Glossary of jazz and popular musical terms
Encyclopedia
This is a list of jazz and popular musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered (e.g., to do an "encore", which is a French term). Printed jazz and rock scores and parts use a variety of "Classical" terms as well, such as "a tempo" or "cut time", which can be found in the List of musical terms article.

1,2,3, etc

  • 1x10": refers to a speaker cabinet that contains one ten-inch loudspeaker
    Loudspeaker
    A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...

    . Used for small venue PA cabinets and small stage monitor speakers
    Studio monitor
    Studio monitors, also called reference monitors, are loudspeakers specifically designed for audio production applications such as recording studios, filmmaking, television studios and radio studios where accurate audio reproduction is crucial....

     (with a horn), and lightweight bass guitar or electric guitar combination amplifiers ("combos") and cabinets designed for rehearsal monitoring or practice.
  • 1x12": ...with one twelve-inch loudspeaker. Used for mid-sized venue PA cabinets and stage monitor speakers (with a horn), and lightweight bass and guitar combos and cabinets.
  • 1x15": ...with one fifteen-inch loudspeaker. Used for PA cabinets and stage monitor speakers (with a horn), bass combos and cabinets, and in small venue subwoofer cabinets.
  • 1x18": ...with one eighteen-inch loudspeaker, typically used in subwoofer
    Subwoofer
    A subwoofer is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies known as the "bass". The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below...

     cabinets for PA applications.
  • 2x10": ...with two ten-inch loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets.
  • 2x12": ...with two twelve-inch loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets, and, with a horn, as a PA cabinet.
  • 2x15": ...with two fifteen-inch loudspeakers. Used in bass cabinets and, with a horn, as a PA cabinet.
  • 2x18": ...with one eighteen-inch loudspeakers, typically used as a subwoofer for PA applications or in dance clubs.
  • 4x10": ...with four ten-inch loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets.
  • 4-track (or "four-track"): refers to a simple portable recording and mixing device widely used in the 1970s and 1980s which used compact cassettes.
  • 5-string (or five-string): typically refers to an electric bass with five strings, which often means the addition of a low "B" string.'
  • 6-string (or six-string): typically refers to an electric bass with six strings, which often means the addition of a low "B" string and a high "C" string. (Note: in rare cases, basses with even more strings are used). Also common slang meaning guitar.
  • 7-string (or seven-string): typically refers to an electric guitar with seven strings, which often means the addition of a low "B" string. Seven-string guitars are associated with jazz, fusion, and metal styles.
  • 8-track: a tape format popular in the 1970s.
  • 8x10": ...with eight ten-inch loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass cabinets. It is sometimes called a "stack", and, in the case of a bass cabinet, a "bass stack".

A

  • acid rock
    Acid rock
    Acid rock is a form of psychedelic rock, which is characterized with long instrumental solos, few lyrics and musical improvisation. Tom Wolfe describes the LSD-influenced music of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Cream,...

    : a style of rock music from the late 1960s and early 1970s which emphasized psychedelic imagery, unusual sound effects, and distorted guitar playing.
  • ad libitum (commonly ad lib; Latin): at liberty; i.e., the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer
  • alt (English) (also alt dom or altered dominant): a jazz term which instructs chord-playing musicians such as a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with altered upper extensions (e.g., sharp 11th, flat 13th, etc.).
  • altissimo: very high
  • alto: high; often refers to a particular range of voice or instrument, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano (e.g., alto sax)
  • amp: an abbreviation for "amplifier"; i.e., a musical instrument amplifier
    Instrument amplifier
    An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal from musical instruments such as an electric guitar, an electric bass, or an electric keyboard into an electronic signal capable of driving a loudspeaker that can be heard by the...

     or a PA system power amplifier; also an abbreviation for ampere
    Ampere
    The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...

    .
  • analog: sound equipment in which the signal containing the voice, electric guitar signal, etc. is electrical, rather than converted into digital "1's" and "0's" (binary system). Whether analog or digital recording and effects are "better" is a subject for debate. Proponents of analog effects and mixing boards often argue that analog gear has a "warmer" or more "natural" tone.
  • arpeggio
    Arpeggio
    An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...

    : like a harp
    Harp
    The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

    ; i.e., the notes of the chords
    Chord (music)
    A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

     are to be played quickly one after another (usually ascending) instead of simultaneously. Arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment. See also broken chord in this list.
  • art rock
    Art rock
    Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...

    : an avant-garde genre of rock that is related to progressive rock
    Progressive rock
    Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

     (Genesis; Rush; Gentle Giant); both genres tend to use unusual instruments, meters, and timbres, and both aim towards more complex, experimental compositions and novel sonic textures.
  • as is: a jazz term which instructs the performer to play the noted pitches as they are printed. Parts for jazz musicians in big band
    Big band
    A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

    s often consist of lengthy sections of empty bars labelled with the changing time signatures and chord changes. Rhythm section members improvise an accompaniment (see comp), and lead instruments improvise solos. In sections where the jazz arranger wants the performers to read notated pitches rather than improvise, they indicate this with the notation "as is".
  • axe: a slang term which refers to an electric guitar, or, by extension, to any instrument (e.g., a bandleader may tell a saxophone player to "get your axe").

B

  • B: slang abbreviation for a B-3 organ (see below)
  • B-3: refers to the B-3, a widely-used version of the Hammond organ
    Hammond organ
    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

    , an electromechanical, tonewheel-based keyboard instrument.
  • back-beat: Beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time, particularly when they are strongly accented. A term more used in rock 'n roll.
  • bark: a slang term used by keyboard players to refer to the growling, biting tone of a vintage Fender Rhodes electric piano.
  • bass
    Bass (voice type)
    A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

    : the lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony
    Harmony
    In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

    ; in a jazz or popular music context, the term usually refers to the double bass
    Double bass
    The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

     or the electric bass
    Electric Bass
    Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...

    .
  • barre chord (or "bar chord"): a guitar chord in which the first (or another finger) holds down two or more adjacent strings (that is it "bars" several notes)
  • beat: (1) the pronounced rhythm
    Rhythm
    Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

     of music; (2) one single stroke of a rhythm
    Rhythm
    Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

    ic accent
  • bend: jazz term referring either to establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note. With the electric guitar, bending is widely used in blues, blues-rock, and rock and, to a somewhat different fashion, in jazz.
  • bin (or "bass bin"): a subwoofer cabinet that reproduces very low-frequency sounds, usually with some type of horn or transmission line system to enhance the bass response; typically used for the main, Front of House speaker system, but in rare cases, may also be used as part of a bass player's bass amplifier set-up. The term "bin" was more common in the 1980s; in the 1990s and 2000s, the term "subwoofer" or "sub" is much more widely used.
  • binary
    Binary form
    Binary form is a musical form in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance....

