The Journey
Journey glossary
Every guitar and music theory term used in the journey, explained simply.
348 terms
1
- 12-bar blues
- A musical form twelve bars long, split into three four-bar phrases and built from the I, IV and V chords. The basic version is I-I-I-I | IV-IV-I-I | V-IV-I-V, repeated over and over through the song.
A
- A shape
- A barre chord that copies the open A chord shape. Its root is on the fifth string, under the index; the sixth string is not played. Fret 1 = B♭, fret 3 = C, fret 5 = D.
- accent
- Emphasis on one particular note, played louder than the notes around it. Written with a “>” sign above or below the note.
- accidental
- A sign that raises or lowers a natural note: the sharp (♯) raises it a half step, the flat (♭) lowers it a half step and the natural sign (♮) cancels a previous accidental.
- action
- The height of the strings above the frets, usually measured at the 12th fret. High action makes you press harder; action that is too low causes buzzing. A technician can adjust it.
- add9 chord
- A triad with the ninth added (the second note of the scale, an octave up) without removing the third or adding a seventh. Cadd9 = C, E, G + D. It sounds bright and open.
- additive grouping
- Organising a bar by adding up groups of two and three subdivisions. The order of the groups (for example 2 + 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 + 2 in 7/8) changes the character of the rhythm.
- Aeolian
- The sixth mode of the major scale, identical to the natural minor scale: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Its ♭6 is what sets it apart from Dorian.
- air change
- A way of practising a chord change in which you lift all your fingers at once, form the new shape just above the strings and drop it down in one go, instead of placing fingers one at a time.
- altered dominant
- A dominant seventh chord with one or more altered tensions: b9, #9, #11 (b5) or b13 (#5). It increases the tension before resolving. The symbol 7alt lets the player choose the alterations.
- altered scale
- The seventh mode of melodic minor: 1 b9 #9 3 #11 b13 b7. It contains every dominant alteration and is used over 7alt chords. G altered has the notes of A-flat melodic minor.
- alternate picking
- A picking-hand technique in which each note is struck in the opposite direction to the previous one: down, up, down, up. The hand moves like a steady pendulum, which brings evenness and speed.
- alternating bass
- A bass line that jumps regularly between two (or three) low strings, usually the root of the chord and another chord tone, one per beat. It is the engine of Travis picking and of many folk and country styles.
- amplifier
- A device that turns the guitar's weak electrical signal into one strong enough to drive a loudspeaker. For guitar it is not neutral: its preamp, power amp and speaker shape a large part of the tone.
- amplitude
- How far a vibration moves away from its resting position. More amplitude carries more energy and sounds louder; the pitch of the note does not change.
- anchor finger
- A finger that sits on the same string and fret in two consecutive chords. It never lifts during the change: it stays down and gives the rest of the hand a fixed point to pivot around.
- Andalusian cadence
- A progression of four chords stepping down to a major home chord, such as Am–G–F–E. It is the most characteristic harmonic gesture of flamenco, where the final chord is heard as the tonic of the Phrygian mode.
- anticipation (push)
- A note or chord that arrives one subdivision earlier than expected, usually on the last eighth or sixteenth of the previous bar, and is tied over the following strong beat. It gives the rhythm drive and surprise.
- arpeggio
- A chord played one note at a time instead of all at once. The notes are left to ring together, so you still hear the chord, but with movement inside it.
- audio interface
- A device that connects instruments and microphones to a computer: it converts the analogue signal to digital (and back, so you can listen) with better quality and less delay than a built-in sound card. It usually has an instrument (Hi-Z) input so you can plug the guitar straight in.
- augmented
- An interval one half step larger than the perfect or major interval with the same number (for example, C–F♯ is an augmented fourth, A4). An augmented triad has an augmented fifth.
- augmented second
- An interval of three half steps spelled as a second (for example, F–G♯). In harmonic minor it appears between ♭6 and the raised seventh and is responsible for the scale's distinctive colour.
- augmented triad
- Formula 1-3-♯5: two major thirds (4 + 4 half steps). It sounds floating and unresolved. Written “aug” or “+”. Example: C–E–G♯.
- authentic cadence
- V → I (or V7 → I): the most conclusive ending, like a full stop. Also called a perfect cadence.
- avoid note
- A note of the chord's scale that, held as part of the harmony, clashes a half step above a chord tone and blurs the chord's function. The classic case is the 11 (F) over Cmaj7. As a passing note in a melody it is not a problem.
B
- backdoor progression
- A cadence that reaches the tonic from bVII7 instead of V7, often preceded by iv: Fm7 – Bb7 – Cmaj7 in C. It is a ii–V borrowed from the parallel minor, with a soft, warm sound.
- backing track
- A recording or sequence that plays the accompaniment (chords, bass, drums) so you can practise melodies, solos or improvisation on top, as if you were playing with a band.
- bar (measure)
- A group of beats that repeats through a piece. In notation each bar sits between two vertical lines, the bar lines. Called a “measure” in American usage.
- barre
- A technique where one finger, usually the index, presses several strings at once on the same fret. It lets you play movable chords anywhere on the neck. Diagrams draw it as a bar.
- beat
- Each single heartbeat of the pulse. A bar of 4/4 has four beats, counted “1, 2, 3, 4”.
- bebop
- A jazz style that emerged in New York in the 1940s, with fast tempos, dense harmony and long eighth-note lines that chain chords together. Its vocabulary includes chromatic approach notes, enclosures and the bebop scale.
- bend
- A technique where you push or pull the string sideways to stretch it and raise the note, usually a half step (½) or a whole step (full). A signature sound of blues and rock.
- blue note
- A characteristic in-between note of the blues: above all the flat fifth (♭5), and also the minor third and minor seventh when sung or bent slightly sharp. It adds tension and colour and works as a passing note, not a resting place.
- blues scale
- The minor pentatonic with one added note, the flat fifth: 1, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 5, ♭7 (in A: A, C, D, E♭, E, G). Six notes in all; the ♭5 is used as a passing note between the 4th and the 5th.
- body
- The large part of the guitar. On an acoustic or classical guitar it is hollow and amplifies the strings' vibration; on an electric it is usually solid and carries the pickups and controls.
- boogie (5-6 pattern)
- An accompaniment pattern inherited from boogie-woogie piano: over the root, the other note alternates between the fifth and the sixth of the chord (5-5-6-6). On guitar it's played on the low strings with a shuffle feel.
- borrowed chord
- A chord that comes from a parallel mode (same tonic, different scale) and is used inside the main key. Examples in C major: iv (Fm), bVI (Ab), bVII (Bb), bIII (Eb) and iiø (Dm7b5).
- box (scale shape)
- A fingering of a scale that fits in a zone of four or five frets, so your hand doesn't need to shift. Box 1 of the minor pentatonic starts on the root on the sixth string; in A minor, at the 5th fret.
- BPM
- Beats per minute. At 60 BPM there is one beat per second; at 120 BPM, two. Each beat lasts 60 ÷ BPM seconds.
- bridge
- The piece fixed to the body where the strings are anchored at the other end. It passes the strings' vibration to the top (acoustic) or the body (electric).
C
- cadence
- The chord formula that ends a musical phrase, like punctuation in a text. It is defined by the last two chords: authentic, plagal, half or deceptive.
