Music glossary

Our Music glossary will help you learn all the sometimes difficult terms used in the realm of music. You can also download a full copy of our glossary in PDF form too.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

A

Accent

A beat or note that is significantly louder than the others

Action

The space or distance between the fretboard and strings usually of a guitar

Acoustic

An instrument that creates it’s own amplification by passive means, not electric

Ad Lib (Ad Libitum)

Musical directive that gives the musician the ability to improvise or omit a section of music

Arpeggio

A series of notes derived from a chord, aka: broken chord

Augmented

Any note that has been raised by a semitone from it’s normal position

B

Banjo

A stringed instrument characterized by a round body and a unique twangy sound

Bass

Mosty referring to a bass guitar but can be referencing to any instrument in the bass tonal range

Bass Clef

A musical symbol that indicates the piece should be played in the bass tonal range, or F clef

Bass Drum

Generally the largest drum in a drummers kit that sits on it’s side and is played via a foot pedal

Beat

The main pulse of the music, the rhythm of the music

Blue Note

Generally referring the the sharp fourth/flat fifth in the blues scale, aka: tri-tone

Blues

A large genre of music characterized by strong rhythms, improvisation and guitar centric music

Brass

The name given to a large range of brass instruments including the saxophone, trumpet and trombone

Bridge

A guitar part in which the strings usually go through to the rear of the guitar, the bridge holds the string and transfers vibrations into the guitar body

C

Cadence

A conclusion to a musical phrase, section or entire piece of music

Call & Response

An improvisation system where by two or more musicians play complimenting phrases in turns

Capo

A device that clamps onto the guitar neck enabling the player to play open chord shapes in any key

Chart

Term used to describe a piece of written music

Chord

A series of three or more notes played simultaneously

Chorus

The main section in a piece of music, usually a repeated phrase

Chromatic

Moving up or down by semitones only

Classical

Genre of music typified by composers like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi

Clef

Group term used to describe any of the musical clefs, ie: bass clef or treble clef

Coda

The last section of a musical piece that will usually bring it to an end

Common Time

Basic ⁴/₄ timing, four beats per bar/measure

Cut Time

Term used to describe ²/₂ timing which is half of common time

Cymbals

Round brass plate like instrument of a drummers kit

D

Dissonance

Two or more notes that are in need of resolution and sound discordant

Diatonic

That which comes from the seven tones of the major or minor scales

Dominant

Generally referring to the V chord, or any chord that has a dominant seventh

Double Stop

Two notes played together like a scale

Duet

Two musicians playing together or a piece of music written for two players

Duo

A band made up of only two players

Dynamics

Musical element referring to the loudness or softness of a musical piece

E

Encore

An audience request for a band to keep playing after the standard set

Electric Guitar

An instrument with a solid body, strings and electronic pickups

F

Flat

Musical symbol referring to a note that has been lowered by one semitone from it’s normal position

Folk Music

Genre of music, usually simple rhythms and melodies played on acoustic instruments

Frequency

The rate at which a string is vibrating that also determines pitch

Fusion

A genre of music characterized by Jazz music played on distorted electric guitars

G

Genre

A style of music

Grunge

A genre of music that began in Seattle U.S, typified by the band Nirvana

Guitar

A general term used to describe a six stringed acoustic or electric instrument

H

Half Step

The shortest distance between two notes in Western music, aka: semitone

Hammer On

Technique in which the guitar player taps the string heavily producing the note instead of picking it

Harmonics

In guitar, harmonics are created by lightly touching the string(s) at certain points on the fretboard and then picked which produces a crystalline tone

Harmony

General term used to describe chords and chord theory

Heavy Metal

Genre of music that began in the 1970’s, typified by bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica

I

Imitation

When two guitarists try to play each others riffs or chords

Improvisation

The art of being able to play "on the spot" without rehearsal, a free form solo

Interval

The name given for the distance between two notes, ie: minor third

Inversion

Refers to a chord played with a note in the bass other than the root

J

Jazz

A genre or style of music characterized by improvisation and freedom of musical ideas

K

Key Signature

Sharps or flats located on the staff that identify the tonal range of the piece of music

Keyboard

An instrument that has the same black and white keys of a piano that is however electronic and produces synthesized tones

L

Legato

Technique where the strings are hammered on with the fretting hand and only picked every three or four notes

Line

Used to describe a small melody or riff

Lyrics

The words that the singer sings in a song

M

Major Scale

A series of seven notes occurring in a specific order of: W-W-H-W-W-W-H steps

Measure

In written music, a measure or bar is an evenly divided section of music designated by the time signature and separated by a vertical line or lines

Melody

A series of notes usually repeating in a song

Meter

The division of time into beats designated by the time signature

Metronome

A musical accessory that produces a beating sound at different speeds

MIDI

Acronym for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface" and is an electronic system of transferring non digitized music into digitized machine readable music

Minor Scale

Generally referring to a natural minor scale, which is a series of seven notes occurring in a specific order of: W-H-W-W-H-W-W steps

Mode

A scale derived from another scale via inversion

N

Neck

The thin, long part of the guitar where the frets are

Nut

A small piece of plastic or bone at the top of the guitar neck that has grooves where the strings sit

O

Octave

Two notes 12 semitones apart, the higher note vibrates at twice the rate of the lower note

P

Pentatonic Scale

General term used to describe one of several five note scales

Phrase

A small element of a melody

Piano

A keyboard instrument made up of black and white keys that when pressed, strike the strings

Pickguard

A plastic cover used as a mount for the electronics of an electric guitar

Pickup

Term used to describe a magnet and copper coil device that picks up the sound of electric guitar strings and turns the vibrations into an analog electrical signal

Pitch

The tonal position of a note, or a notes unique frequency

Poly-rhythm

The use of several different rhythms on top of each other

Q

Quartal Harmony

The use of fourths to build a chord as opposed to tertian harmony that uses thirds

R

Relative Key

Any key that shares it’s key signature with another are considered relative to each other

Resolution

The tonal return to the key root

Rhythm

The control of time and music by regularly occurring beats

Rock & Roll

Genre of music that started in the early 1950’s typified by bands like Bill Haley & The Comets

S

Scale

A series of notes that form a melodic basis for composition

Semitone

The smallest tonal step in Western music, aka: half step

Sharp

Musical symbol referring to a note that has been raised by one semitone from it’s normal position

T

Tempo

The speed at which music is played

Tertian Harmony

The building of chords moving up in thirds

Tonic

The first note of a scale to which the other notes gravitate towards

Transpose

The shifting of a piece of music into another key

Tremolo Arm

A metal bar attached to the bridge that when pushed up and down creates a vibrato sound

Triad

A three note chord built using tertian harmony

Trill

Technique created by playing a rapid alternation between two notes a semitone apart

Triplet

Three notes played evenly over a period of two notes

U

Unison

The interval name for two notes of identical pitch

V

Vamp

A small section of music usually repeated, a term typically used in Funk and Jazz

Verse

As opposed to a chorus, a verse is usually not repeated and makes up the story of the song

Vibrato

Technique of bending a string slightly then returning it to the original pitch in very quick successions

W

Whole Step

A distance of two semitones or one tone

Whammy Bar

Another name given the tremolo bar, when pushed up and down it creates a vibrato on the guitar

X

Y

Z