    : a musical form in two sections: AB
  • bird's eye: a slang term for fermata, which instructs the performer to hold a note or chord as long as they wish
  • bleeding (or "bleed" or "bleed-through"): a slang term which refers to the ambient sounds that a microphone aimed at instrument A picks up from other instruments or singers in the same room. In some cases, "bleeding" is considered undesirable, if unwanted sounds from other instruments are picked up by a microphone. For example, if a guitar player plays an amazing solo during a recording, it may end up being unusable if mistakes by the drummer—20 feet away—are bleeding through into the mic in front of the guitar amp. To prevent "bleeding", studios use isolation booths and cloth-covered room dividers. In some cases, "bleed-through" is desirable, because it makes the recording sound fuller or more "live".
  • block chords: A style of piano playing, developed by Milt Buckner and George Shearing, with both hands 'locked' together, playing chords in parallel with the melody, usually in fairly close position. It is a technical procedure requiring much practice, and can sound dated if the harmonies are not advanced enough. Also called locked hands.
  • blow : a jazz term instructing a performer to improvise a solo over the chord progression of a jazz tune; may also be written "blowing section" or, in free jazz
    Free jazz
    Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...

    , "open blowing"

  • blues : in a jazz context, when "blues" or "solo on blues" appears at the start of a solo section, it is an abbreviation for "blues progression"; it instructs the performer to improvise solos over a 12-bar blues progression based on I, IV, and V7 chords.
  • board: a shortened form of "mixing board", which refers to the audio mixing board used by live sound engineers and studio engineers to control the volume and tone of different instruments and voices, blend them in the desired proportions, add external effects (e.g., reverb), and route the final signal (or an intermediate signal) to desired locations (e.g., to a recording device; to Front of House speakers; to monitor speakers, etc.). The term "board" may also be used as a shortened form of "fingerboard".
  • bouncer (or "doorman" or "cooler"): a security staffer who works at music and concert venues such as bars and clubs; the job of a doorman is to check for age of majority ID; search for concealed weapons, drugs, or alcohol; remove intoxicated or aggressive patrons; and enforce the rules of the venue (e.g., a rule against stage-diving or moshing
    Moshing
    Moshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...

    ).
  • break: Transitional passage in which a soloist plays unaccompanied.
  • bridge: Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition, also transition. Also the part of a stringed instrument that holds the strings in place and transmits their vibrations to the resonant body of the instrument. Some bridges on electric guitars have a see-saw action called a whammy bar which allows notes or chords to be "bent" down in pitch.
  • broken chord: A chord
    Chord (music)
    A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

     in which the notes are not all played at once, but rather one after the other (i.e., an arpeggio).

C

  • cabinet (or "cab"): refers to a speaker cabinet, which is a wooden (or sometimes plastic) enclosure for a loudspeaker and, in some cases a horn or tweeter. Speaker cabinets are used to amplify instruments and vocals.
  • cadence: the point at which a melodic phrase "comes to rest" or resolves. A cadence often occurs on the "tonic" note (supported by the tonic chord—the "home chord" of the key). A cadence can also occur on other notes over the "tonic" chord, or over another chord such as the "dominant chord" (the chord built on the fifth scale degree).
  • call and response: a way of writing a song in which after a singer sings a line, other singers (e.g., backup singers or band members) respond with a line that completes the thought. Call and response singing was originally part of African-American work songs, and it subsequently became an important part of the blues.
  • capo: a clip-on metal or plastic device with a rubber-padded bar which holds down all six strings of the guitar in a fret position selected by the performer. It is attached with an elastic or spring-loaded mechanism. It allows a guitar player to have the open strings start at a higher pitch, thus facilitating the transposition of songs and the use of the "ringing", rich sound of open chords in unusual keys.
  • changes: a jazz term which is an abbreviation for "chord changes", which is the harmonic progression (or "chord progression") upon which a melody is based.
  • channel: in the context of a mixing board, a channel is one of the input sections into which a microphone or output from an instrument amplifier or instrument (e.g., an electronic keyboard) is plugged so that its volume and tone can be altered and so that it can be blended with other instruments and voices; in the context of an electric guitar amplifier or a bass amplifier, the term "channel" is used to refer to amplifiers which have two or more separate preamplifier, equalization, and effect settings ("channels") which a performer can switch between in a performance via a footswitch.
  • chops: a slang term which refers to a player's strong technique or endurance ("That alto sax player has great chops; she can play for hours.")
  • chord
    Chord (music)
    A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

    : a group of three or more notes that, when played simultaneously, can form a harmonic structure that can support a melody or a solo line. The simplest chords are triads, which are made of the first note of a scale and then alternate notes. For example, in the scale of C Major (C,D,E,F,G,A, B,C), the triad would be C,E,G. Seventh chords use four notes: they consist of a triad with an added interval. For example, in the scale of G Dominant (G,A, B,C,D,E,F,G), the four-note seventh chord would be G,B,D,F. There are also more complicated chords which add additional intervals (see ninth chord
    Ninth chord
    A ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.A dominant ninth is a dominant chord with a ninth. A ninth chord, as an extended chord, typically includes the seventh along with the basic triad structure. Thus, a Cmaj9...

    , "alt dom"). A chord can also be played one note at a time (see "arpeggio" and "broken chord").
  • chorus: the refrain of a song which is repeated a number of times, in alternation with verses and other sections (e.g., a guitar solo). In contrast to the verses of a song, the chorus tends to be simpler and more memorable, and it often uses more repetition of lyrics (e.g., "She loves me yeah, yeah, yeah..."). The term "chorus" may also be a synonym for "choir"--a group of singers; or it may refer to a chorus effect
    Chorus effect
    In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...

    --the sound created when a voice or instrumental tone is doubled by other pitches which are not exactly the same, which creates a rich, shimmering sound.
  • chromatic scale
    Chromatic scale
    The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...

