Glossary

Glossary

	Alphabetical listing of terms used on site. Accidental - sharp (#), flat (b) or natural sign. Aeolian - mode starting on the 6th degree of a major scale. Also known as a natural minor scale. Altered Chord - a chord in which a note has been raised or lowered chromatically. Arpeggio - broken chord. Augmented - raised. Bridge - a piece of metal or wood used to hold the strings away from the body of a stringed instrument. Chord - 3 or more notes played at the same time. Chord Progression - chord to chord. The order in which chords are played in a tune. Chromatic - notes moving by half step. Degree - note of a scale, identified by a number. Diatonic - notes indigenous to a key in a major or minor scale. Diminished - lowered. Dominant - 5th degree of a major or minor scale. Dominant Chord - chord built from the 5th degree of a major. Dorian - mode starting on the 2nd degree of a major scale. Eighth Note - half the length of a quarter note, 1/8 the length of a whole note. Enharmonic - Different spelling of the same note. Ex. A# , Bb Flat - symbol (b) used to lower a note one half step. Half note - note or rest worth half the value of a whole note. Half Step - smallest distance between two notes. Also known as minor 2nd. Hammer On - sounding a note higher by percussively hitting the fret board with your fret hand. Improvising - spontaneously creating music. Interval - distance between two notes. Inversions - a chord played with the root somewhere other than lowest tone. Key - key center based on the tonic note of the scale. Key Signatures - the sharps or flats written on the staff to indicate the key. Legato - smoothly. Locrian - mode starting from the 7th degree. Lydian - mode starting on the 4th degree of a major scale. Mediant - 3rd degree of major scale. Medley - a group of songs linked together. Melodic Minor - minor scale with raised 6th and 7th degree. Melody - an organized sequence of single notes. Meter - A framework for rhythm determined by the number of beats, the time value of those beats, and the accents thereof. Metronome - device that can be adjusted to indicate the exact tempo of a piece. Invented around 1812. Mixolydian - mode starting on the 5th degree of a major scale. Natural - symbol used to cancel a sharp or flat. Octave - interval between the 1st and 8th degree of a major scale. 12 half steps. Open Chords - chords using open strings. Phrasing - the way in which a melodic line is played. Picking, hammer on, pull off, tapping, stacatto,etc. Phyrgian - mode starting on the 3rd degree of a major scale. Picking - using a pick to strike the stings. Progression - chord to chord. The order in which chords are played in a tune. Pull Off - sounding a note by pulling a fret hand finger off of a higher note. Quarter note - note or rest worth one quarter of a whole note. Rest - period of silence. Scale - a progression on notes is a specific order. Secondary Dominant - dominant chord built from the 5th degree of a chord other than the tonic. Sharp - symbol (#) used to raise a note one half step. Shifting - to change the position of the fret hand. Sixteenth Note - half the length of a eighth note, 1/16 the length of a whole note. Slur - a curved line connecting two or more notes. Indicates to be played legato. Step - melodic movement of one or two half steps. Strum - to pick across a group of strings quickly with pick or fingers. Subdominant - 4th degree of a major or minor scale. Submediant - 6th degree of a major or minor scale. Also known as superdominant. Supertonic - 2nd degree of a major or minor scale. Tie - curved line connecting two notes of the same pitch indicating they are to be played as one. Time Signature - numbers at beginning of music. Top number indicates beats per measure. Bottom number indicates type of note which receives one beat. Tonic - 1st degree of a scale. Transpose - changing a key from one to another. Triad - a chord of three notes. 1st, 3rd and 5th. Tri Tone - the distance between two notes 6 half steps or 3 whole steps apart. Also known as a augmented 4th or diminished 5th. Whammy Bar - a bar that changes the pitch of the strings by tilting the bridge forward or back. Whole Note - a note or rest equal to two half notes or four quarter notes. Whole step - two half steps. A major 2nd. Whole tone - another name for whole step or major 2nd.