- CAGED system
- A way of organising the neck around five open-chord shapes (C, A, G, E and D) which, turned into movable shapes, play the same chord in five linked zones of the neck. C-A-G-E-D is the order in which they appear as you climb.
- call and response
- A musical dialogue in which one phrase (the call) is answered by another (the response). It comes from African and African-American traditions of group singing and is at the heart of blues, gospel and jazz.
- callus
- Hardened skin on the fingertips of your fretting hand that forms after a few weeks of regular practice. It makes pressing the strings stop hurting.
- campanella
- A way of playing consecutive scale notes on different strings so they overlap and ring like bells. Widely used in baroque guitar and in folk with open tunings.
- capo
- A clamp that presses all the strings at one fret and acts as a new nut: the same chord shapes then sound higher, one semitone per fret.
- cent
- A unit for measuring very small differences in tuning: one semitone (one fret) is divided into 100 cents. A difference of less than about 5 cents is barely noticeable.
- chank
- A short, dry chord stab on the treble strings, typical of funk. The strumming hand moves non-stop in sixteenths and the fretting hand decides which strokes sound and which stay muted.
- characteristic note
- The degree that sets a mode apart from the closest major or minor scale: ♯4 in Lydian, ♭7 in Mixolydian, 6 in Dorian, ♭2 in Phrygian, ♭6 in Aeolian and ♭5 in Locrian. Highlighting it is what makes the mode recognisable.
- Charleston rhythm
- A dotted quarter followed by an eighth: one stroke on beat 1 and another on the “&” of 2. It is the most basic jazz comping rhythm; its reverse form plays on the “&” of 1 and on beat 3.
- Chicago blues
- Electric band blues (amplified guitars, harmonica, bass and drums) that developed in Chicago from the late 1940s, largely by musicians who had moved up from the South such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. It directly influenced 1960s British rock.
- chicken picking
- The characteristic sound of electric country, alternating picked dead notes with treble notes that a finger hooks and snaps, producing a bright pop.
- chord
- Three or more different notes sounding at the same time. On guitar you play one by fretting a shape and strumming several strings; many notes are doubled at different heights, but the chord is defined by its different notes.
- chord change
- Moving your fretting hand from one chord shape to another without breaking the rhythm. A clean change arrives on time with every string ringing.
- chord chart
- A simplified score that only shows which chord sounds in each bar, usually in boxes separated by bar lines. It doesn't give exact rhythm or fingering: each musician chooses them.
- chord diagram
- A vertical drawing of part of the neck showing where to press, and with which finger, to form a chord. Vertical lines are strings (6th on the left), horizontal lines are frets; o = open string, x = string that doesn't sound.
- chord inversion
- A chord with a note other than the root in the bass. First inversion: the third in the bass (C/E). Second inversion: the fifth in the bass (C/G). Same chord, different colour and a different bass line.
- chord progression
- An ordered series of chords that repeats or moves forward through a song, for example Am – Em – Dm – Am. It is the harmonic skeleton under the melody.
- chord tone
- Any of the notes that make up the chord sounding at that moment (in A7: A, C♯, E and G). Over that chord they sound stable and give a melody something to stand on.
- chord-scale
- The scale associated with a chord at a given moment: its chord tones plus the available tensions. It is chosen according to the key and the function, not just the chord type: A7 in C major calls for different notes than A7 in D major.
- chorus
- The section of a song that comes back several times with the same music and usually the same words. It is often the most memorable, highest-energy part.
- chromatic approach
- A note outside the scale, a half step from a chord tone, played on a weak beat to reach that chord tone on the strong beat. A basic device of the bebop language.
- chromatic scale
- All twelve notes in a row, every one a half step apart. On the guitar: play one string fret by fret from 0 to 12.
- chromaticism
- The use of notes or chords from outside the key, usually a half step away from their destination. Secondary dominants, borrowed chords, tritone substitutions and passing diminished chords are all forms of harmonic chromaticism.
- chug (chugging)
- Repeated, palm-muted low notes, usually all downstrokes, that sound tight and percussive, like an engine. The rhythmic foundation of hard rock and metal.
- circle of fifths
- A circular chart of the twelve keys ordered by fifths: each step clockwise adds a sharp and each step anticlockwise adds a flat. Neighbouring keys share almost all their notes.
- clave
- A two-bar rhythmic figure that organises many Afro-Latin musics: one side with three strokes and one with two. In bossa nova, the guitarist's fingers play the chords following a version of the clave while the thumb keeps the pulse.
- clef
- A sign at the start of the staff that fixes the name of one line and, with it, all the others. The most common are the treble (G) clef and the bass (F) clef.
- clipping
- What happens when a signal exceeds the maximum a circuit can handle: the peaks of the wave are flattened. Soft (rounded) clipping adds pleasant harmonics and sounds like overdrive; hard (flat) clipping adds more high harmonics and sounds like distortion or fuzz. In digital recording, clipping is a mistake to avoid.
- Close voicing
- A voicing in which the chord notes are as close together as possible, all within one octave. Natural on the piano; on the guitar it usually needs impossible stretches, so it is opened up with drop 2 or drop 3.
- common-tone modulation
- A modulation in which a single shared note is held while the harmony moves to a distant key; for example, the C that links a C chord to an A-flat chord.
- compás (flamenco)
- In flamenco, the rhythmic cycle shared by singing, dance, palmas and guitar. Soleá, alegrías and bulería use a twelve-beat cycle accented on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
- comping
- In jazz, accompaniment with short chords placed in varied rhythmic spots that converse with the soloist and the drummer, leaving silences. The word comes from accompanying and complementing.
- compound interval
- An interval larger than an octave, such as the ninth (octave + second), eleventh (octave + fourth) or thirteenth (octave + sixth). To name it, subtract 7 from the number and keep the quality.
- compound meter (compound time)
- A meter whose beats split into three equal parts (6/8, 9/8, 12/8). The beat is a dotted quarter: a bar of 6/8 has six eighth notes grouped into two beats of three.
- compressor
- A dynamics effect that narrows the gap between loud and soft notes: it turns down whatever crosses a threshold and lets you raise the whole. It gives a more even sound with more sustain; too much flattens expression.
- concert pitch (A440)
- The international agreement that sets the A above middle C (A4) at 440 Hz so that every instrument tunes alike. Tuners use it by default.
- consonance
- The feeling of stability and blend between notes sounding together. Perfect consonances are the unison, fifth and octave; imperfect ones are thirds and sixths.
- constant motion
- A strumming principle: the strumming hand moves down and up without stopping, always at the same rate (eighths or sixteenths), whether or not it touches the strings. Downstrokes fall on the strong parts of the subdivision and upstrokes on the weak ones.
- count-in
- A spoken count ("1, 2, 3, 4") or a few clicks before you start playing, so that everyone starts together and at the same tempo.
D
- DADGAD
- The tuning D A D G A D, whose open strings form a Dsus4 with no third. That makes it suitable for major, minor and modal melodies; it is widely used in Celtic and acoustic folk.
- dead note
- A percussive hit with no clear pitch: the fretting hand rests its fingers on the string without pressing it down and the pick strikes it. It's written as an x in tab and adds rhythm without adding notes.
- deceptive cadence
- V → vi: the dominant promises to go home but lands on the sixth degree instead. A surprise that extends the phrase. Also called an interrupted cadence.