    : a sequence of all twelve notes in an octave, played in a row (either ascending or descending). Fragments of the chromatic scale are used in many styles of popular music, but more extensive use of chromatic scale tends to occur in jazz, fusion, and the more experimental genres of rock.
  • clam: a slang term which refers to a mis-played or out of tune note, often by a horn player.
  • clean: in reference to the sound of an electric guitar, Fender Rhodes electric piano, or other electric or electronic instrument, or to a recording of a singer or instrument or to an entire mix, "clean" means that the sound is undistorted and not muddy. For an electric instrument, the opposite of a "clean" tone is an overdriven, "clipped" (see "clipping"), or "dirty" sound.
  • clean channel: many electric guitar amplifiers have two "channels": a clean channel, which is undistorted, and an "overdrive" (or "dirty" channel), in which the signal is heavily preamplified and/or run through a distortion effect, thus producing a distorted signal. Amps with two channels come with a footswitch which allows the performer to switch between the two channels.
  • clipping: a synonym for distortion. With vocals, mic'd acoustic instruments, Front of House mixes, and monitor mixes, clipping is almost always deemed to be undesirable, and it is minimized by reducing gain levels, using compression devices, adding "pads" (attenuation circuits), etc. With electric guitars, electric basses, Hammond organs, electric piano, and other electric instruments, performers often purposefully add clipping to the signal by boosting the gain or using an overdrive pedal.

  • clonewheel (or clonewheel organ
    Clonewheel organ
    "Clonewheel organ" is a jargon term used to refer to an electronic musical instrument that emulates the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond. The first generation of clonewheel organs used synthesizer voices, which were not able to accurately...

    ): refers to an electronic or digital instrument which recreates or imitates the sound of a tonewheel
    Tonewheel
    A tonewheel is a simple electromechanical apparatus for generating electronic musical notes. The tonewheel assembly consists of a synchronous AC motor and an associated gearbox that drives a series of rotating disks...

    -based Hammond organ
    Hammond organ
    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

    , typically in an instrument that is much lighter and smaller than an actual Hammond organ (e.g., the Roland VK-7
    Roland VK-7
    The Roland VK-7 is an electronic keyboard introduced in 1997 which simulates the sound of an electromechanical Hammond organ. Like other electronic musical instruments that emulate the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond, the VK-7 is referred to...

     or the Korg CX-3).
  • coda
    Coda (music)
    Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...

    : a tail; i.e., a closing section appended to a piece of music (also called a "tag" or "outro").
  • combo: an abbreviation for "combination", which is used in two senses in jazz and pop music. "Combo" can be the equivalent of "group" or "ensemble" (e.g.,"a jazz combo"). As well, "combo" refers to a "combination amplifier", so named because it includes an amplifier and a speaker in a single cabinet.
  • comp: a jazz term which instructs a jazz rhythm section
    Rhythm section
    A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

     performer (usually a chordal instrument such as jazz guitar
    Jazz guitar
    The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...

    , jazz piano
    Jazz piano
    Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...

    , Hammond organ
    Hammond organ
    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

    , etc.) to play accompaniment chords. In a recording context, the term is an abbreviation for "composite", which refers to recording composite tracks.
  • comp tickets: an abbreviation for "complimentary tickets", which promoters give out to ensure that a concert will have a good-sized crowd; as well band members and touring staff may be given comp tickets that they can give to friends or family, as a "perk"
  • compressor: an electronic audio effect which automatically reduces the gain of a signal (vocals, instruments, etc.) to a pre-set threshold, thus preventing unwanted peaks which could cause clipping. A compressor with extreme settings becomes a limiter, which protects speakers and horns from peaks.
  • Condenser microphone (or "condenser mic"): A microphone that uses the technique of "variable capacitance" to pick up sound. The diaphragm is on a charged metal plate, and as such, condenser microphones need power to operate. The power comes either from batteries or from a mic preamp or a mixing board. The power that is provided from a preamp or mixing board is called "phantom power
    Phantom power
    Phantom power, in the context of professional audio equipment, is a method for transmitting DC electric power through microphone cables to operate microphones that contain active electronic circuitry....

    ".
  • cover (or "cover tune"): when a band plays a song that has been composed and recorded by another band, this is called a "cover tune"; also used as a verb (e.g., "to cover" a song by a certain band). The term may also refer to a cover charge
    Cover charge
    At bars and nightclubs, or restaurants with live entertainment a flat fee for entry, sometimes known as a cover charge, is made, in addition to payment for food and drink...

    , the door fee charged to customers for admission to a band's performance at a bar (the cover charge may go entirely to the band or it may be split with the bar, based on the agreement between the band and the establishment).
  • crossfader: on a DJ mixer, a crossfader is a control that slides on a left-to-right track. It allows a DJ to alternate between two channels, into which an audio input is plugged (e.g., a record player, CD player, iPod, etc.). The left-most position of the slider control gives only Channel A. The right-most position gives only Channel B. The area of the sliding track between these two extremes is a blend of the two Channels. Crossfaders can be used to create smooth transitions between two songs on different sound inputs, or, when moved rapidly at the same time that a record is manipulated on a turntable, they can be used in create rhythmic scratching
    Scratching
    Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...

     sounds and effects.
  • crossover: in a music industry context, a "crossover artist" or "crossover band" is a performer or group from one style that has managed to garner a following amongst fans of a different musical style. For example, some country performers have managed to get "crossover" hits in the pop charts. In an audio engineering context, a crossover is a frequency filter system that divides the frequencies in a signal into low and high or low, mid, and high components. In this way, the different frequencies can be routed to the appropriate speakers.
  • crunch: used to describe a specific type of highly distorted electric guitar tone used in heavy metal
    Heavy metal music
    Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

     and thrash metal
    Thrash metal
    Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

     music, typically by the rhythm guitarist. When played with palm muting, it creates a characteristic heavy rhythmic sound.
  • cut time: Same as the meter
    Meter (music)
    Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...

     2/2: two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and executed like common time
    Common Time
    "Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...

     (4/4), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by three quarters of a circle with a vertical line through it, which resembles the cent symbol '. This comes from a literal cut of the 'C' symbol of common time
    Common Time
    "Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...

    . Thus, a quarter note
    Quarter note
    A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...

     in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve
    Alla breve
    In music, alla breve Italian: at the breve] refers to a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol , which is the equivalent of 2/2. Alla breve is a "simple-duple meter with a half-note pulse"...

    .

