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ADSR

Acronym for Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. Commonly grouped together in an envelope filter.

Attack

The initial portion of a note's sound, where the volume goes from its minimum to its maximum. On guitar, this is almost instantaneous when picking the strings; however, it can be stretched longer through the use of volume pedals or knobs, feedback inducers, or other effects.

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 Strings - Intervals and Harmonic Minor and Augmented Chords.

Automation

The programming on an automation track in a DAW to control some parameter over time.

Balance

In reference to a stereo signal, balance refers to the relative volume of the left vs. right fields. Turning the balance all the way to the left would completely mute the right field.

See also: #Pan

Band-Pass

A filter (EQ) designed to reduce all frequencies other than those centered around a specific frequency. Opposite of band-stop.

Band-Stop

A filter (EQ) designed to reduce frequencies centered around a specific frequency. Opposite of band-pass.

Bar

A common/slang name for a measure.

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.

Bridge

The part of the guitar where the strings are coupled to the body.

Or a part of a song used to contrast between two similar sections. For modern popular music, songs often express a musical theme inside a verse-chorus framework, which repeats. The bridge is often placed between the 2nd chorus and 3rd verse, using a completely different theme, intending to make the piece more interesting.

Bright

Refers to a tone that emphasizes higher frequencies over lower ones. In reference to distortion, a bright distortion will often sound crunchy, perhaps even grinding. The low-end will be "tight" and have more focus, not fuzzy.

Opposite of #Dark.

Buzz

"Buzz" is noise, lower frequency than fizz, but still a feature of the upper end of the frequency spectrum. Its most common representation is a sawtooth wave, also called a buzzsaw. While a triangle, sine, or square wave could be considered "smooth", a sawtooth or similar wave featuring buzz is "rough" or grinding, like there's a little distortion in the tone.

Interference and ground hum may cause a buzzing sound, particularly on a distorted tone.

Center Frequency

This is the frequency around which a band-pass, band-stop, or shelf EQ is centered. For a shelf, this is the point where the signal reaches half the desired attenuation.

Chord

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

Chunky

Refers to the amount of low-end in the tone. I associate chunk with the ultra-low-end around 100 Hz and punch more around 240 Hz, but many people use the terms interchangeably. Depending on the genre of music and the target guitar tone, it may refer to slightly different things. For example, in heavy metal, chunk is often in reference to how much squishy low end a palm mute generated, whereas for genres that have only mild distortion on guitars, punch might refer low-end percussiveness on the attack of a note or chord.

Clanking

Basically just a grinding distortion but the "clanking" nature is emphasized when the tone is more percussive than squishy.

Clipping

Clipping is a form of distortion where the amplitude of a signal is too powerful for the medium transmitting it. This could be a cable, a vacuum tube, or a digital device's internal resolution. Looking at the resulting waveform, it appears that the peaks of the signal are "clipped" off. Different devices clip differently, and while some forms of clipping are desirable (most often tube clipping), others are usually undesirable (cables or digital clipping).

Cold

This term incorporates multiple facets of the tone. In the most general sense, it is a tone that is somewhat discomforting to hear for long stretches at a time, although a full mix with a cold guitar tone isn't necessarily difficult to listen to. It can refer to a dry tone, or a scooped tone, but even if a tone has plenty of mids, it can still be considered cold. Generally a "cold" tone is deficient around 350 - 800 Hz.

It can also refer to a bright tone, as well as an overly crunchy or a grinding tone. It can also refer to a tone that focuses intensely in one aspect of the frequency range.

Crackly

A noisy cracking or tearing sound in the tone, noted by a seemingly random (irregular) appearance in the signal. Often caused by bad connections due to worn out cables or turning bad guitar pots. Rarely caused by settings, but can appear due to distorting multiple gain stages in succession to a high degree.

Crunchy

Similar to buzz but lower in frequency, like trying to say, "kkkkkk". Most distorted guitar tones tend to have at least a little crunch to them.

This becomes confusing because amplifiers often label their channels as "clean", "crunch", and "lead". Clean and Lead channels can have crunchy aspects to them. A crunch channel is often marked by a mild distortion that is focused on being crunchy in nature, as opposed to fuzzy or grinding. Similarly, sometimes a crunchy tone is assisted by being dry, so that the crunch sound is more easily heard. While squishy and crunchy are somewhat in contention, a tone can be both squishy and crunchy at the same time. Generally, however, getting the maximum amount of squish means sacrificing some crunch and vice versa. Crunch tones are often achieved by using very balanced or slightly scooped tones into a distortion stage.