- decibel (dB)
- A logarithmic unit for comparing sound intensities or levels. About 10 dB more is heard as roughly twice as loud; sustained levels above about 85 dB put your hearing at risk.
- delay (echo)
- An effect that records the signal and plays it back after a set time, once or several times, each repeat softer. The time is measured in milliseconds and can be synced to the tempo: ms = 60,000 ÷ BPM × fraction of the beat.
- deliberate practice
- Practice with a specific, measurable goal, full attention, a tempo slow enough to avoid mistakes and immediate correction of errors. The opposite of “just noodling”.
- Delta blues
- A rural blues style born in the Mississippi Delta in the early 20th century, usually voice and acoustic guitar, sometimes played with a slide. Charley Patton, Son House and Robert Johnson are its most cited names.
- diatonic
- Using only the notes of the key you are in. In C major, D minor is a diatonic chord; D major is not, because it needs F♯.
- diatonic substitution
- Swapping a chord for another chord from the same key that shares most of its notes and has a similar function: iii or vi for I, ii for IV, viiø for V.
- diminished
- An interval one half step smaller than the perfect or minor interval with the same number (for example, B–F is a diminished fifth, d5). A diminished triad has a diminished fifth.
- diminished scale
- An eight-note symmetric scale that alternates half and whole steps. The half-whole version fits 7b9 dominants; the whole-half version fits dim7 chords. There are only three different diminished scales.
- Diminished seventh (dim7, °7)
- A seventh chord with formula 1 ♭3 ♭5 𝄫7, built only from minor thirds. It is symmetrical: the same shape repeats every three frets. It does not belong to the major scale; it is used as a passing or tension chord.
- diminished triad
- Formula 1-♭3-♭5: two minor thirds (3 + 3 half steps). There is a tritone between root and fifth, so it sounds tense and unstable. Written “dim” or “°”. Example: B–D–F.
- displaced accent
- An accent placed away from its usual spot (for example on the '&' or the 'e' instead of on the beat), or the same motif repeated so that it starts on a different subdivision each time. It creates rhythmic tension without changing the pulse.
- dissonance
- The feeling of friction or tension between notes sounding together, which asks to move to a consonance. Seconds, sevenths and the tritone are dissonant. Dissonant does not mean “ugly”: it is music’s seasoning.
- distortion
- A saturated sound produced when the guitar signal exceeds what a circuit can reproduce cleanly and the waveform gets clipped. It adds harmonics, sustain and compression; with heavy distortion, many-note chords turn muddy and power chords sound best.
- dominant
- The fifth degree of the scale, and the function of greatest tension: V (especially V7) and vii°. It contains the leading tone and, in V7, a tritone that wants to resolve to the tonic.
- dominant ninth chord
- A dominant seventh chord with the ninth added: 1, 3, 5, ♭7 and 9 (for example E9). It is funk's signature chord; on guitar it is often played without the fifth or without the root.
- dominant seventh chord
- A major chord with an added minor seventh (formula 1 3 5 b7), such as A7 or E7. It has a characteristic tension; in the blues it's used on the I, IV and V and is a big part of the style's colour.
- Dorian
- A minor mode with a major sixth: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7. It is Aeolian with a natural 6, which gives a brighter minor colour; common in funk, modal jazz, Latin rock and Celtic music.
- dotted note
- A dot to the right of a note adds half its value. A dotted half note lasts 3 beats (2 + 1); a dotted quarter, 1½.
- double stop
- Two notes played together on two different strings. Very common in blues, rock and country to add body to a melody.
- down-strum (downstroke)
- A strum that moves from the low strings to the high strings, that is, towards the floor. It usually falls on the strong beats and is written with a down arrow (↓) or a "D".
- downbeat
- The first beat of the bar, the strongest one. More loosely, any note that lands right on a beat (the “1”, the “2”…), as opposed to those between beats.
- drone string
- An open string that keeps ringing under the melody as a continuous note, as on a bagpipe. Open tunings and DADGAD make drones easy to use.
- Drop 2
- A voicing obtained from a close voicing by dropping the second voice from the top down an octave. On the guitar it fits on four adjacent strings, one note per string.
- Drop 3
- A voicing obtained from a close voicing by dropping the third voice from the top down an octave. On the guitar it leaves one skipped string between the bass and the other three notes.
- drop tuning
- A tuning in which only the sixth string is lowered a whole step relative to the rest (drop D: D A D G B E). The three low strings then form a one-finger power chord. Lower versions exist, such as drop C.
- dynamics
- How loud you play and how that changes. Marked with Italian abbreviations: *p* (piano, soft), *mf* (mezzo forte, moderately loud), *f* (forte, loud), and with hairpins for growing louder or softer.
E
- E shape
- A barre chord that copies the open E chord shape, with the index finger acting as the nut. Its root is on the sixth string, under the index: the fret you barre names the chord (fret 1 = F, fret 3 = G, fret 5 = A).
- ear training
- Regular practice at recognising intervals, chords, progressions, rhythms and scale degrees by ear, and at singing or playing what you imagine. A few minutes a day beats one long session a week.
- economy picking
- A picking technique that alternates down and up within each string, but doesn't alternate when changing strings in the direction the pick is already moving: the pick carries on and lands on the next string. It saves motion, especially with three notes per string.
- effects pedal
- A box switched with the foot that changes the guitar signal between the instrument and the amp: saturation, modulation, echo, reverb, pitch changes… Today they also exist as digital processors that combine many effects in one unit.
- eighth note
- A note lasting half a quarter note: two per beat in 4/4. It has a flag on its stem or is joined to others by a beam. Counted “1 & 2 &”. British name: quaver.
- enclosure
- A jazz melodic device that surrounds a target note with one note above and one below before landing on it, usually on a strong beat.
- enharmonic notes
- Two names for the same sound, such as C♯ and D♭. They sound identical on the guitar, but you spell them one way or the other depending on the scale or key.
- equaliser (EQ)
- A control that raises or lowers certain frequency regions: bass, mids, treble or narrower bands. It is used to fix problems and to shape tone; for guitar, the mids are the region that defines the instrument inside a band.
- extension
- A note added to a seventh chord by continuing the stack of thirds above the octave: 9, 11 and 13. They are degrees 2, 4 and 6 of the chord's scale, but they sound as colour above the chord tones.
F
- finger roll
- A fretting-hand gesture for playing two same-fret notes on neighbouring strings in a row with one finger: fret the first with the tip, then tilt the finger onto the next string so the first stops ringing.
- fingerboard
- The front surface of the neck, with the frets set into it, where you press the strings. Also called the fretboard.
- fingerstyle
- Playing by plucking the strings with the fingers of the picking hand instead of a pick. Each finger looks after certain strings, so you can sound bass, accompaniment and melody at the same time.
- flat (♭)
- An accidental that lowers a note by a half step: one fret towards the nut. B♭ is one fret below B.
- focal dystonia
- A neurological condition, usually painless, in which a musician loses control of a finger or the hand during one very specific gesture on the instrument. It has been linked to prolonged repetitive practice and needs assessment by a neurologist.
- free stroke
- A stroke in which the finger passes over the neighbouring string without touching it, closing towards the palm. It lets the other strings keep ringing, so it is the usual stroke for arpeggios. In Spanish: tirando.
- frequency
- The number of complete vibrations per second, measured in hertz (Hz). Higher frequency sounds higher; double the frequency sounds an octave higher.