D

  • dead: an adjective that means non-reverberant, as in the case of a room in a recording studio that has very little natural reverb or ambience (e.g., a "dead room"). To "liven up" the sound of a track recorded in a "dead room", engineers will typically add electronic reverb effects. Alternately, the track could be re-recorded in a room with more reflective surfaces, to add natural reverb.
  • Decibel (or "dB"): The unit of measurement of audio level used in recording studios and by live sound engineers. Some cities and performance venues have decibel limits for live performances.
  • desk: British term for a "mixing board".
  • DI (or "DI Box"): an electronic device which alters the impedance of electric instrument signals (e.g., electric guitar, electric bass) so that they can be plugged into a mixing board or PA system. The DI box converts a high-impedance, unbalanced signal from an electric guitar into a low-impedance, balanced signal. Many DI boxes have a ground lift
    Ground lift
    In sound recording and reproduction, ground lift or earth lift is a technique used to reduce or eliminate ground-related noise when connecting signal lines between two or more pieces of equipment. It interrupts the ground line at some point. It is particularly effective at eliminating ground loops,...

     switch to remove AC hum from the electrical system.
  • Digital Signal Processing (or "DSP"): the use of digital effects to alter the tone, sound, pitch, or other parameters of a signal. Many 2000s-era mixers, guitar amplifiers, and electronic keyboards have on-board DSP effects.
  • downtuned (or "detuned"): a guitar or bass that is tuned to a lower pitch than the standard tuning, which is (from low to high) EADGBE for guitar and EADG for bass.
  • drive: an abbreviated form of "overdrive", which refers to the distortion that occurs when a tube amplifier is pushed to its limits.
  • drop: jazz term referring to a note that slides chromatically downwards to an indefinite pitch .
  • DSP: See "Digital Signal Processing".
  • dry: a signal that has no reverb effect, or more generally, a signal that has not been processed with any effects unit. Vocals are almost always recorded "dry", and then the reverb or other effects are added in post-production. Electric guitars and electric keyboards are often, but not always recorded with their effects (distortion, chorus, etc.) already added.
  • dynamics
    Dynamics (music)
    In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

    : refers to the relative volumes in the execution of a piece of music

E

  • effects unit
    Effects unit
    Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...

    : an electronic device which alters or conditions the sound qualities in an electronic signal from a microphone, musical instrument, or recording. Effects units can be housed in rack-mounted chassis'; stompbox pedals; in computer software; or built into an amplifier (e.g., a guitar amp), mixer, or instrument (e.g., a Hammond organ).
  • encore (Fr): again; i.e., perform the relevant passage or an entire song or tune once more
  • engineer : in a live sound context, this refers to the audio engineer who controls the soundboard and/or leads the crew of audio technicians; in a recording context, this refers to the audio engineer who sets up and runs the technical aspects of a recording session.

F

  • fader: on a mixing board or DJ mixer, an audio level control that slides up and down in a track. (see also crossfader).
  • fall: jazz term describing a note of definite pitch sliding downwards to another note of definite pitch.
  • falsetto
    Falsetto
    Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...

    : male voice above usual bass or tenor range (see article)
  • feedback: the resonance loop created when a microphone or guitar pickup is placed close to a highly amplified speaker, often creating a howling or screeching sound. In most cases, musicians and sound engineers seek to avoid feedback with microphones and acoustic instruments; with electric guitar, especially in heavy metal and shred guitar playing it may be done on purpose.
  • fiddle: a slang term for a violin in bluegrass, country music, and folk music.
  • fill
    Fill (music)
    In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody....

    (English): a jazz or rock term which instructs performers to improvise a scalar passage or riff
    RIFF
    The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....

     to "fill in" the brief time between lyrical phrase
    Lyrics
    Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

    s, the lines of melody
    Melody
    A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

    , or between two sections
  • flat: a symbol () that lowers the pitch of a note by a semitone. The term may also be used to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too low.
  • foldback: in Britain, this is the term for an onstage monitor speaker that helps performers to hear their singing and playing.
  • forte or f (usually): strong; i.e., to be played or sung loudly
  • fortepiano or fp (usually): strong-gentle; i.e., 1. loud, then immediately soft (see dynamics
    Dynamics (music)
    In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

    ), or 2. an early pianoforte
    Fortepiano
    Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...

  • fortissimo or ff: very loud (see note at pianissimo, in this list)
  • fortississimo or fff: as loud as possible
  • Front of House (or "FOH"): refers to the speaker system which faces the audience (and the sound engineers who control it)
  • FX: synonym for "effects" (e.g., a "multiFX" pedal" is a "multieffects pedal")

G

  • gig: a slang term which refers to a paying musical engagement at a venue, usually of a single night's duration
  • gliss: a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale executed while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando
    Glissando
    In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...

     for further information; and compare portamento in this list.
  • groupie: a somewhat pejorative term used to refer to fans of a rock group (typically refers to female fans).

H

  • harmony vocals (or "harmony parts"): backup singing which supports the main melody; the supporting parts are usually chord tones that form intervals of a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or octave away from the main melody note.
  • harp: from blues harp
    Blues harp
    The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...

    , which in blues and related genres is a slang term for the harmonica
    Harmonica
    The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

    .
  • homophony
    Homophony
    In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...

    : A musical texture with one voice (or melody line) accompanied by chords; also used as an adjective (homophonic). Compare with polyphony
    Polyphony
    In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....

    , in which several voices or melody lines are performed at the same time.
  • head: The first (and last) chorus of a tune, in which the song or melody is stated without improvisation or with minimal improvisation.
  • horn: in a jazz, blues, or R&B context, the term "horn" refers generically to any brass instrument (e.g., saxophone, trumpet, etc.). In a sound engineering context, "horn" refers to a flare-shaped housing into which a tweeter or loudspeaker is mounted as part of a speaker cabinet.
  • horn section: in a jazz, blues, or R&B context, this refers to a small group of brass players who accompany an ensemble by playing soft "pads" and punctuating the melodic line with "punches" (sudden interjections).

I

  • ignore changes : a jazz term used in 1950s and 1960s-era avant-garde and free jazz
    Free jazz
    Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...

     (e.g., Ornette Coleman) which instructs a soloist to improvise without following the chord changes being used by the rhythm section
    Rhythm section
    A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

     instruments.
  • intro: opening section of a song or tune.

J

  • J-bass: an abbreviation for the Fender Jazz bass
    Fender Jazz Bass
    The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...