Cutoff Frequency

The cutoff frequency on a low-pass or high-pass filter is the frequency where the EQ acheives 3 db signal reduction - basically the frequency when you start to notice the effect.

Dark

Refers a tone with greater emphasis on lower frequencies vs. higher frequencies. Can also refer to the nature of the distortion resulting from a dark signal being fed into a distortion stage. The distortion will usually be fuzzy and be quite broken up.

Opposite of #Bright.

DAW

Acronym for Digital Audio Workstation. These may be dedicated devices but are often common personal computers outfitted with some kind of audio interface and running music production software. Sometimes, the software itself is referred to as a DAW. While different DAWs have different features, they commonly feature multi-track recording, independent track processing, MIDI editing and routing, virtual instrument support, audio plugin support, automation, mixing, and project management. The DAW is the central hub of music production, capable of creating mastered pieces independently or in conjunction with other hardware/software.

Decay

Refers in general to a steady reduction of volume until a note is inaudible.

In terms of ADSR, refers to the length of time it takes for the signal to reach its sustaining volume from its maximum volume.

Delay

An effect that delays an input signal by an amount of time before outputting it, often with a decaying feedback loop, simulating an echo.

Can also refer to an actual echo or any other delayed signal.

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 Strings - Intervals and B Diminished.

Distortion

Any transformation of a signal can technically be called distortion. For guitars, it usually refers to a specific, desired transformation - the sound of vacuum tube clipping, even if these are emulations by solid state analog devices like stomp boxes, or created by digital algorithms in modelers.

Djenty

Term used to describe squishy palm mutes with a strong presence focus that makes them stand out. It is evident when playing muted power chords, particularly when using 4 or more notes. The notes literally sound similar to saying "djent".

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.

Dry

This has two different contexts. One is used to describe the ambience of the tone, which factors in resonance, reverb, or delay. A dry tone would have very little ambience.

The other context is used to describe how much effects are mixed into the tone. This context is often used when describing a Wet/Dry or Wet/Dry/Wet (W/D/W) setup, where the main guitar signal is split in two (or three), with one side having no effects and the others having effects, such as modulation, reverb, delay, pitch shifting, etc. applied. Often the individual effects will have their maximum or otherwise extremely high mix settings used, and this "wet" signal(s) is mixed against the "dry" (no effects) signal to find the right balance of how "wet" the tone should be. The greater the balance of the "wet" signal(s) vs. the "dry" signal, the "wetter" the tone is said to be.

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 G♭ 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 A♭♭ is not, even though G and A♭♭ 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.

Equalization (EQ)

Refers to the technique of altering the amplitude of certain frequency ranges of a signal. Despite being called "equalization", EQ controls are often purposefully used to create a frequency response that features unequal amplitudes across the frequency spectrum.

Field

For a stereo signal, one of the two independent signals is often called a field. So every stereo signal has two fields, usually called a left and right field.

Filter

See #Equalization (EQ)

Fizz

"Fizz" is high-frequency noise, taking its name from the sound you get after pouring a carbonated soda into a glass. It also sounds similar to saying, "shhh" or the background noise you hear while flying on an airplane. It becomes prominent from around 3 kHz and up. Fizz is not limited to modelers, appearing in many analog devices such as microphones. It tends to effect high-gain tones more than others due to their extended emphasis on higher frequencies.

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 ("♭") that means to lower a note by one half-step. Ex. A♭ is a half-step lower than A. Multiple flat symbols can be used to indicate pitches even lower. Ex. C♭ is the same pitch as B, while C♭♭♭ is the same pitch as A.

Frequency Response

Any signal can be broken down into an infinite number of amplitude levels for an infinite number of frequencies. Many devices will tend not to equally affect all frequencies - this affect on the signal can be called its frequency response. Speakers often have unique responses, and will often display a frequency response graph - a visual representation of how it affects frequencies input into it. All devices have their own responses, but many (most obviously amplifiers) include EQ controls to vary this.

Fret

A metal bar/wire on the fretboard used to shorten the length of the resonant portion of a string, increasing its frequency. The frets are typically placed to approximate a 12-tone equal temperament tuning.