- fret
- Each of the metal wires across the neck, and by extension the space between two of them. Pressing a string just behind a fret shortens the vibrating part, raising the note one semitone per fret.
- fret buzz
- A metallic rattle that happens when a vibrating string touches a fret. It is almost always caused by pressing too far from the fret or too lightly; sometimes by action that is too low.
- fret markers (inlays)
- Dots or shapes on the fingerboard, usually at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 (double), 15, 17, 19, 21 and 24. They are landmarks for finding your way around the neck.
- fretting hand
- The hand that presses the strings on the fingerboard: the left hand for a right-handed player. Its fingers are numbered 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring), 4 (pinky) and T (thumb).
- fundamental frequency
- The lowest frequency of a pitched sound, the one at which the whole string vibrates. It is what makes us hear "which note" is sounding. Not to be confused with the root of a chord.
G
- gain
- How much a stage amplifies the signal, above all in the preamp. Low gain sounds clean; turn it up and the signal exceeds what the circuit can reproduce, gets clipped and saturates. It is not the same as volume: gain changes the character, volume only the loudness.
- gallop rhythm
- A figure of one eighth and two sixteenths per beat (or the reverse), often palm-muted. It sounds like a horse's hooves and is typical of heavy metal.
- ghost strum
- A movement of the strumming hand in which the pick passes over the strings without touching them. It keeps the motion constant so the real strokes always land in the right place.
- golpe
- On the flamenco guitar, a tap of the ring finger on the golpeador, the plate protecting the top, often together with a chord stroke. It is part of the rhythm.
- groove
- The rhythmic feel that makes music invite you to move: the combination of pattern, accents, silences and precise placement of every stroke. It is not just what you play but where you place it in time.
- guide finger
- A finger that stays on the same string but moves to a different fret between two chords. During the change it slides along the string without leaving it, easing the pressure, and guides the hand to the new shape.
- Guide tones
- The third and the seventh of a chord: the notes that define its type (major, minor, dominant). Across a progression they form lines that move by step and "draw" the changes.
H
- half cadence
- A phrase that stops on the V chord. It sounds like a question or a comma: the music is left hanging, waiting to continue.
- half note
- A hollow note head with a stem, lasting two quarter notes: half a whole note. British name: minim.
- half step (semitone)
- The smallest distance between two notes in Western music. On the guitar it is one fret; on the piano, the very next key (white or black). Abbreviated H.
- Half-diminished (m7♭5, ø)
- A seventh chord with formula 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7: a diminished triad plus a minor seventh. It sounds tense yet soft. It is the vii chord of a major key.
- hammer-on
- A rising slur: you sound a higher note by hammering a fretting-hand finger onto the string, without picking again. Written “h” in tab.
- hammer-on from nowhere
- A hammer-on onto a string that wasn't already sounding: the impact of the finger alone sets it vibrating. It lets you change strings in legato without using the pick.
- harmonic (overtone)
- Each of the vibrations that sound along with the fundamental, at whole-number multiples of its frequency (×2, ×3, ×4…). Also the technique of touching the string lightly at a point (12th, 7th, 5th fret) so that only one of those harmonics rings.
- harmonic function
- The role a chord plays in the key: rest (tonic), moving away (subdominant) or tension that wants to return (dominant). Chords that share notes tend to share a function.
- harmonic interval
- An interval whose two notes sound together, as in a double stop or inside a chord.
- harmonic minor
- Natural minor with a raised seventh: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7. It exists to provide a leading tone and a major V7 that resolves strongly to the tonic; between ♭6 and 7 it leaves an augmented-second leap with an “exotic” sound.
- harmonised scale
- The seven chords you get by building a triad on each degree of a scale using only its notes. In every major key the pattern is: I ii iii IV V vi vii°.
- headstock
- The end of the neck that holds the tuning pegs. Each string is wound there; its shape and angle help the strings press firmly on the nut.
- hemiola
- Regrouping six beats or subdivisions as 3 + 3 or as 2 + 2 + 2, for example by alternating or layering 6/8 and 3/4. It is a form of 3-against-2 polyrhythm.
- hertz (Hz)
- The unit of frequency: one cycle per second. The open 5th string vibrates at 110 Hz; young human ears hear roughly from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
- hook
- The catchiest fragment of a song, the one you remember on the way out: a melodic motif, a riff or a rhythmic phrase, usually in the chorus or the intro.
- humbucker
- A pickup with two coils wired in series, wound in opposite directions and with reversed magnetic polarity. Hum reaches both coils out of phase and cancels, while the string signal adds up. It gives more output and a thicker, less bright sound than a single-coil.
- hybrid picking
- A way of playing that combines the pick, held between thumb and index, with the middle and ring fingers plucking other strings. It makes string skips, arpeggios and double stops easier.
I
- ii–V–I
- A subdominant–dominant–tonic progression whose roots fall by fifths: Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 in C major. In minor it is written iiø–V7–i (Bm7♭5–E7–Am). It is the basic cell of jazz harmony.
- improvisation
- Making up music as you play it, using a learned vocabulary (scales, phrases, licks) and listening to what is going on around you. It isn't playing at random: it's a conversation with rules you already know.
- inlay (position marker)
- A dot or shape on the fingerboard used as a visual landmark. They usually sit at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 (double), 15, 17, 19 and 21; many classical guitars only have them on the side of the neck.
- inside picking
- A string change in alternate picking where the pick attacks both strings from the gap between them: an upstroke on the lower string followed by a downstroke on the higher one.
- interleaved practice
- Alternating several skills or pieces within one session (A-B-C-A-B-C) instead of exhausting one before moving on (A-A-A-B-B-B). It feels harder, but what you learn is retained and transferred better.
- interval
- The distance between two notes. It is named with a number (how many letter names it spans, counting both ends) and a quality (perfect, major, minor, augmented or diminished), for example “major third” (M3).
- interval inversion
- Moving the lower note up an octave (or the upper one down). The numbers add up to 9, the half steps add up to 12, and the quality flips: major ↔ minor, augmented ↔ diminished; perfect stays perfect.
- interval quality
- An interval’s “surname”: perfect, major, minor, augmented or diminished. You find it by counting half steps once you already know the interval number.
- Ionian
- The first mode: the plain major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7). It is the reference against which the other major-family modes are compared.
K
- key
- A set of notes and chords organised around a tonic. A song "in G major" mainly uses the notes of the G major scale and feels at home on G.
- key signature
- The sharps or flats written at the start of every staff, right after the clef. They show which notes are always altered in that key.
L
- latency
- The delay between what you play and what you hear when the signal goes through a computer. Below about 10 ms it is barely noticeable; above that, playing in time becomes awkward. You reduce it by lowering the interface's buffer size.
- leading tone
- The seventh degree of the major scale, one half step below the tonic (B in C major). Being so close, it “pulls” towards the tonic. It belongs to the dominant chord.
- ledger line
- A short line that extends the staff above or below to write notes that don't fit on it. The guitar's lowest notes need up to three.
- legato
- A way of playing in which notes join with no gaps between them. On guitar it means sounding several notes from a single pick attack, using hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides.
- lick
- A short, recognisable phrase a guitarist keeps in their vocabulary and reuses in solos, often with variations. Unlike a riff, which repeats as the backbone of a song, a lick appears as decoration or as an answer inside a solo.