    , a widely-used brand of electric bass
  • jam (or "jam session"): in jazz, blues, rock, or related genres, an informal performance of improvised solos over well-known standard compositions (e.g., a blues progression or a jazz standard).
  • jazz standard (or simply "standard"): a well-known composition from the jazz repertoire which is widely played and recorded.

K

  • keyboardist : a musician who plays any instrument with a keyboard. In a jazz or popular music context, this may refer to instruments such as the piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Hammond organ, and so on.
  • keyboard amp: a combination amplifier designed for keyboard players that contains a two, three, or four-channel mixer, a pre-amplifier for each channel, equalization controls, a power amplifier, a speaker, and a horn, all in a single cabinet. Small keyboard amplifiers designed for small band rehearsals have 50 to 75 watts, a 12 inch speaker, and a horn. Large keyboard amplifiers designed for large clubs or halls have 200 to 300 watts of power, a 15 inch speaker, and a horn.

L

  • lay out: a jazz term which is the equivalent of the classical term tacet; it instructs the player to cease playing for a section or tune.
  • lead : in guitar playing, a single-note melody or solo line. In Britain, the term also refers to a patch cable which is used to connect an electric guitar to an amp.
  • lead bass: a style of playing electric bass in which the player adopts a soloistic or melodic "voice", rather than, or in addition to playing the accompaniment role which is normally associated with the bass (e.g., Steve Harris
    Steve Harris
    Steve Harris may refer to:* Steve Harris , founding member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden* Steve Harris , American film and TV actor* Steve Harris , American basketball player...

     of Iron Maiden
    Iron Maiden
    Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

    ).
  • leading note: the seventh note of a scale, which has a powerful "gravitational pull" towards the eighth note of the scale, which is the "home note" of the key. Because the seventh note of the scale has such a strong pull towards the eighth note, it is deemed to need to "resolve" to the eighth note.
  • Leslie: a brand name for a rotating speaker cabinet designed for use with the Hammond organ
    Hammond organ
    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

    , but also used by some electric guitar players. The rotating horn and rotating baffle around the low-range speaker create an undulating effect.
  • line: a synonym for "melody" (as in the terms "melodic line"). (See also bassline
    Bassline
    A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...

    ).
  • line in: In an audio context, a "line in" is a jack found on mixers, guitar amplifiers, and recording devices. The "line in" jack allows a performer to add an input into a mixer, amplifier, or recording device.
  • line out: A "line out" jack provides an output signal from an amplifier or other device, which can then be patched into a mixing board, effect unit, PA system, etc.

M

  • marcato, marc.: marked; i.e., with accentuation, execute every note as if it were to be accented
  • measure: the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature, e.g., in 4/4 time, a measure has four quarter-note beats
  • mezzo forte: half loudly; i.e., moderately loudly. See dynamics
    Dynamics (music)
    In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

    .
  • mezzo piano: half softly; i.e., moderately softly. See dynamics
    Dynamics (music)
    In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

    .
  • MIDI: an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, an industry-standard way for electronic devices to communicate information. MIDI connections can be used to connect synthesizers, electronic drum machine
    Drum machine
    A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

    s, sequencers
    Music sequencer
    The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

    , and so on.

  • mixdown: the process near the end of the recording process in which all of the tracks of recorded music (e.g., 12, 24, or even 48 tracks of recorded vocals, guitars, keyboards, etc.) are blended and placed onto the Left and Right channels of a standard stereo recording. A "remix" occurs when the same initial tracks are given a new "mixdown", thus blending the tracks in a different way, adding different effects, etc.
  • monitor: in a live music context, refers to speaker cabinets which are used to amplify the singing and playing of onstage performers so that the performers can hear themselves' in a recording context, refers to studio reference monitors, which are heavy-duty, low-coloration speakers designed for playing back mixes.
  • monitor mix: in live audio, the monitor mix is the blend of vocal and instrumental channels which is amplified and sent through onstage speakers which are directed towards the performers. The "monitor mix" often differs a great deal from the "Front of House" mix. In a typical bar band, the "monitor mix" will consist mainly of vocals, with the possible addition of other instruments that need additional onstage monitoring volume (e.g., harmonica, saxophone, synth).
  • Moog synthesizer
    Moog synthesizer
    Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...

    : an early brand of analog synthesizer
    Analog synthesizer
    An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...

     which was introduced in the late 1960s; newly-released Moog synthesizer
    Synthesizer
    A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

    s are still produced in the 2000s.

N

  • natural: a symbol () that cancels the effect of a sharp or a flat (see in this list)
  • neck: on a guitar (e.g., acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass), violin-family instrument (e.g., violin, upright bass) or other stringed instrument, the neck is the long, thin piece of wood which extends from the soundbox or body of the instrument and upon which the strings are put under tension between the bridge (on a guitar family instrument) or the tailpiece (on a violin-family instrument) and the headstock (for guitars) or the tuning pegs (violin) or machine heads (upright bass). The neck on acoustic and electric guitars and most electric basses has metal frets which divide the neck into semitones. Violin family instruments and fretless electric basses do not have frets.
  • notch filter: a very precise type of equalizer (e.g., a parametric equalizer) which can be used to boost or cut very narrow frequency ranges. Notch filters are used to lessen feedback with microphones or lesson overly resonant notes on acoustic guitars.
  • note-for-note solo: a live or recorded performance by an instrumentalist which reproduces a previously recorded improvised solo. In some cases, the recreation of the previously-recorded solo may be faithful down to the smallest nuances, such as the use of "whammy bar" embellishments and "ghost notes".

O

  • octave
    Octave
    In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

    : interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. Octaves can be played one note after the other (e.g., a low C and then a high C), or they can be played together at the same time on instruments such as the guitar, piano, organ, etc.
  • octave pedal: an effects unit which electronically adds a note an octave (or two octaves) below or, less commonly, an octave above the note being played by the performer.
  • ohm
    Ohm
    The ohm is the SI unit of electrical resistance, named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm.- Definition :The ohm is defined as a resistance between two points of a conductor when a constant potential difference of 1 volt, applied to these points, produces in the conductor a current of 1 ampere,...

    : a unit of electrical impedance; speakers, microphones, headphones, and other gear is rated with its nominal impedance. (See also "Z", the abbreviation sometimes used for "impedance").
  • organ trio
    Organ trio
    An organ trio, in a jazz context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet...