Fundamental

Sound waves often have a fundamental frequency, which is the lowest frequency audible. This relates to what musical note the sound corresponds to (ex. A - 110 Hz), with various configurations of overtones changing the timbre of the sound but not altering how the note is identified musically. The fundamental is typically the loudest frequency; however, this is not always the case (it could purposefully reduced or completely removed by filtering). Even where the fundamental is physically absent, it is often perceived due to the presence of overtones and their relationship to the fundamental.

Fuzzy

Refers to a distorted tone where most of the break-up is occurring in the lower frequencies. Fuzzy tones are known for an unfocused or loose bottom end and a buzzy high end. This can leave it difficult to discern the pitch of fast passages in lower registers, and thus fuzz is often avoided in metal. Additionally, simultaneous notes on different strings tend to "fight" each other for audible dominance. Chords tend to get extremely distorted and difficult to discern. Fuzz is often used in small amounts or in lead settings, although some alternative, indie, and post-rock musicians tend to enjoy the out-of-control tone it can generate at high gain levels.

Graphic EQ

A graphic EQ consists of a (usually large, eg. >= 5) number of band-pass/band-stop filters at approximately-equidistant, fixed frequencies such that they can affect the entire frequency spectrum. Their gain levels are usually controlled by vertical sliders to approximate the visual appearance of the filters' effect on the spectrum (hence the name "Graphic EQ").

Grinding

Used to describe tone (particularly distorted tone), this gets its name because it sounds similar to stones or metal being grinded. Somewhere in between crunch and buzz - a characteristic of a rather raucous distortion. Can sound kind of "throaty", like a sustained hardcore/metalcore yell.

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.

Harmonic Minor Scale

A heptatonic (7 note) scale that consists of a tonic note and the notes above tonic with the following intervals: M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, M7. This creates the following whole/half pattern: w h w w h w+h h. A Harmonic Minor has the following notes: A B C D E F G#.

Harmony

The result of combining multiple pitches simultaneously (or giving the same effect when playing them in sequence). This expands into the study of sequences or progressions of multiple pitches, often using roman numeral analysis, with diatonic chords falling into specific harmonic functions. See Music Theory Basics.

Harsh

A harsh tone is any tone that is difficult to listen to at high volumes or for long periods of time, generally due to an overly bright frequency response or crackly, buzzy, or grinding nature of distortion.

High-Gain

High-gain typically refers to an amplifier designed to add large amounts of distortion into the signal. Early guitar amps had no "Drive" or "Gain" control, only a master volume control. After amp manufacturers realized many players were turning up their amps as loud as possible to purposefully induce distortion, they incorporated this ability into their pre-amp circuits, where the player had more control over the level of distortion without having to make his amp deafeningly loud. Technically, any amp with a pre-amp "Drive" or "Gain" control is considered a "high-gain" amplifier, although different amps will provide different characteristics and levels of distortion.

High-Pass

A high-pass filter (EQ) allows high frequencies to pass, but filters out frequencies below a certain point. It can be rather gradual so that as frequencies get lower and lower they get slightly softer and softer until they are inaudible, or it can be rather abrupt, where frequencies above than the cutoff frequency are nearly completely unaffected, but frequencies below the cutoff are completely inaudible. See also: #Low-Pass.

Hot

This actually refers to something different than the warm/cold dichotomy. In reference to signal levels, a hot signal is exceeding or nearly exceeds its maximum level before clipping/distorting. In reference to tone, this translates into the amount of distortion applied to the tone. A "hot" tone has lots of distortion. It can be used to express negative or positive connotations towards the level of distortion. For example, one may say the tone is "too hot", or one may say, "Man, that tone is hot!"

Hum

Hum, (also known as ground hum), is a constant sound at a fixed frequency, typically 50, 60, or 120 Hz. Its low-frequency, low-overtone nature sounds similar to the vocal technique of humming. It is usually caused by a ground loop but may simply be an artifact of the amplifier's design, requiring transforming AC from its power mains.

Ice Pick

This refers to a tone that is so extremely bright, it hurts to listen to. It is said to be like driving an ice pick into your ears. It can be due to high amounts of high frequencies that are normally very low volume compared to other frequencies in guitars - such as anything over 5-8 kHz. But it can also be due to a peak frequency lower than this (such as 3 kHz) that is simply extremely loud.

