bridge Pins- acoustic’s have pins that anchor the strings to the bridge
C
C.A.G.E.D. Chords- the 5 basic chord shapes. Each one has a Root note on a different string. If we arrange them E, A, D, G, C, each chord is a Fourth Interval higher than the preceding one. The G and A
Capo- clamp device, place vertically on the neck that changes the pitch by shortening the strings. This acts as a moveable nut
Camber- curvature of the fingerboard also called radius, some are flat
Chordal Interval- 3 or more note played at a time
Chromatic- all 12 notes
Circle of Fourths and Fifths- runs clockwise in Fifths, counterclockwise in Fourths. IV and Vs are very common patterns.
Compound Interval- interval of more than an octave
Counterpoint- 2 or more melody’s played at same time
Cutaway- section of guitar body cutout to access the higher register of the fingerboard
D
Diatonic- the 7 note major scale system
Diminished- minor with a flat fifth or a scale with minor intervals
Dobro- resonator guitar
Dominant- note or chord at the fifth degree of the diatonic scale
Dorian Mode- starts on 2nd degree of a major scale
Dreadnought- large acoustic flat-top, steel string guitar guitar
F
Face- front of guitar body
Fingerboard- front of the neck where the frets are also called “fretboard”
Floating Bridge- bridge that is not attached to the body. Arch top/Jazz guitars often have them
Floating Pickups- pickups not attached to body.Suspended above, usually by pickguard or fingerboard, again usually Jazz guitars use these
Frequency- number of cycles per second determines pitch of a note
H
Hammer- On, Pull/Off-picking a string once and getting a second note by hammering on, or off another finger, 1 or more frets higher or lower from the original note
Harmonics- chime like sounds made by lightly touching the string over the 12th, 7th, and 5th frets while picking. They are usually multiple-octaves or fifths above the fretted note, there’s more than I mention, but those are the easy ones
Harmonic Intervals- 2 notes at a time
Harmony- relation and order of notes
Headstock-end of neck where tuning heads meet strings
Heel- reinforced section of the neck where it joins the body
Humbucker- twin coil pickup that cancels high pitch hum.LesPauls, and SG’s have them
I
Interval- distance between notes
Ionian Mode- major scale
K
Key- refers to the pitch reference for a diatonic scale
L
Lead- cable, patch cord, or a solo single note passage
Leading Note- note or chord, on the 7th degree of a scale
Line- a succession of notes
Locrian Mode- starts at the 7th degree of a major scale
luthier- guitar maker
Lydian Mode- starts at the 4th degree of a major scale
M
Machine Head- tuning-heads, tuners. Pegs and gears that raise and lower the pitch of a string
Major Chord- chord with a major 3rd between the root and third or a scale with major and perfect intervals
Mediant- note on the 3rd degree of the major scale. Halfway to the Fifth(Dominant)
Melodic Interval- single note
Melody- single notes in a recognizable pattern
Metronome- adjustable clicking sound, to improve timing
Minor- chord with a minor 3rd between the root and third or a scale with minor and perfect intervals
Mixolydian Mode- starts at 5th degree of major scale
Mode- scale
Modulation- section of music that changes keys from one to another
Natural Symbol- cancels sharps or flats
Neck Width- width of neck measured where the nut is located
O
Octave- contains 7 different notes with the first note repeating. Can just refer to the 2 outside notes which would share a letter.
Open Strings- are strings played at the nut; E A D G B E, not fretted with the left hand.
Overdrive- broken up, mildly distorted sound of a pre-amp being turned up too high
P
Passive- pickups with no power/battery
Pentatonic- scale with 5 notes
Pick-plastic/nylon plectrum
Pickguard- plastic piece on face of guitar to protect it from scratches
Pickup- a coil wound with copper wire converting vibrations into electrical signal which turns into sound
Phrase- musical sentence
Plectrum- pick.Thumb picks, flat picks, fingerpicks
Polepiece- part of the pickup. Adjustable metal poles under each string
Position- lay down your 4 fingers, to cover 4 frets. The lowest fret, which your first finger covers is the position number
Pot- potentiometer, a variable resistor. In English, your volume -tone controls
Psychobilly- mix of traditional Rockabilly with Punk, Surf Instr. and asst. horror and sci-fi themes
R
Relative Minor- a minor system starting at the 6th degree of the major scale
Relief- amount of bow in neck which allows strings to vibrate
Resolve- a progression which leads into ending a piece
Rest- silence
Reverb- sound of concert hall echo/acoustics. Done mainly with springs in Fender type amps
Rhythm- pattern of notes/chords and accents
Root (Note)- same as key.
Roots Music- Americana, Blues Country, Rockabilly, Western Swing
S
Saddle- part of bridge that touches the string
Scale- group of notes
Scale Length- distance between the nut and saddle
Sequence- song or chord pattern
Seventh- Seventh note in a scale or chord also called “Leading” note. Can be Maj or Min.
Shape- outline of a chord or scale on the fingerboard
Slapback- a type of echo/delay used in early rock and rockabilly, guitar and vocals. The delay is from 80-140milliseconds with out much feedback and about equal dry/effect mix. Originally achieved using two reel to reel recorders. Eventually the echoplex, copycat and space echo were marketed. Now digital and analog delay pedals are available to produce a slapback effect
Slide- style of playing using a glass or metal tube worn loosely on one of the fingers of the left hand
Sub Dominant- the 4rth degree of a Major scale
Sub Mediant- the 6th degree of a major scale
Super Tonic- the 2nd degree of a major scale
Syncopation-accenting the off-beats
T
Tablature- music for stringed instruments that uses numbers to designate where to place fingers
Tone- a whole note, major 2nd or the color or quality of a sound
Transpose- moving a song, scale or chord from one key to another
Tremolo- pulsating, on-off volume effect. Not a whammy bar
Truss Rod- metal rod inside of neck that can be adjusted to straighten the neck
V
Valve- tube
Vibrato- pulsating pitch fluctuation, up and down.Can be done with a whammy/vibrato bar, pedal or fingers ( or slide )
W
Whammy Bar- often incorrectly called the tremolo bar. Can be called Vibrato or twang-bar