    : in jazz or rock, a group of three musicians which includes a Hammond organ
    Hammond organ
    The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

     player and two other instruments, often a drummer
    Drummer
    A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

     and either an electric guitar
    Electric guitar
    An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

     player or a saxophone
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     player.
  • ostinato
    Ostinato
    In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...

    : obstinate, persistent; i.e., a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition

P

  • P-bass: an abbreviation for the Fender Precision bass, a widely-used brand of electric bass
  • pad: in reference to the music played by a keyboardist, this refers to a "sythesizer pad", which is a sustained background synthesizer sound used to accompany a band or singer; in reference to sound engineering, this refers to an attenuation
    Attenuation
    In physics, attenuation is the gradual loss in intensity of any kind of flux through a medium. For instance, sunlight is attenuated by dark glasses, X-rays are attenuated by lead, and light and sound are attenuated by water.In electrical engineering and telecommunications, attenuation affects the...

     circuit which reduces the gain of an excessively "hot" signal, typically by 20 dB.
  • pedal: refers to a stompbox effect unit, a volume pedal, or a similar device.
  • pedale or ped: In piano scores, this instructs the player to use press damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*). In organ scores, it tells a Hammond organist that a section is to be performed on the bass pedalboard  with the feet.
  • pedal point
    Pedal point
    In tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing...

    : a sustained or repeated note in a song or tune, often in the bass register. The term is a reference to the bass pedal keyboards that are used to sustain a pedal point in organ music.
  • performance art
    Performance art
    In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

    : an experimental show which combines music, dance, visual effects, and drama (e.g., Laurie Anderson
    Laurie Anderson
    Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...

    ). Associated with some types of art rock
    Art rock
    Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...

     and experimental rock.

  • pianissimo
    Pianissimo
    Pianissimo is an Italian word, meaning "very soft". It can mean:*Pianissimo, refers to the volume of a soft sound or soft note.*Pianissimo Peche, a brand of Japanese cigarettes made by Japan Tobacco....

    or pp (usually): very gently; i.e., perform very softly
  • piano or p (usually): gently; i.e., played or sung softly (see dynamics
    Dynamics (music)
    In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

    )
  • piano-vocal score: the same as a vocal score
    Vocal score
    A vocal score or piano-vocal score is a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra such as an oratorio or cantata, in which the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced and adapted for keyboard...

    , a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar
  • pickup (or "pick-up"): in reference to an electric guitar or bass, this refers to the magnetic or piezoelectric device which transmits the vibrations of the string or the guitar body to an amplifier; in reference to a song or tune, a "pickup" or the "pickup notes" refers to one or several melodic notes which lead into a subsequent section (e.g., a band leader will tell the band to "start from the pickup into the bridge").
  • pickup group (or pickup band): a musical ensemble brought together for a single performance or a few performances.
  • pizzicato
    Pizzicato
    Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....

    (or "pizz"): pinched, plucked; i.e., in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow
  • portamento
    Portamento
    Portamento is a musical term originated from the Italian expression "portamento della voce" , denoting from the beginning of the 17th century a vocal slide between two pitches and its emulation by members of the violin family and certain wind instruments, and is sometimes used...

    : sliding in pitch from one note to another.
  • power chord: a chord consisting of a note, a fifth above, and the octave. It is widely used in rock, metal, hardcore punk, and other genres, usually with overdrive or distortion.

Q

  • quarter tone: Half of a semitone; a pitch division not used in most Western music notation, except in some contemporary art music or experimental music. Quarter tones are used in Western popular music forms such as jazz and blues and in a variety of non-Western musical cultures.

R

  • rallentando or rall.: progressively slower.
  • register: part of the range of an instrument or voice. ("The lower register of the singer's voice was rich and dark").
  • registration: a setting or combination of stops or voices on an electromechanical organ (e.g., Hammond organ) or an electronic or "combo organ
    Combo organ
    A combo organ is an electronic organ of the frequency divider type, generally produced between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The combo organ concept, at least in the context of mass-production, is thought to have been born from the accordion, probably in Italy, as the brainchild of necessity...

    ".
  • Reggae
    Reggae
    Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

    : a Jamaican style of popular music that features a strong, syncopated bassline, accompaniment with an undistorted electric guitar or Fender Rhodes on the offbeats, and chanted vocals.
  • remix: a second or subsequent "mixdown" of a set of recorded tracks. (see "mixdown").
  • reverb: refers to the echoing sound that occurs naturally to a voice or instrument in hall or room with reflective walls and, by extension, to analog or digital effect units which recreate this effect (reverb units).
  • Rhodes: refers to the Fender Rhodes brand of electric piano, and, by extension, to similar instruments produced by other manufacturers.
  • rig: in a live music context, this is a slang term used by musicians to refer to the audio processing and amplification gear used by a keyboardist, bassist, or electric guitarist. An electric bassist, for example, may refer to her speaker cabinet, bass amplifier "head" and rack-mounted effects units collectively as her "rig" (or "bass rig").
  • rit.: an abbreviation for ritardando; also an abbreviation for ritenuto
  • ritardando, ritard., rit.: slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando
  • RMS: an acronym for "Root Means Square", a way of measuring the power-handling capacity of a loudspeaker or tweeter in watts. The RMS rating printed on the back of a speaker indicates the average power that the speaker can handle.
  • roadie: a slang term which refers to the employees of a musical group's touring road crew who load and unload musical equipment.
  • Roland: a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment company that produces electronic keyboards, guitar amplifiers, effects units and other equipment.
  • rolled chord
    Rolled chord
    A rolled chord, arppeggiato, or arpeggiated chord, is a sequence of notes played almost at the same time like strumming a chord on a guitar. They are mostly seen on piano, producing a harp-like effect. When a chord is too large for a pianists hand, the chord is expected to be rolled. An...

    : a chord in which the notes of the chord are played one after the other, which each note being sustained.

S

  • sample (or "sampling"): to record a short portion from a live performance or from a recording of an instrument or group, so that this short "snippet" can be re-played or re-used in another performance or recording. In the 2000s, sampling is usually done by making a digital recording of the desired sample. Sampling is widely used in 2000s-era pop, hip-hop, and electronica.
  • scratch: in a recording context, this refers to a rough "scratch track", which is the recording of a rhythm section part or vocals which is done to provide a temporary reference point for the performers who will be recording their parts (the "scratch track" is erased later on; in the context of hip-hop music and turntablism
    Turntablism
    Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...