Impedance

Electrical resistance to an alternating current. Direct current circuits amount of current is limited by the voltage of the power source and the resistance of the circuit. Similarly, impedance determines the amount of current flowing in an alternating current. Where the two concepts are fundamentally different is that impedance is variable depending on frequency. Normally, devices will have a resonant frequency where the impedance is least around a certain frequency, allowing a stronger flow of current at that frequency, while frequencies above the resonant frequency has increasingly high impedance and roll-off high frequencies.

Interference

The degradation of a signal from an external source. This is typically EM radiation, such as radio waves or fluorescent light, inducing a voltage in an unbalanced cable or sensitive guitar electronics.

Interval

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

Intonation

The pitch accuracy of an instrument. Guitar intonation is affected by action, fret spacing, fret leveling, bridge height, nut height, string length, neck curvature, string gauge, and type of strings used.

Just Intonation

A tuning system in which the relationship between different notes is represented by ratios of small whole numbers. In other words, the intervals in just intonation are as consonant or harmonic as possible. Because the pitches of these intervals will vary from key to key, an instrument can only feature just intonation in one key at a time. The further away from the just intonated key on the circle of fifths one goes, the more dissonant the instrument will sound.

For example, a M7 interval in just intonation is a 15:8 ratio of the two notes. So the just intonation A-G interval where A is 110 Hz means G is 206.25 Hz. The A-C minor third is 6:5, which means C is 132 Hz. C-G should be a P5 interval, which is 3:2. But 3:2 x 132 Hz is 198 Hz, not 206.25 Hz.

Key

Describes a scale as well as a tonic note. This tells us the absolute pitches or notes we are likely to use, as well as the tonality.

Leading Tone

In a Major Scale, the 7th note is the leading tone (B in the key of C Major). It is called this because it tends to sound very tense, wanting to resolve to the tonic note. See Music Theory Basics.

Low-Pass

A low-pass filter (EQ) allows low frequencies to pass, but filters out frequencies above a certain point. It can be rather gradual so that as frequencies get higher and higher they get slightly softer and softer until they are inaudible, or it can be rather abrupt, where frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency are nearly completely unaffected, but frequencies above the cutoff are completely inaudible. See also: #High-Pass.

Major Chord

A major chord contains a root note and the notes a major 3rd and a perfect fifth above it. See C Major Chord.

Major Scale

A heptatonic (7 note) scale that consists of a tonic note and the notes above tonic with the following intervals: M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7. This creates the following whole/half pattern: w w h w w w h. C Major has the following notes: C D E F G A B. See Music Theory Basics.

Measure

A basic unit of a composition. The time signature determines the number of beats per measure, with each measure implicitly having a similar rhythmic pattern. A melody usually spans a few measures, and a chord progression often changes chords every measure or every other measure. Measures are typically numbered, allowing musicians to quickly relate a location in a piece.

Melodic Minor Scale

A heptatonic (7 note) scale that consists of different notes when played ascending vs. descending, based on the Natural Minor scale. Descending the scale is identical to natural minor, but ascending uses a sharped 6 and sharped 7th note. This gives the following whole/half pattern: w h w w w w h. A Melodic Minor ascending contains the notes: A B C D E F# G#.

Melody

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

Minor Chord

A minor chord contains a root note and the notes a minor 3rd and a perfect fifth above it. See E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords.

Minor Scale (Natural Minor)

A heptatonic (7 note) scale that consists of a tonic note and the notes above tonic with the following intervals: M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, m7. This creates the following whole/half pattern: w h w w h w w. A (Natural) Minor has the following notes: A B C D E F G.

see also #Harmonic Minor Scale and #Melodic Minor Scale

Modeler

A device that emulates the response and timbre of one or more analog devices by use of digital signal processing (DSP). Typically used in the guitar community to replace amplifiers and guitar cabinets.

Mono

Refers to a single, independent signal. Most simple guitar signal chains are mono - the guitar is generating a single signal from a single pickup (or two pickups wired together), going through a single cable into a single amplifier input, into a single speaker cabinet. Any device that has a single input and output is said to be mono.

Muddy

Generally a tone that is too dark or has distortion on the low-end, causing it lose focus and tightness, similar to fuzz. Basically fuzz applied just to the low-end. Almost always used in a negative context - unwanted mud.