- Locrian
- The seventh mode: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Its tonic chord is half-diminished (m7♭5) because it has no perfect fifth, so it rarely works as a tonal centre; it is mostly used over m7♭5 chords.
- Lydian
- A major mode with a raised fourth: 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7. The ♯4 removes the fourth's pull down to the third and creates a bright, floating sound, much used in film scores and jazz.
M
- major chord
- A chord with a bright, stable colour. It is named with just the letter of its root: "E" means E major.
- major interval
- The quality of a second, third, sixth or seventh when it measures the same as from the tonic of a major scale up to that degree: M2 = 2, M3 = 4, M6 = 9 and M7 = 11 half steps.
- major pentatonic
- A five-note scale made of degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the major scale (in A: A, B, C♯, E, F♯). It has no half steps, so it sounds open and bright. It shares its notes with the minor pentatonic three half steps below (its relative).
- major scale
- A seven-note scale with the formula whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half (W-W-H-W-W-W-H). It is the backbone of Western theory: C major is the seven natural notes.
- Major seventh (maj7)
- A seventh chord with formula 1 3 5 7: a major triad plus a major seventh, a half step below the octave. It sounds bright, soft and slightly dreamy. It is the I and the IV of a major key.
- major triad
- Formula 1-3-5: a major third with a minor third on top (4 + 3 half steps). Bright and stable. Example: C–E–G.
- melodic interval
- An interval whose two notes sound one after the other, as in a melody. It can go up or down.
- melodic minor
- Minor with raised sixth and seventh: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. In classical practice it is used ascending and reverts to natural minor descending; in jazz it is used the same both ways (“jazz minor”) and is the source of many modern scales.
- metronome
- A device or app that marks the pulse with a regular click at a fixed tempo. It helps you play in time, measure progress and avoid rushing.
- metronome ladder
- A method for raising an exercise's tempo: start at the highest tempo where it comes out clean, go up a few BPM after each success, drop back after a failure and finish with a slow pass. Progress traces a slowly rising sawtooth.
- minor chord
- A chord with a darker or more wistful colour than the major one. It differs from the major chord on the same root by a single note, which is one fret (a semitone) lower. It is written with an "m": Em.
- minor interval
- One half step smaller than the major interval with the same number: m2 = 1, m3 = 3, m6 = 8 and m7 = 10 half steps.
- minor pentatonic
- The pentatonic scale with degrees 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7. In A minor its notes are A, C, D, E and G. It is the basic sound of blues and rock soloing.
- Minor seventh (m7)
- A seventh chord with formula 1 ♭3 5 ♭7: a minor triad plus a minor seventh. It sounds warm and relaxed. In a major key it is the ii, iii and vi.
- minor triad
- Formula 1-♭3-5: a minor third with a major third on top (3 + 4 half steps). Darker, just as stable. Example: A–C–E.
- Mixolydian
- A major mode with a minor seventh: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7. It is the natural scale of a dominant-seventh chord treated as home; it sounds like rock, blues, funk and Celtic music.
- modal interchange
- Using, within a key, chords taken from another mode with the same tonic, above all the parallel minor. In C major, Fm, Ab and Bb come from C minor. The tonic stays the same; only the colour changes.
- modal vamp
- A short accompaniment (one or two chords) repeated over the same tonic to establish a mode. It usually alternates the tonic chord with a chord that contains the characteristic note, such as Am7–D in A Dorian.
- mode
- A seven-note scale defined by its pattern of whole and half steps from a specific tonic. The seven modes of the major scale (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian) share material, but each sounds different because the centre changes.
- modulation
- A confirmed change of tonal centre: the music settles in a new key, usually with a cadence in it. It can be direct, by pivot chord, through secondary dominants or by common tone.
- modulation effect
- A family of effects that vary something in the signal periodically with a slow oscillator: volume (tremolo), pitch (vibrato), or blend in a slightly delayed, moving copy (chorus, flanger) or a phase-shifted one (phaser). They add movement and width.
- motif
- The smallest musical idea that is recognisable as such: a few notes with their own rhythm and contour. A piece is built by repeating, transforming and answering its motifs.
- movable shape
- A chord (or scale) fingering that uses no open strings and can therefore slide to any fret without changing its type: move it one fret and the whole chord rises a semitone. Barre chords and power chords are movable shapes.
- musical alphabet
- The seven letters that name the natural notes: A B C D E F G. After G it starts again at A, an octave higher.
- muted strum (chuck)
- A strum across deadened strings that makes a percussive click with no pitch. You get it by relaxing the fretting-hand fingers on the strings or by stopping them with the palm of the strumming hand. It is the snare drum inside the guitar.
N
- Nashville number system
- A way of writing progressions with ordinary numbers for the degree of each chord in the key (1, 4, 5, 6m…) instead of chord names. It grew up among Nashville session musicians so a band could change key on the spot.
- natural (♮)
- A natural note has no sharp or flat (the white keys of the piano). The natural sign returns a note to its natural form.
- natural minor
- The minor scale exactly as it comes from its relative major, with no alterations: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. It is the Aeolian mode; its V chord is minor and it has no leading tone.
- neck
- The long piece of wood joining the headstock to the body. The front carries the fingerboard and frets; the thumb of the fretting hand rests on the back.
- non-chord tone
- A melody note that does not belong to the chord sounding at that moment. It usually sits on a weak beat and moves by step to a chord tone: passing notes, neighbour notes, appoggiaturas and suspensions are the most common kinds.
- note
- A sound with a definite pitch and a name (C, D, E… or Do, Re, Mi…). Also the symbol that represents it on the staff.
- note value
- The symbol that shows how long a note lasts relative to the beat: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth… Each lasts half as long as the one before.
- nut
- The slotted piece (bone, plastic or graphite) at the headstock end of the neck that the strings rest on. It marks where the vibrating length begins when you play an open string: it is the “zero fret”.
O
- octave
- The distance from a note to the next note with the same name: 12 half steps. The higher note vibrates at exactly twice the frequency and sounds "the same, but higher".
- octave shape
- A fixed finger pattern that links a note with its octave on another string: from strings 6 or 5, two strings up and two frets higher; from strings 4 or 3, three frets higher (because of how string 2 is tuned).
- odd meter
- A meter that doesn't divide into equal beats but into groups of two and three subdivisions, such as 5/4 (3 + 2) or 7/8 (2 + 2 + 3). It creates an uneven, "limping" pulse.
- off-beat
- What falls between the beats, like the “&”s in “1 & 2 &”. An off-beat note sounds exactly when your tapping foot is up.
- one finger per fret
- A fingering principle where each finger of the fretting hand looks after one fret: finger 1 on the first fret of the area, finger 2 on the next, and so on. You cover four frets without moving your hand.
- one-minute changes
- An exercise where you count how many times you can switch between two chords in 60 seconds, strumming each chord once, and write the number down every day to track your progress.
- open chord
- A chord played in the first few frets that lets one or more open strings ring. It sounds full and resonant and is the backbone of accompaniment: E, A, D, Em, Am and Dm are open chords.
- open string
- A string played without pressing any fret: it vibrates along its whole length, from nut to saddle. Written 0 in tab and o in chord diagrams.
- open tuning
- A tuning in which the six open strings form a chord, usually major, such as open G (D G D G B D) or open D (D A D F♯ A D). A one-finger barre gives the other major chords and the open strings ring as drones.