    , "scratching
    Scratching
    Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...

    " refers to the manipulation of a vinyl record on a turntable with the hands and a DJ mixer
    DJ mixer
    A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys.The key features that differentiate a DJ mixer from other types of audio mixers are the ability to redirect a non-playing source to headphones and the presence of a crossfader, which allows for an easier transition between two sources...

     to create rhythmic sounds.
  • segue
    Segue
    A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...

    : carry on to the next section of music without a pause
  • semitone: the smallest pitch difference between notes (in most Western music) (e.g., F–F#)
  • session musician (or "session player" or "session man"): in jazz and popular music, this refers to a highly skilled, experienced musician who can be hired for recording sessions.
  • shake: a jazz term describing a trill between one note and its minor third; or, with brass instruments, between a note and its next overblown harmonic.
  • sharp: a symbol () that raises the pitch of the note by a semitone. The term may also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a singer or musician is performing a note in which the intonation is an eighth or a quarter of a semitone too high in pitch.
  • shred: an adjective that is mainly used in connection to the electric guitar (or less commonly, to other stringed instruments such as banjo or electric bass); it describes intense, virtuostic, rapid playing of the instrument (e.g., "shred guitar
    Shred guitar
    Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...

    ). It can also be used as a verb (e.g., "to shred").
  • sidefills: a slang term for onstage monitor speakers that are placed on the sides of the stage, to help performers to hear themselves.

  • sideman (or "sidemen"): refers to musicians in a band who accompany a lead singer, bandleader, or lead instrumentalist.
  • sibilance: the "hissing" sounds that occur when words with the letter "s" are sung; when vocals are sung into a microphone, the "s" sounds can be picked up excessively by the mic. Excessive silibance is prevented by using a pop screen or a compressor-triggered equalizer.
  • sign: another name for a symbol (called "segno" in Classical parlance) in written music scores. The score may instruct the band to jump from one section back to the part of the music marked with the sign.
  • sit in: in jazz and blues, to "sit in" is to be invited to perform onstage along with another group for one or several songs, often to perform improvised solos.
  • slapping (or "slap bass") in reference to the electric bass, this term refers to a percussive, funky style of playing in which the low strings are slapped and the high strings are popped, used in funk, Latin, and pop. In reference to the upright bass, "slap bass" refers to a percussive style of playing in which the player strikes the strings against the fingerboard to create a percussive, rhythmic effect (used in traditional blues, rockabilly, and bluegrass).
  • snake: a slang term which refers to an audio multicore cable that terminates in a patchbay; it is used to route the signals of all of the onstage microphones and instrument amplifiers to the mixing board at the back of the performance venue.
  • solo break: a jazz term that instructs a lead player or rhythm section
    Rhythm section
    A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

     member to play an improvised solo cadenza
    Cadenza
    In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....

     for one or two measures (sometimes abbreviated as "break"), without any accompaniment. The solo part is often played in a rhythmically free manner, until the player performs a pickup or lead-in line, at which time the band recommences playing in the original tempo.
  • solo
    Solo (music)
    In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

    : alone; i.e., executed by a single instrument or voice.
  • soli: plural for solo; requires more than one player or singer; in a jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     big band
    Big band
    A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

     this refers to an entire section playing in harmony.
  • soprano
    Soprano
    A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

    : the highest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)
  • standard tuning: for acoustic and electric guitar, the standard tuning is "E,A,D,G,B,E" (from lowest string to highest). For the electric bass, the standard tuning is "E,A,D,G". Altered tunings are used to obtain lower notes (e.g., drop D tuning, in which the low E string is lowered to a D), facilitate the playing of slide guitar, or to allow the playing of "open" chords that are not possible in standard tuning.
  • stompbox: a slang term which refers to a small, portable effect unit that has an integrated on-off footswitch (e.g., a distortion pedal).
  • stage piano
    Stage piano
    A stage piano is an electronic keyboard designed for use in live onstage performances by professional musicians. While stage pianos share some of the same features as digital pianos designed for in-home use and electronic synthesizers, they have a number of features which set them apart...

    : a high-quality, heavy-duty electric piano
    Electric piano
    An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...

     or digital piano
    Digital piano
    A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...

     designed for touring or installation in a commercial performance venue (e.g., a piano bar). Unlike synthesizer-style keyboards, a stage piano typically has weighted or semi-weighted keys, which give more of the feel of an acoustic piano. Some 2000s-era stage pianos include Hammond organ and clavichord voices, in addition to piano and electric piano sounds.
  • Stratocaster (or "Strat"): an electric guitar manufactured by Fender
    Fender
    Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...

    , which is widely used in rock and other popular music.
  • subwoofer
    Subwoofer
    A subwoofer is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies known as the "bass". The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below...

    (or "sub"): a speaker cabinet with a woofer that is designed for the reproduction of low-frequency sounds from about 20 Hz-200 Hz. Subs are used in PA systems and studio monitor systems. Subwoofers used for PA systems typically use large diameter woofers (18" or 21") mounted in large wooden cabinets. Studio monitor subs tend to use smaller cabinets and smaller-diameter woofers (10", 12", or 15"), because the goal with studio monitors is high fidelity, not massive sound pressure output.
  • sweetening: a recording production term that refers to the addition of additional instruments or voices—orchestral strings, vocal harmonies from a group of professional backup singers, Latin percussionists, etc.--- to a basic "bed track" or "basic track" of bass, drums, and rhythm guitar or piano. Widely used in the 1970s in soft rock and disco.
  • sweet spot: in live sound or recordings in which a mic is placed in front of an instrument or a guitar amplifier, the "sweet spot" is a placement or position of a microphone which yields the most pleasing sound; in the context of listening to a mix in a studio through monitor speakers, the "sweet spot" is a distance away from the speakers that the engineer believes to produce the most natural sound.
  • syncopation
    Syncopation
    In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...

    : a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm often consisting of playing off of the main beat. i.e., playing on the "and" of every beat in a measure instead of on the beat.

T

  • tabulature (or "tab"): for guitar, bass guitar, and other fretted stringed instruments, tab is a type of sheet music notation in which the strings of the instrument are depicted on paper using staff paper-like lines, and then the pitches to be played are indicated using a fret number on the appropriate string line.
  • tacet
    Tacet
    Tacet is Latin for "it is silent". It is a musical term to indicate that an instrument or voice does not sound. In vocal polyphony and in orchestral scores, it usually indicates a long period of time, typically an entire movement...

