Glossary

119 terms

A

Accidental Notation

A sharp (♯), flat (♭) or natural (♮) sign that raises or lowers a note by a half step, or cancels an earlier sharp or flat.

Alternate picking Technique

Strict down-up-down-up with the pick, one stroke per note, whatever the string. The engine behind most fast single-note playing.Practice it with the metronome →

Alternating bass Techniquealso Travis picking

The thumb (or pick) moving between the root and another low string, usually the fifth, on the beats: the walk under Travis picking and boom-chick strumming.Hear it on the Finger & hybrid picking page →

Arpeggio Theory

A chord played one note at a time instead of all at once. On guitar an arpeggio is a shape: learn it once and move the root.Arpeggios on the neck →

Augmented Chords

A triad with a raised fifth (1 3 ♯5): three major thirds stacked, so it has no settled root. Written aug or +.See it on Erasmus →

Avoid note Improvisation

A scale note a half step above a chord tone (the 4th over a major chord): fine passing through, sour if you stop on it.See them marked on the Improv trainer →

B

Backbeat Rhythm

Beats 2 and 4 in 4/4, where the snare lands in rock, pop and blues. Accenting them is what makes a groove sit back.

Bar Rhythmalso Measure

One measure of music: a group of beats set by the time signature, marked off by bar lines. A 4/4 bar holds four quarter-note beats.

Barre chord Chordsalso Bar chord

A chord where one finger (usually the first) presses across several strings at one fret, acting as a movable nut, so an open-chord shape can be played anywhere on the neck.

Beat Rhythm

The steady pulse you tap your foot to. The time signature says how many go in a bar and which note value gets one.

Bend Technique

Pushing or pulling a fretted string sideways to raise its pitch, usually by a half or whole step, so the note slides up without a new attack.

Blue note Theory

A note bent or placed between the notes of the scale for a bluesy colour: the ♭3, ♭5 and ♭7 against a major key, the ♭5 in particular.The blues scale →

Blues scale Scales

The minor pentatonic with a ♭5 added: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. Six notes that fit over every chord of a blues.See it on Erasmus →

Body Anatomyalso Solid body, Hollow body, Semi-hollow

The main part of the guitar. Solid (most electrics): no resonance of its own, it relies on pickups and an amp. Hollow (acoustics, jazz archtops): the box rings and makes the sound. Semi-hollow (an ES-335): a solid centre block with hollow wings, some air in the tone with less feedback.

BPM Rhythmalso Tempo

Beats per minute: the tempo. 60 bpm is one beat a second; most songs sit between 70 and 140.See it on Erasmus →

Bridge Anatomy

Where the strings are anchored on the body. It carries their vibration into the top (on an acoustic) or holds them steady over the pickups (on an electric); a tremolo bridge also lets you bend the pitch with a bar.

C

Cadence Harmony

A chord progression that closes a phrase: V–I (authentic, the full stop), IV–I (plagal, the amen), a half cadence that stops on V, or a deceptive one that lands on vi instead of I.

Capo Guitar

A clamp across the neck at a fret that raises the pitch of every string, so open-chord shapes sound in a higher key.

Chord Chords

Three or more notes sounded together. Built by stacking thirds from a root: 1 3 5 is a triad, add the 7 for a seventh chord.See it on Erasmus →

Chord diagram Notationalso Chord box

A picture of a chord on the neck: the strings run up and down, the frets across, dots for the fingers, and x or o over a string not played or played open.Chord diagrams for every key →

Chord scale Improvisation

The scale that fits a particular chord: Dorian over a minor seventh, Mixolydian over a dominant seventh, the key's mode on the chord's degree when the chord belongs to the key.See it on Erasmus →

Chord tone Theory

A note that belongs to the chord being played (the root, third, fifth, seventh). Landing on chord tones on the beats is what makes a line sound like it fits.

Chromatic Scales

All twelve notes, each a half step apart. A chromatic note is one from outside the key, used to connect two notes that are in it.

Circle of fifths Theory

The twelve keys arranged so each is a fifth above the last: C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯, D♭, A♭, E♭, B♭, F and back to C. Neighbours share all but one note; it's a map of how keys relate and how chords move.See it on Erasmus →

Comping Harmony

Playing the chords under a melody or a soloist (from accompanying): the rhythm and voicings you use rather than the chords themselves.