Plain-English dictionary
Glossary
16 everyday terms explained simply, no jargon.
A
- Arpeggio
- The notes of a chord played one after another instead of all at once.
C
- Capo
- A clamp placed across a guitar's neck to raise the pitch of the strings and change the key.
- Chord
- Two or more notes played together to create harmony.
D
- Dynamics
- How loud or soft the music is played, and the changes between the two.
E
- Ear training
- Practice that teaches you to recognize notes, chords, and rhythms just by hearing them.
F
- Fret
- One of the metal bars along a guitar's neck that marks where to press to make different notes.
I
- Interval
- The distance in pitch between two notes.
K
- Key
- The group of notes a piece of music is built around, which gives it its overall tonal center.
M
- Metronome
- A device that clicks a steady beat to help you keep time while practicing.
O
- Octave
- The distance between one note and the next note of the same name, higher or lower in pitch.
S
- Scale
- A set sequence of notes arranged in rising or falling order that forms the basis of melodies.
- Sight-reading
- Playing a piece of music from written notation the first time you see it.
- Strumming
- Sweeping across several strings at once to sound a chord, usually on a guitar.
T
- Tablature
- A simple form of notation that shows which strings and frets to play rather than standard notes.
- Tempo
- The speed at which a piece of music is played.
- Time signature
- A symbol at the start of music that shows how many beats are in each measure and which note counts as one beat.
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