"a" — annular finger (ring finger). As used for identifying the right hand fingers.
Accent — a sign, L, used to indicate a predominant beat.
Accidental — a sign used to show a temporary change in pitch of a note (i.e., sharp#, flatb, double sharp !, double flat bb, or natural @). The sharps or flats in a key signature are not regarded as accidentals.
Ad lib — to be played at the performer’s own discretion.
Allegretto — moderately fast.
Allegro — fast and lively.
Anacrusis — a note or notes occurring before the first bar of music (also called "lead-in" notes).
Andante — an easy walking pace.
Arpeggio — the playing of a chord in single note fashion.
Bar —1. A division of music occurring between two bar lines (also call a "measure").
2. When two or more strings are held down by one finger (usually the first finger) e.g., ½ BII indicates a Bar at the second fret covering three strings.
Bar line — a vertical line drawn across the staff which divides the music into equal sections called bars.
Bass — the lower regions of pitch in general. On keyboard, the notes to the left of the keyboard.
Binary form — see form.
Chord — a combination of three or more different notes played together.
Chromatic scale — a scale ascending and descending in semitones. For example, C chromatic scale:
Clef — a sign placed at the beginning of each staff of music which fixes the location of a particular note on the staff, and hence the location of all other notes, e.g.:
Coda — an ending section of music, signified by the sign v
Common time — and indication of * time — four quarter note beats per bar (also indicated by Q)
Compound time — occurs when the beat falls on a dotted note, which is thus divisible by three; e.g.,) _+
D.C. al fine — a repeat from the beginning to the word "fine".
Double bar line — two vertical lines close together, indicating the end of a piece, or section thereof.
Double flat — a sign ( bb ) which lowers the pitch of a note by one tone.
Double sharp — a sign ( ! ) which raises the pitch of a note by one tone.
D.S. al fine — a repeat from the sign (indicated thus V) to the word "fine".
Duet — a piece of music written for two instruments.
Dynamics — the varying degrees of softness (indicated by the term "piano") and loudness (indicated by the term "forte") in music.
Eighth note — a note with the value of half a beat in * time, indicated thus 5 (also called a quaver).
The eighth note rest — indicating half a beat of silence is written:j
Enharmonic — describes the difference in notation, but not in pitch, of two notes, e.g.:
Fermata — a sign, ? , used to indicate that a note or chord is held to the player’s own discretion (also called a "pause sign").
First and second endings — signs used where two different endings occur. On the first time through ending one is played (indicated by the bracket Z); then the progression is repeated and ending two is played (indicated X).
Flat — a sign, (b) used to lower the pitch of a note by one semitone.
Form — the plan or layout of a piece, in relation to the sections it contains; e.g., Binary form, containing an "A" section and a "B" section: (AB).
Forte — loud. Indicated by the sign f .
Free stroke — where the finger, after plucking the string, does not come to rest on any other string.
Half note — a note with the value of two beats in * time, indicated thus: 1 (also called a minim). The half note rest, indicating two beats of silence, is written: g ← third staff line.
Harmony — the simultaneous sounding of two or more different notes.
"i" — index finger. As used for identifying the right hand fingers.
Improvise — to perform spontaneously, i.e., not from memory or from a written copy.
Interval — the distance between any two notes of different pitches.
Key — describes the notes used in a composition in regards to the major or minor scale from which they are taken; e.g., a piece "in the key of C major" describes the melody, chords, etc., as predominantly consisting of the notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, and B — i.e., from the C scale.
Key signature — a sign, placed at the beginning of each stave of music, directly after the clef, to indicate the key of a piece. The sign consists of a certain number of sharps or flats, which represent the sharps or flats found in the scale of the piece’s key. For example:
Lead-In — same as anacrusis (also called a pick-up).
Ledger lines — small horizontal lines upon which notes are written when their pitch is either above or below the range of the staff, e.g.,
Legato — smoothly, well connected.
Ligature — a line used to connect notes, e.g., eighth notes 6 .
"m" — middle finger. As used for identifying the right hand fingers.
Major scale — a series of eight notes in alphabetical order based on the interval sequence tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone, giving the familiar sound do re mi fa so la ti do.
Metronome — a device which indicates the number of beats per minute, and which can be adjusted in accordance to the desired tempo.
e.g., MM (Maelzel Metronome) 3 = 60 — indicates 60 quarter note beats per minute.