    : silent; do not play.
  • take: in a recording session, a period of playing or singing which is recorded is called a "take".
  • tech: a technician or repairperson who tours with a band or group, and whose duties include setting up, maintaining, and repairing musical instruments and related accessories; different types include a "drum tech"; "bass tech", and a "guitar tech".
  • tempo
    Tempo
    In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

    : time; i.e., the overall speed of a piece of music
  • tenor
    Tenor
    The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

    : the second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano)
  • tight sound: a recording of an instrument (e.g., drums) which uses very close miking done in a soundproof recording room to eliminate "bleeding" from other instruments or ambient background noise.
  • timbre
    Timbre
    In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...

    : the quality of a musical tone that distinguishes different voices, instruments, amplifiers, and effects
  • time: in a jazz or rock score, after a rubato or rallentendo section, the term "time" indicates that performers should return to tempo (this is equivalent to the term "a tempo")

  • trainwreck (or "train wreck"): a slang term which refers to a major error that occurs during a performance, either due to an incorrect entrance by one or more performers, or due to the performers getting out of time or off pitch with each other ("At the end of the song, the band got lost and the backup singers began the "outro" lines a bar before the lead singer, which led to a confused "train wreck" of an ending").
  • transcription (or "note-for-note solo"): when a performer copies every note of a previously-recorded solo, this is called a "transcription" or a "note-for-note solo".
  • tremolo
    Tremolo
    Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...

    : shaking; i.e., a rapid repetition of the same note, or an alternation between two or more notes (often an octave on the piano). It can also be intended (inaccurately) to refer to vibrato
    Vibrato
    Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...

    , which is a slight undulation in pitch. It is notated by a strong diagonal bar across the note stem, or a detached bar for a set of notes (or stemless notes).
  • tube amplifier (or "valve amplifier"): a power amplifier which is based on vacuum tubes. Tube amps produce soft clipping with a natural compression
    Gain compression
    Gain compression is a reduction in 'differential' or 'slope' gain caused by nonlinearity of the transfer function of the amplifying device. This nonlinearity may be caused by heat due to power dissipation, or by overdriving the active device beyond its linear region...

    , and they are widely used in electric guitar and electric bass amps, and in Leslie-type amplifiers that are used to amplify Hammond organs.
  • tuner: may refer to an electronic tuner
    Electronic tuner
    The term electronic tuner can refer to a number of different things, depending which discipline you wish to study.In the Discipline of radio frequency electronics an electronic tuner is a device which tunes across a part of the radio frequency spectrum by the application of a voltage or appropriate...

    , which is a digital or analog device which assists musicians to tune their instruments; or it may refer to a piano technician who tunes pianos or other keyboard instruments.

U

  • unison:several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes among themselves.

V

  • vamp till cue: a jazz, fusion, and musical theater term which instructs rhythm section members to repeat and vary a short ostinato
    Ostinato
    In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...

     passage, riff
    RIFF
    The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....

    , or "groove" until the band leader or conductor instructs them to move onto the next section
  • 'verb : an abbreviation for "reverb" which typically refers to the electronic reverb effect.
  • virtuoso: (noun or adjective) performing with exceptional ability, technique, or artistry
  • vocal score
    Vocal score
    A vocal score or piano-vocal score is a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra such as an oratorio or cantata, in which the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced and adapted for keyboard...

    or piano-vocal score: a music score of a musical theater show or a vocal or choral composition where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment
    Accompaniment
    In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...

     is reduced to two staves
    Staff (music)
    In standard Western musical notation, the staff, or stave, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch—or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending upon the intended effect,...

     and adapted for playing on piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

  • voicing: the choice of, and order of notes in the playing of a chord, which creates a different sound. For example, a C Maj 7 chord played with the voicing "C, E, G, B" (letter names refer to individual pitches that make up the chord) is often considered to sound more "open" than a voicing where the chord is inverted so that some of the chord tones are very close in pitch (e.g., B, C, E, G). Another way that players may "voice" the same type of chord differently is by adding tones. For example, if a lead sheet shows the chord C Maj 7, some guitarists might play "E,A,D", a voicing which is "open" (insofar as it consists of large intervals) and which contains two "colour" tones, namely the sixth ("A") and the ninth ("D") of the chord.
  • VU meter: an abbreviation for "Volume Unit" meter; a sound level metering approach which measures the average sound levels. Commonly used in LED and needle indicators on mixing boards, sound processors, and other electronic gear.

W

  • wall of sound
    Wall of Sound
    The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...

    : in a recording context, refers to a production technique which creates a fuller, richer sound by having each part played by a number of instruments and routing the sound through an echo chamber; in a live concert context, refers to the massive volume created by huge stacks of powerful, distorted guitar amplifiers at a heavy metal concert (e.g., Motörhead)
  • whammy bar: an accessory on an electric guitar which can be used to bend down the pitch of an individual note or a chord (also referred to as a "tremolo bar")
  • woodshed: a slang term which refers to an intense period of practice and self-development that a musician has (or is believed to have) undergone. If a musician has dramatically improved his or her technique in a short period, a critic may state that the performer has "woodshedded" on technique.

X

  • XLR: a type of professional audio cable used to send balanced signals. Microphone cables have three pins in the connector. More rarely, five-pin XLR cables are used (e.g., for DMX). XLR cables are sometimes called "Cannon connectors", a reference to the first manufacturer of these cables.

Y

  • Y-cable (or "Y-cord"): a cable with three ends, whereby one plug is joined to two plugs. This allows a single signal output to be plugged into two devices. For example, an electric guitarist could plug a single guitar into two guitar amps to create an unusual tone colour. Y-cables are also used to plug inserts into mixing boards (e.g., a compressor or reverb unit).

Z

  • Z: an abbreviation for impedance
    Electrical impedance
    Electrical impedance, or simply impedance, is the measure of the opposition that an electrical circuit presents to the passage of a current when a voltage is applied. In quantitative terms, it is the complex ratio of the voltage to the current in an alternating current circuit...

    , as seen in the terms "High-Z" (high impedance) and "Low-Z" (low impedance), which are used to describe speakers, microphones, cables, etc. Impedance, which is the electrical resistance of a device, is measured in Ohms.
  • zither
    Zither
    The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

    : a stringed instrument with a soundbox which is used in traditional European folk music.

External links

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