Copy of `Guitar tools - Guitar and music glossary`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Guitar tools - Guitar and music glossary Category: Music and Sound > Guitar and music Date & country: 23/11/2007, UK Words: 159

Abalone
colourful shell material commonly inlaid on instruments for decoration. Abalone comes in A vast array of colours and is very beautiful

Accent
A note or chord which is emphasised

Accidental
A musical notation symbol used to raise or lower The pitch of A note

Acoustic guitar
A classical or steel-strung instrument with A hollow bodied sound chamber

Action
the height of the guitar strings above a fret or fretboard, usually measured from the top of a fret to the bottom of the string

Active
when pickups are said to be active they normally have a power source such as a 9 volt battery to power active circuitry

Aeolian mode
The mode which starts on The sixth degree of The major scale

Amplifier
electronic device used to boost The signal from A guitar pickup or microphone

Archtop
A guitar with A curved top and back

Arpeggio
A succession of chord notes played one after another

Augmented
an augmented chord is a major triad (1 3 5) with a raised fifth (i.e. 1 3 5#)

Bar
a section of music for a grouping of note values over a given length of time, also know as a measure

Barre
The method of placing The first or other fingers across The strings to hold down adjacent chord notes

Bass note
The lowest pitched note in A chord or harmonic movement

Belly
The name of an archtop soundboard

Bigsby
A type of tremolo/vibrato unit

Binding
the continuous strip of wood around the edge of a guitar (as found on many Gibson Les Paul`s)

Blues
an expressive form of North American folk music. Usually distinguished by a syncopated 4/4 rhythm, flatted thirds and sevenths, and a 12-bar structure

Bolt On
normally refers to an instrument whose neck is attached by bolts rather than being glued in place

Book matched
most tops and backs of instruments are 2 pieces of wood glued together to form one panel. When that panel is book matched the wood which it came from has been cut into slices and 2 consecutive slices (pages) are laid open like the pages of a book to for

Bottleneck
A technique for sliding A metal bar or tube along The strings to play notes and chords

Bout
The term applied to The upper and lower section of The guitar body

Bracing
The strips of wood found inside an acoustic guitar which are used for support and tonal distribution

Bridge
The section for fixing and supporting The strings on an acoustic guitar. The method of supporting The strings on an electric or acoustic guitar

Bridge Pin
bridge pins press into The bridge to anchor The strings in place

Camber
the curvature of the fretboard, also known as the radius

Capo
a device clamped to the strings with a screw, elastic or spring mechanism. It holds the strings across any of the lower fret positions enabling open strings on higher fret positions to be played. They also lower the action

Celluloid
a common plastic used on instrument pickguards, tuning buttons and binding. Celluloid is known to shrink and deteriorate with time and may require replacement on some vintage instruments

Chord
two or more notes played together

Chromatic
full scale which includes all twelve notes A semitone apart within an octave

Classical
standard compositional repertoire played on A classical guitar

Clef
symbol for setting The stave at A given pitch

Compound interval
an interval larger than one octave

Controls
normally rotary potentiometers (pots) or switches used to control electrical signals

Counterpoint
two or more lines of A melody played at The same time

Course
normally A pair of strings placed together to be played with normal fingering

Cutaway
The section of The guitar body which has been cut away to allow better access to The higher part or register of The fingerboard

Cycle
a series of related musical structures, e.g. the circle of fifths or cycle of keys

Diatonic
The seven note major and minor scale system

Diminished
term applied to a minor chord (1 b3 5) with a lowered fifth (i.e. 1 b3 b5) and a chord comprising of minor third intervals. Or a scale composed of successive tones and semitones

Dobro
A type of resonator guitar

Dominant
the note or chord on the fifth degree of a diatonic scale. Often notated with the “V� Roman numeral

