Glossary

Augmented

In reference to intervals, the augmented 4th or augmented 5th is one half-step higher or larger than the perfect 4th/5th. For example, C-F is a perfect 4th, but C-F# is an augmented 4th. A chord is considered augmented if it contains a major 3rd and augmented 5th above its root. See 1st and 2nd String - Intervals and Harmonic Minor and Augmented Chords.

Bass/Strum Pattern

A bass/strum pattern is a way to play chords where the first beat contains only the bass note and the next beat strums the rest of (or entire) chord. This creates a "folk" feel, especially with an alternating bass note. See G Major Chord.

Beat

The most basic unit of time for music. Tempo is often listed in terms of beats per minute, and time signatures are listed in terms of beats per measure. In 4/4 time, each measure has 4 beats and each quarter note has a duration of 1 beat. A metronome often is set to click once per beat.

Chord

A set of 3 or more notes, played simultaneously or in sequence. See C Major Chord.

Diatonic

Diatonic intervals or chords are those that consist of only notes from a common scale. For a major scale, there are 3 major, 3 minor, and 1 diminished diatonic chords.

Diminished

In reference to intervals, the diminished 4th or diminished 5th is one half-step lower or smaller than the perfect 4th/5th. For example, C-G is a perfect 5th, but C-Gb is an diminished 5th. A chord is considered diminished if it contains a minor 3rd and diminished 5th above its root. See 1st and 2nd String - Intervals and B Diminished.

Dominant

Can refer to the Dominant Chord (the major chord built on the 5th note of the scale) or the harmonic function of many chords that seeks to resolve to tonic-function chords. See Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions.

Dotted Note

A dotted note indicates that its duration should be 1.5x its indicated length. For example, a dotted half note lasts as long as a half note + a quarter note.

Eighth Note

A note whose duration is 1/8 of a whole note. The actual duration in terms of beats is determined by the time signature, and its duration in terms of seconds is determined by the tempo.

Enharmonic

Two notes with different spellings are enharmonic if their pitches are identical. For example, F# and Gb are the same pitch and thus enharmonic. Similarly, keys, chords, intervals, etc can also be enharmonic if they refer to identical pitches.

Simply because 2 notes are enharmonic does not mean they can be substituted in notation and retain the same meaning. For example, G is the V chord of the C Major scale, but Abb is not, even though G and Abb are enharmonic. This has no impact on how they actually sound, only how one would analyze the piece.

Equal Temperament

Equal temperament is a means of tuning the notes of an instrument, so that all notes are evenly spaced apart. This makes every key equally in-tune, although all intervals will be slightly off from their just intonation counterparts, which are more harmonic.

Flat

One meaning is used to describe a pitch that is lower than it should be. Ex. her performance sounded bad because she sang a little flat.

Another meaning is an indicator ("b") that means to lower a note by one half-step. Ex. Ab is a half-step lower than A. Multiple flat symbols can be used to indicate pitches even lower. Ex. Cb is the same pitch as B, while Cbbb is the same pitch as A.

Half Note

A note whose duration is 1/2 of a whole note. The actual duration in terms of beats is determined by the time signature, and its duration in terms of seconds is determined by the tempo.

Interval

A set of 2 notes, played simultaneously or in sequence. See 1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals.

Melody

A series of notes expressing a musical idea. See Music Theory Basics.

Note

The most basic "unit" of music. A note is comprised of a fundamental pitch and a time duration. Pitch is described in terms of letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) and sharps/flats (#/b). Duration is described in terms of how much of a measure the note lasts - in 4/4 time where a measure is 4 beats, a note that lasts 4 beats is a whole note, 2 beats a half note, 1 beat a quarter note, and 1/2 beat an eighth note. See Music Theory Basics.

Quarter Note

A note whose duration is 1/4 of a whole note. The actual duration in terms of beats is determined by the time signature, and its duration in terms of seconds is determined by the tempo. This is the most common note duration, with 4 quarter notes per measure in 4/4 time.

Rhythm

The pattern of sound over time, incorporating Tempo, Time Signatures, Beats, Feels, . See Music Theory Basics.

Sharp

One meaning is used to describe a pitch that is higher than it should be. Ex. her performance sounded bad because she sang a little sharp.

Another meaning is an indicator ("#") that means to raise a note by one half-step. Ex. A# is a half-step higher than A. Multiple sharp symbols can be used to indicate pitches even higher. Ex. A## is the same pitch as B, while A### is the same pitch as C.

Sixteenth Note

A note whose duration is 1/16 of a whole note. The actual duration in terms of beats is determined by the time signature, and its duration in terms of seconds is determined by the tempo.

Tonic

Can refer to the 1st note of a scale, the Tonic Chord (the major chord built on the 1st note of the scale), or the harmonic function of many chords that bring release to tension. See Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions.

Triplet

The most common form of tuplet, dividing a beat (or multiple beats or subdivisions of beats by a multiple of 2) into thirds. In 4/4 time, an eighth note triplet contains 3 notes of equal duration that collectively last 1 beat.

Tuplet

A tuplet is a rhythm that divides the beat into equal subdivisions that cannot be represented otherwise. The number of subdivisions is given by a number (3) or ratio (5:4) over a group of beamed or bracketed notes. If a single number is used, the ratio is implied over 2 ("3" = 3:2). The denominator indicates the length of time in term of normal duration for the note used, while the numerator indicates how many subdivisions that length should be sliced into. For example, 5:4 over eighth notes means that 5 eighth notes in this tuplet should consume the same duration as 4 eighth notes normally would. 3 (or 3:2) on quarter notes means the 3 quarter note tuplet should last 2 quarter notes' length.

The most common tuplet is the triplet. For example in 4/4 time, a quarter note gets 1 beat. To divide the beat into equal halves, one can simply use 2 eighth notes. To divide the beat into equal thirds, no note duration will fit. This is where a tuplet is used, in this case a triplet. 2 eighth notes equal 1 beat. A 3 eighth note triplet fits 3 notes into the same time normally consumed by 2 eighth notes. 4 notes in one beat can be represented with sixteenth notes. 5 notes in one beat can be represented by a 5:4 sixteenth note tuplet.

Whole Note

A note duration. The actual duration in terms of beats is determined by the time signature, and its duration in terms of seconds is determined by the tempo. In 4/4 time, a whole note lasts a whole measure, hence whole note.