- outside picking
- A string change in alternate picking where the pick attacks both strings from outside the pair: a downstroke on the lower string followed by an upstroke on the higher one. Many players find it more comfortable than inside picking.
- overdrive
- A mild distortion that imitates a valve amplifier pushed to its limit: the clean sound turns warm and gritty, especially when you pick hard. It is the middle ground between a clean tone and heavy distortion.
- overuse injury
- An injury caused by repeating a movement many times without enough rest, such as irritated tendons or compressed nerves in the wrist, forearm or elbow. It usually gives warning with pain, tingling or weakness; if these persist, see a health professional.
P
- p-i-m-a
- Names for the fingers of the picking hand, inherited from the Spanish classical tradition: p = pulgar (thumb), i = índice (index), m = medio (middle), a = anular (ring). They are written over notes to show which finger plays each one.
- palm mute
- Resting the edge of your picking hand on the strings right next to the bridge so they sound short and tight. Written “P.M.” in tab.
- palo
- Each of the forms of flamenco, with its own compás, harmony and character, such as soleá, bulería, alegrías, tangos or seguiriya.
- parallel mode
- Scales or modes that share a tonic but not a formula, such as A major, A Dorian and A minor. Comparing them side by side shows which degrees change and so what colour each mode brings.
- partial barre
- A barre that covers only two, three or four strings instead of all six. It can be made by the index (as in the four-string F) or by the ring finger (the 'mini-barre' of the A-shape major).
- passing diminished
- A diminished seventh chord placed between two diatonic chords to connect their bass notes by half step, as in C – C#dim7 – Dm. It is usually a secondary dominant with b9 and no root.
- pedal tone (drone)
- A low note held or repeated while harmony or melody moves above it. A continuous drone fixes the tonal centre and lets you hear the exact colour of every degree.
- pentatonic scale
- A scale with only five different notes (Greek “penta”, five). Because none of its notes sit very close together, almost any combination sounds good, which is why it is the first scale of so many blues, rock and folk guitarists.
- perfect interval
- The quality of the unison, fourth, fifth and octave (P1, P4, P5, P8). They are called perfect because they have a single “natural” size: there is no major or minor version.
- phrase
- A group of notes that makes sense on its own, like a sentence in speech: it starts, goes somewhere and ends, usually followed by a silence where you “breathe”. Solos are built from phrases, not from whole scales.
- phrasing
- How notes are organised into phrases with a beginning, a breath and an ending: where they start in the bar, how long they last, how much silence they leave, how they are articulated and which note they end on. It is what makes a solo "speak".
- Phrygian
- A minor mode with a minor second: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. The ♭2, a half step above the tonic, gives it a dark, tense colour typical of metal and flamenco-flavoured music.
- Phrygian dominant
- The fifth mode of harmonic minor: 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. It is Phrygian with a major third; it fits the V7 of a minor key and underpins the flamenco colour and a lot of neoclassical metal.
- picado
- A flamenco technique for fast scales: index and middle fingers alternate using rest strokes, with a strong, articulate sound.
- pick
- A small flat piece, usually plastic, used to pluck or strum the strings. Picks come in thicknesses: thin (< 0.6 mm), medium (0.6–0.8 mm) or heavy (> 0.8 mm). Also called a plectrum.
- picking hand
- The hand that sounds the strings, with a pick or the fingers: the right hand for a right-handed player. It moves mostly from the wrist.
- pickup
- The magnetic microphone of an electric guitar: a magnet wrapped in a coil of wire. A steel string vibrating above the magnet creates a small electrical signal that the amplifier turns into sound.
- piezo pickup
- A sensor, usually under the saddle of an acoustic guitar, made of a material that produces a small voltage when it is squeezed. It does not need steel strings, so it also works on nylon-string guitars. It sounds clear but can be dry and 'quacky' unless it is EQ'd.
- pinch
- Plucking one note with the thumb and another with a finger at the same moment, as if pinching the strings. In Travis picking it often marks the first beat of the bar.
- pitch
- The quality that makes us hear a sound as low or high. It depends mainly on the fundamental frequency.
- pivot chord
- A chord that belongs to both the starting key and the new key and serves as a bridge between them. In a modulation from C to G, Am is vi in C and ii in G.
- plagal cadence
- IV → I: a soft, warm ending without the tension of the dominant. The well-known “amen” at the end of many hymns.
- playing by ear
- Reproducing or creating music from what you hear, without notation or tab. You train it by listening, singing and finding the notes on the instrument until they match what you hear inside.
- A steady, comfortable rhythmic placement in which a musician (or a band) settles on the beat. You can sit slightly ahead of, on, or behind the beat; being 'in the pocket' means doing it consistently and together.
- polyrhythm
- Two different divisions of the same span of time played at once, such as 3 against 2 (three hits in the time of two) or 4 against 3. The layers coincide at the start of each cycle.
- Position
- A zone of about four or five frets you play without moving your hand, one finger per fret. It is named after the fret under your index finger (for example, "7th position").
- Position shift
- Moving the fretting hand from one position to another. It is done with a slide, on a shared note or using an open string, so that no gap is heard.
- power amp
- The second stage of an amplifier: it takes the signal shaped by the preamp and gives it the power (watts) needed to move the speaker cone. Its usual control is the master volume.
- power chord (fifth chord)
- A chord with only two different notes: the root and the fifth, often with the root doubled an octave higher. With no third it is neither major nor minor. It's written with a 5 after the letter (A5, E5) and is the backbone of distorted rock.
- pre-bend
- A bend made before the string is picked: you push silently up to the target pitch and only then strike, so the note starts already bent. It is almost always followed by a release.
- preamp
- The first stage of an amplifier: it boosts the guitar signal, sets how much it saturates (gain) and shapes it with the EQ. It is where most of the amp's character is born.
- primary chords (I, IV, V)
- The three chords built on the first, fourth and fifth notes of a major key. In A they are A, D and E; in E they are E, A and B. Between them they contain every note of the scale and carry thousands of blues, rock and folk songs.
- pull-off
- A falling slur: you sound a lower note by lifting a finger off the string with a slight sideways pull, without picking again. Written “p” in tab.
- pulse
- The steady, regular heartbeat you feel underneath music, the one your foot taps without thinking. It is the unit musical time is measured in.
Q
- quarter note
- A filled note head with a stem, lasting a quarter of a whole note. In 4/4 and 3/4 it equals one beat. British name: crotchet.
- quarter-tone bend (curl)
- A very small bend, roughly a quarter tone, that leaves the note halfway between two semitones. Used above all on the blues minor third so it sounds neither minor nor major.
- quick change
- A variant of the 12-bar blues in which bar 2 moves to the IV chord and returns to the I in bar 3: I-IV-I-I instead of I-I-I-I.
R
- rasgueado
- A flamenco technique in which the fingers flick out one after another from a closed hand and strike the strings like a fan. The most common uses little, ring, middle and index fingers in a row; chained together they produce a continuous, drum-roll-like sound.
- reference tone
- A fixed, in-tune note (from a tuner, an app, a piano or a tuning fork) that you compare a string with to tune it by ear.
- register
- The pitch zone (low, middle or high) in which a note, voice or instrument sounds. The same note can be played in different registers, an octave or more apart.