Mode — a displaced scale e.g., playing through the C to C scale, but starting and finishing on the D note.
Moderato — at a moderate pace.
Modulation — to change the key within a piece.
Natural — a sign (@) used to cancel out the effect of a sharp or flat. The word is also used to describe the notes A, B, C, D, E, F and G; e.g., "the natural notes".
Notation — the written representation of music, by means of symbols (music on a staff), letters (as in chord and note names) and diagrams (as in chord illustrations.)
Note — a single sound with a given pitch and duration.
Octave — the distance between any given note with a set frequency, and another note with exactly double that frequency. Both notes will have the same letter name;
Open chord — a chord that contains at least one open string.
"p" — primary finger (thumb). As used for identifying the right hand fingers.
Passing note — connects two melody notes which are third or less apart. A passing note usually occurs on an unaccented beat of the bar.
Phrase — a small group of notes forming a recognizable unit within a melody.
Pitch — the sound produced by a note, determined by the frequency of the string vibrations. The pitch relates to a note being referred to as "high" or "low".
Pivot finger — a finger which remains in position while the other fingers move, when changing chords.
Position — a term used to describe the location of the left hand on the fret board. The left hand position is determined by the fret location of the first finger, e.g.,
The 1st position refers to the 1st to 4th frets. The 3rd position refers to the 3rd to 6th frets and so on.
Quarter note — a note with the value of one beat in * time, indicated thus 3 (also called a crotchet). The quarter note rest, indicating one beat of silence, is written:h.
Repeat signs — in music, used to indicate a repeat of a section of music, by means of two dots placed before a double bar line:
Rest — the notation of an absence of sound in music.
Rest stroke — where the finger, after plucking the string, comes to rest on the next string (for accenting the note).
Rhythm — the aspect of music concerned with tempo, duration and accents of notes. Tempo indicates the speed of a piece (fast or slow); duration indicates the time value of each note (quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, etc.); and accents indicate which beat is more predominant.
Rondo — see form.
Root note — the note after which a chord or scale is named (also called "key note").
Semitone — the smallest interval used in conventional music. On guitar, it is a distance of one fret.
Sharp — a sign (#) used to raise the pitch of a note by one semitone.
Simple time — occurs when the beat falls on an undotted note, which is thus divisible by two.
Sixteenth note — a note with the value of a quarter of a beat in * time, indicated as such 0 (also called a semiquaver).
The sixteenth note rest, indicating a quarter of a beat of silence, is written: k
Slur — sounding a note by using only the left hand fingers.
Staccato — to play short and detached. Indicated by a dot placed above or below the note:x
Staff — five parallel lines together with four spaces, upon which music is written.
Syncopation — the placing of an accent on a normally unaccented beat. e.g.:
Tablature — a system of writing music which represents the position of the player’s fingers (not the pitch of the notes, but their position on the guitar). A chord diagram is a type of tablature. Notes can also be written using tablature thus:
Each line represents a string, and each number represents a fret.
Tempo — the speed of a piece.
Ternary — see form.
Tie — a curved line joining two or more notes of the same pitch, where the second note(s) is not played, but its time value is added to that of the first note.
In Example 2, the first note is held for seven counts.
Timbre — a quality which distinguishes a note produced on one instrument from the same note produced on any other instrument (also called "tone color"). A given note on the guitar will sound different (and therefore distinguishable) from the same pitched note on piano, violin, flute etc. There is usually also a difference in timbre from one guitar to another.
Time signature — a sign at the beginning of a piece which indicates, by means of figures, the number of beats per bar (top figure), and the type of note receiving one beat (bottom figure).
Tone — a distance of two frets, i.e., the equivalent of two semitones.
Transcription — to arrange from one instrument to another, i.e., piano - guitar
Transposition — the process of changing music from one key to another.
Treble — the upper regions of pitch in general.
Treble clef — a sign placed at the beginning of the staff to fix the pitch of the notes placed on it. The treble clef (also called "G clef") is placed so that the second line indicates as G note:
Tremolo — a rapid repetition on one note.
Triplet — a group of three notes played in the same time as two notes of the same kind. e.g.:
Eighth note triplet
Vibrato — a rapid vibration of a note (by the left hand fingers) to create slight pitch variations and a "wavering" effect.
Whole note — a note with the value of four beats in * time, indicated thus `(also called a semibreve). The whole note rest, indicating four beats of silence is written: f← 4th staff line.