Dorian mode
The mode which starts on The second degree of The major scale

Dreadnought
A large steel-string acoustic guitar

Effect
The result of signal processing to modify A sound

Enharmonic
the relationship between two pitches that represent the same note (i.e. G# and Ab)

Equalizer
an electronic device used to filter differing frequencies within A signal to modify tone

Extemporisation
see improvisation

Feedback
A sound produced by A string or microphone picking up and amplifying its own signal from A loudspeaker

Fingerboard
wooden section with mounted frets for stopping the strings with the fretting hand, also known as a fretboard

Fixed melodic minor
this is an Aeolian mode with A raised sixth and seventh in both The ascending and descending form

Flamenco
indigenous music and dance of Andalusia in Southern Spain

Flat
symbol (B) used for lowering A note by A semitone. A double-flat (bb) moves The note down by two semitones (one tone)

Flat top
The flat soundboard on A steel-string guitar

Floating Pickup
a pickup that is suspended over the body rather than being built into it. Commonly found on arched top guitars, these pickups are frequently attached to the end of the fingerboard or pickguard so as not to interfere with the acoustical properties of the

Frequency
the number of cycles per second, which determines pitch (measured in Hertz, Hz)

Fret
The metal strips placed across The fingerboard to determine semitonal spacing

Friction peg
A round wooden peg to hold each string on A solid headstock

Golpeador
A type of pickguard for tapping rhythms on flamenco guitars

Hammer-on
A technique for sounding notes with The fretting hand fingers

Harmonic
these are upper parts of a note, related to the fundamental which are played by touching a string a certain points. Creates a chiming sound

Harmonic minor
an Aeolian mode with A raised seventh

Harmony
The simultaneous relationship and order of musical notes

Headstock
The top section of The guitar neck for mounting The machineheads or tuning pegs

Heavy metal
intense guitar-based rock music played at high volume and speed, often featuring sustain, overdrive and virtuoso playing

Heel
The reinforced section of The guitar neck where it joins The body

Improvisation
creative process of composing music or soloing ad lib

Intabulation
music in guitar tablature form

Interval
The distance between two notes

Inversion
The order of notes in A chord from The bass note

Ionian mode
another name for The major scale

Key
The pitch reference for A diatonic scale

Lead
A cable for carrying The guitars electrical signal. Also A term for single note playing or soloing

Leading note
The note or chord on The seventh degree of The major scale. Often marked with The Roman numeral VII

Ledger line
small line for placing notes above and below The stave

Legato
a smooth, even approach to playing consecutive notes

Ligado
The term for hammering and pulling-off notes

Line
A succession of single notes

Locrian mode
The mode starting on The seventh degree of The major scale

Luthier
A guitar maker

Lydian mode
The mode starting on The fourth degree of The major scale

Machinehead
mechanical device for adjusting The pitch of guitar strings

Major
chord with A major third between The root and The third. scale with major and perfect intervals

Mediant
The note or chord on The third degree of The major scale. Often marked with The Roman numeral III

Melodic minor
this is an Aeolian mode with a raised sixth and seventh in an ascending form, and a normal Aeolian in its descending form

Melody
single notes in A recognisable pattern

Minor
chord with A minor third between The root and The third. scale with minor and perfect intervals

Mixing
method of controlling and blending recorded sounds

Mixolydian mode
The mode starting on The fifth degree of The major scale

Mode
A scale

Modulation
movement from A section of music in one key to another key

Multitracking
storing separate tracks on A reel of tape

Natural
A symbol for cancelling The effect of A sharp of flat

Nut
The point at which The strings are supported as The run from The fingerboard to The headstock

Octave
an interval of twelve semitones. The same note vibrating mathematically related frequencies

Passive
an instrument`s electronics which has no power source (like a 9 volt battery) or active circuitry

Pentatonic
A five note scale

Phrase
A musical sentence

Phrygian mode
The mode starting on The third degree of The major scale

Pickguard
A plate which protects The guitar body from being scratched by picking with A plectrum