- reharmonisation
- Changing the chords under a melody without changing the melody. Each new chord must contain the melody note as a chord tone or as an available tension.
- relative key
- A major and a minor key that share the same notes and key signature. The relative minor starts on degree 6 of the major (three half steps below its tonic): C major and A minor.
- relative mode
- A mode that uses exactly the same notes as another but a different centre: D Dorian is relative to C major. Handy for finding fingerings, but it does not describe how the mode sounds.
- relative tuning
- Tuning strings by comparing them with each other, without a tuner. The classic method frets a string at the 5th fret (the 4th for the 3rd string) and matches it to the next open string.
- release (bend release)
- Letting a bent string return to its normal position while it keeps ringing, so the pitch falls back to the fretted note. Marked R in tab.
- resolution
- The move from a tense note or chord to a stable one, which the ear hears as relief or arrival. For example, G7 resolving to C.
- rest
- A symbol for a stretch of time with no sound. Every note value has a rest of the same length: whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest…
- rest stroke
- A stroke in which the finger plays through the string and comes to rest on the neighbouring string. It gives a full, present tone and is used to bring out melodies. In Spanish: apoyando.
- reverb
- The tail of thousands of reflections a sound leaves in a room, so close together that they no longer sound like separate echoes. Reverb effects simulate it (room, hall, church, plate, spring) to add space and depth.
- riff
- A short, repeated phrase, often on the low strings, that gives a song its identity. It can be made of single notes or chords.
- Roman numeral (chord degree)
- A way to name a chord by its position in the key instead of by its note: I is the chord built on the first note, IV on the fourth and V on the fifth. That way one progression works in any key.
- root
- The note that names a chord and that the chord is built on: in C major, the root is C. For scales and keys it is usually called the tonic.
- root position
- A chord is in root position when its lowest note is the root, whatever the order or doubling of the other notes.
S
- saddle
- The strip of bone, plastic or metal on the bridge that the strings rest on. It marks the end of the vibrating length (the nut marks the start), and its height affects the action.
- scale
- An ordered set of notes, from low to high, that works as a palette for melodies and solos. The same pattern of notes repeats higher and lower on the neck.
- scale degree
- The position number of each note in a scale, counting from the tonic (1, 2, 3… 7). In C major, E is degree 3 and G is degree 5.
- scientific pitch notation
- A system that adds an octave number to the note name: C4 is middle C and each octave starts on C. The guitar's open 6th string is E2 and the open 1st string is E4.
- secondary dominant
- A dominant seventh chord that acts as the V of a diatonic chord other than the tonic. It is written V/x: in C major, A7 is V/ii because it resolves to Dm. It contains at least one note from outside the key, which creates the pull towards its target.
- sequence (melodic)
- A motif repeated starting on a different pitch while keeping its shape. If it follows the notes of the scale it is a diatonic sequence (the intervals change slightly); if it copies the intervals exactly, it is a real or transposed sequence.
- Seventh chord
- A four-note chord made by adding a seventh to a triad: root, third, fifth and seventh. The five basic types are maj7, 7, m7, m7♭5 and dim7.
- sharp (♯)
- An accidental that raises a note by a half step: one fret towards the body of the guitar. F♯ is one fret above F.
- Shell voicing
- A three-note voicing that keeps only the root, the third and the seventh: the essentials for recognising the chord type. The fifth is left out.
- shuffle
- The rhythm of blues and rock and roll in which each beat is split into a long note and a short one (the first two parts of a triplet joined, plus the third). It sounds lilting, like a train or a gracefully limping step.
- signal chain
- The order in which the signal passes through each element: guitar, cables, pedals, amp, speaker (and microphone or interface if you record). Order matters because each effect processes everything it receives: distorting an echo is not the same as echoing a distorted note.
- simple meter (simple time)
- A meter whose beats split into two equal parts (2/4, 3/4, 4/4): “1 & 2 &”. The beat is an undotted note, usually the quarter note.
- single-coil pickup
- An electric-guitar pickup with one coil of wire wound around magnets. It sounds bright, clear and defined, but it also picks up hum from mains electricity (50 or 60 Hz), screens and transformers.
- sixteenth note
- A note lasting half an eighth: four per beat in 4/4. It has two flags or two beams. Counted “1 e & a”. British name: semiquaver.
- sixth chord
- A triad with an added major sixth, such as C6 = C, E, G, A. It has a sweet, slightly vintage colour and works as an ending or as an alternative to the plain triad.
- slash chord
- A chord written with a slash: the chord on the left and the note that must sound in the bass on the right. C/B is a C major chord with B in the bass. Slash chords let the bass line walk step by step.
- slide
- A technique where you slide your finger along the string from one fret to another without lifting it, so the notes in between are heard as a glissando. Written “/”, “\” or “sl.” in tab.
- solfège (note names)
- A system that names notes with syllables: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si (Ti). It is the standard in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy and France; English- and German-speaking countries use letters.
- song form
- The order of the sections of a song (intro, verse, chorus, ending…). It is summarised with names or letters, for example Intro – Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Outro.
- sound
- A vibration that travels through a medium (usually air) as a series of compressions and rarefactions, and that the ear perceives. There is no sound in a vacuum because there is nothing to vibrate.
- soundhole
- The opening in the top of an acoustic or classical guitar. It lets the air inside the body, vibrating along with the top, project the sound outwards.
- spaced practice
- Spreading practice over short sessions across several days instead of cramming it into one long session. Between sessions the brain consolidates what you learned.
- speed burst
- A speed exercise in which you play a very short fragment faster than is comfortable, ending on a long note on a strong beat, and rest before repeating it. The fragments are gradually lengthened and joined.
- speed ladder
- A way to build speed without losing cleanness: play an exercise at a comfortable tempo and only when it comes out clean several times in a row, raise the metronome by a few BPM. If it falls apart, step back down a rung.
- staff (stave)
- Five horizontal lines and four spaces on which notes are written: the higher the position, the higher the note. The clef at the start says which note each line is.
- standard tuning
- The usual tuning of the guitar: from the 6th string to the 1st, E A D G B E. Neighbouring strings are five frets apart, except the 3rd and 2nd, which are four frets apart.
- string gauge
- The thickness of the strings, in thousandths of an inch: a “10–46” set has a first string of 0.010". Lighter strings are easier to press; heavier ones sound fuller and louder.
- string muting
- Stopping a string that doesn't belong to the chord from ringing, either by not strumming it or by lightly touching it with a spare finger or the thumb so it can't vibrate. Strings marked "x" in a diagram must stay silent.
- string skipping
- Playing two non-adjacent strings in a row, jumping over the one in between. It gives lines an open sound with wide intervals and demands accuracy from the attacking hand.
- strum
- Sounding several strings almost at once by sweeping across them with the pick or the fingers of your picking hand. Strumming sets the rhythm of an accompaniment.
- strumming pattern
- A fixed sequence of down, up and ghost strokes repeated every bar, such as “↓ · ↓↑ · ↑↓↑”. It gives a song its accompaniment rhythm.
- subdivision
- Splitting each beat into smaller equal parts: in two (eighths, “1 &”), in four (sixteenths, “1 e & a”) or in three (triplets). Counting it makes your rhythm precise.
- subdominant
- The fourth degree of the scale, and the function of chords that move away from home without strong tension: IV and ii. It usually prepares the way to the dominant.
- suspended chord (sus)
- A chord in which the third is replaced by the fourth (sus4) or the second (sus2). With no third it is neither major nor minor: it sounds open and unresolved, and often resolves back to the chord with its third.
- sweep picking
- A technique in which the pick crosses several strings in a row in a single gesture, one note per string, while the fretting hand mutes each note as the next one sounds. Used mainly for fast arpeggios.
- swing (uneven eighths)
- Playing eighth notes with the first longer than the second instead of even. The reference ratio is 2:1 (a triplet), but it varies with style and tempo. Swing is also the name of a jazz style of the 1930s and 40s.
- symmetric scale
- A scale built from a repeating interval pattern, so it reproduces itself exactly when moved by certain distances. The diminished scale repeats every 3 semitones and the whole-tone scale every 2.
- syncopation
- Shifting the accent to a weak beat or an off-beat, usually by holding that note over the next beat. It creates surprise and drive.
T
- tablature
- A way of writing guitar music with six lines, one per string (the top line is string 1, the highest). Numbers show which fret to press; 0 means open string. Often shortened to “tab”.
- tapping
- A technique in which a finger of the picking hand strikes and frets a note on the neck, usually combined with pull-offs and hammer-ons by the other hand. It allows wide intervals and slurred arpeggios on a single string.
- target note
- A chord tone chosen in advance as the destination of a phrase, so that you arrive on it on a strong beat, usually right when the chord changes. The third of each chord is the most telling target.
- tempo
- The speed of the pulse: how many beats sound per minute. It is given as a BPM number or with Italian words such as *andante* or *allegro*.
- tension
- An extension (9, 11, 13) or alteration (b9, #9, #11, b13) that enriches a chord without changing its function. It is 'available' if it fits the chord's scale and does not clash with its main notes.
- Three notes per string (3NPS)
- A fingering for seven-note scales that puts exactly three notes on every string. It gives even groups for alternate picking and legato, at the cost of wider hand stretches.
- tie
- A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch: the second is not played, it just lengthens the first. It lets a note cross a bar line or the middle of the bar.
- timbre
- The "colour" of a sound: what tells a guitar from a piano playing the same note at the same volume. It depends on the mix of harmonics and on how the sound starts and dies away (attack and decay).
- time signature
- The two numbers at the start of the music (4/4, 3/4, 6/8…). The top one says how many note values fit in each bar; the bottom one says which value (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note).
- tonal centre
- The note the ear hears as “home”, where the music comes to rest. The bass, repetition, strong beats and phrase endings establish it; with the same seven notes, moving the centre changes the mode.
- tonic
- The first note of a scale or key, the "home" where the music feels at rest. It gives the scale and the key their name.
- tonic function
- The function of rest, of “being home”. Mainly the I chord; also vi and sometimes iii, because they share two notes with it.
- tonicisation
- Making a chord other than the tonic sound, for a moment, like a home chord, usually by preceding it with its own dominant. It is brief: the main key does not change. If the new centre is confirmed by cadences, it has become a modulation.
- transcription
- Working music out by ear and pinning it down: playing it and often writing it in tab or notation. It is one of the most complete exercises there is: it trains your ear, rhythm, fretboard knowledge and sense of style all at once.
- transpose
- To move a piece of music or a progression into another key while keeping the distances between its notes and chords intact. On guitar, with movable shapes, you simply shift every shape by the same number of frets.
- Travis picking
- A fingerstyle approach in which the thumb plays a steady alternating bass in quarter notes while the index and middle fingers pluck treble notes in between. Named after the American guitarist Merle Travis.
- treble clef (G clef)
- The clef whose spiral curls around the second line of the staff, making it G (G4). Guitar music uses it with a small 8 underneath: the guitar sounds an octave lower than written.
- triad
- A three-note chord built by stacking two thirds on a root: root, third and fifth (1-3-5). There are four types: major, minor, diminished and augmented.
- trill
- A very fast, repeated alternation between two neighbouring notes. On guitar you pick once and chain hammer-ons and pull-offs between two frets on the same string.
- triplet
- A group of three equal notes taking the time of two of the same value. Three eighth-note triplets fill one quarter-note beat. Written with a 3 over the group.
- tritone
- An interval of six half steps (three whole steps), exactly half an octave. Depending on spelling it is an augmented fourth (A4, F–B) or a diminished fifth (d5, B–F). It is the most unstable interval and the engine of the dominant chord.
- tritone substitution
- Replacing a dominant seventh chord with another whose root is a tritone away (Db7 instead of G7). It works because both share the same tritone between the 3rd and the 7th, and the bass resolves by half step.
- tuner
- A device or app that detects the note being played and shows whether it is flat (too low), sharp (too high) or in tune. Clip-on tuners sense the vibration of the headstock; others use a microphone.
- tuning peg
- The mechanism on the headstock that winds each string. Turning it tightens or loosens the string: more tension, higher note; less tension, lower note. Also called a tuner or machine head.
- turnaround
- A passage at the end of a form (in the blues, bars 11 and 12) that sets up the return to the top. It usually ends on the V chord, which pushes back to the I.
- two-hand muting
- Controlling string noise with both hands: the fretting hand mutes the unused treble strings with the finger pads and the underside of the index, and the picking hand mutes the bass strings with the edge of the palm.
U
- unison
- Two notes at exactly the same pitch (P1, zero half steps). On guitar you can play the same note on two different strings, such as the E on string 2, fret 5, and the open first string.
- unison bend
- Two notes at once on neighbouring strings: one is fretted and held, the other, lower one is bent up to the same pitch. Until they match you hear a beating wobble that slows down and disappears when the bend is in tune.
- up-strum (upstroke)
- A pick or finger stroke moving from string 1 towards string 6 (towards the ceiling). It usually falls on the “&” and sounds lighter, mostly on the high strings. Written ↑ or U.
V
- verse
- The section of a song that tells the story: it usually repeats the same music with different words each time.
- vibration
- A repeated back-and-forth movement around a resting position. A plucked string vibrates hundreds of times per second and pushes the air around it.
- vibrato
- A regular, controlled wobble in the pitch of a note that is already sounding, made with the fretting hand. It is described by its width (how far the pitch moves) and its speed (how many times per second or per beat). It gives long notes life and a personal voice.
- Voice leading
- Connecting chords by treating each note as a singing voice: every voice moves to the nearest note of the next chord, or stays put when the note is shared.
- Voicing
- The concrete way the notes of a chord are laid out: which note is at the bottom, in what order and in which octave each one sounds. The same Cmaj7 has dozens of voicings on the guitar.
W
- warm-up
- A few minutes of gentle, slow exercises at the start of practice to prepare your fingers, hands and focus before anything demanding.
- wavelength
- The distance between two consecutive compressions of a sound wave. It equals the speed of sound (about 343 m/s in air) divided by the frequency: a 440 Hz A is about 78 cm long.
- whole note
- A hollow note head with no stem, lasting four quarter notes: a whole bar of 4/4. British name: semibreve.
- whole step (whole tone)
- A distance of two half steps: two frets on the same string. Abbreviated W. Natural notes are a whole step apart, except E–F and B–C, which are a half step apart.
- whole-tone scale
- A six-note symmetric scale in which every step is a whole step. It has no half steps and no perfect fifths, which is why it sounds like it is floating. It fits dominants with #5 (7#5, 9#5). There are only two whole-tone scales.