Noise

Noise is essentially randomness in the signal. Being chaotic, noise transmits little information, other than that it is noise. Whereas a signal indicates timbre, pitch, and harmony, noise does not convey any of these qualities. The timbre of a guitar can change based on playing style, string gauge, pickups, woods, build quality...noise is always noise.

Notch EQ

Usually has multiple bands, but is designed to provide very high Q band-stop filters to create narrow "notches" in the frequency response to filter out offensive frequencies - can be useful to remove an unwanted fixed frequency fizz or hiss or hum.

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 (♯/♭). 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.

Overtone

Overtones are frequencies that follow an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency of a note. Any periodic waveform can be broken down into the synthesis of infinite sine waves of various frequencies and amplitudes. The balance of the fundamental frequency and overtones impacts timbre heavily rather than being perceived as numerous simultaneous pitches.

Pan

Pan refers to the proportion of how a signal is routed into the left or right field of a stereo signal. For example, if you have mono guitar signal in a mixer or DAW, panning center means the signal is equally audible in both the left and right fields. Panning full left would mean the signal is just as loud in the left field as when panned center but is muted in the right field. Occasionally, a pan control will be applied to a stereo input signal, and in this case, the center setting will retain the original balance, but panning left or right will push both fields into either the left or right field.

Pick

The common name for a plectrum. Can also refer to plucking.

Parametric EQ

A parametric EQ is a band-pass/band-stop filter with adjustable center frequency, Q, and gain (or mix).

Pickups

While typically electromagnetic, refers to any transducer that converts the guitar's sound into an electrical signal.

See Guitar_Parts_and_Functions#Pickups.

Plectrum

The formal name for what is commonly called a guitar pick. Often shaped like a tear drop or rounded isosceles triangle and made of plastic. It is used to pluck the strings to sound them.

See Choosing a Pick.

Pluck

A method of exciting the strings by pulling them from their rest position and abruptly removing force, allowing them to snap back towards their resting state. This is the most common way of sounding strings, whether using a plectrum or finger-picking. This contrasts with other methods such as slapping, feedback, or using a inducer device such as a Sustainiac or E-bow.

Predominant

The harmonic function of a chord that serves to move towards dominant-function chords. See Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions.

Punchy

Refers to a tone that has a quick, strong response in its low to lower-midrange frequencies. See #Chunky.

Q

This is the "width" or steepness of a filter's effect on the frequency spectrum. Q is measured as 1/n octaves; a Q factor of 1 means the range of impacted frequencies is 1 octave wide.

A high Q on a band-stop indicates a very narrow range of affected frequencies, often used to "notch" out a small offensive frequency. Whereas a low Q may affect nearly the entire audible frequency spectrum. For a high-pass or low-pass filter, a high Q will be a steep, abrupt drop-off in frequencies at the cutoff frequency, while a low Q is a more gradual roll-off. Similar a Shelf with a low Q will have a gradual, smooth transition from the high shelf to the low shelf, while a high Q implies a dramatic, steep jump.

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.

Release

In terms of harmony and harmonic progression, refers to the feeling of finality and completeness that occurs from moving from a dominant or tense harmony to the tonic (tension and release). In terms of ADSR, refers to the length of time it takes for the signal to become inaudible after the note is released.

Rhythm

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

Saturation

Scale

A scale is a set of notes, ordered by their fundamental frequencies. Scales are typically defined in terms of the notes relative pitch relationships to each other, rather than absolute frequencies. For example, a Major Scale is defined as a Root, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, and M7 notes, while a Minor Scale is Root, M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, and m7. Tying a scale to a particular set of frequencies (or its octaves) would make it a Key. For example, the Key of C Major is defined as C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

Signal

A signal is the physical embodiment of information communicated from one device to another. In guitar terminology, this usually means the strings inducing electric potentials in guitar pickups, which are passed on through cables into amplifiers, then into speakers where it is converted to sound and sent to the audience's ears. The signal is the message desired to be communicated. Hum, noise, and other interference are generally not considered the signal. In fact, they are considered to degrade the signal.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)

A measure of the audibility of the signal compared to the audibility of noise. The higher the ratio, the "cleaner" and more "high fidelity" the sound.

Signal Chain

A signal chain is simply the ordered list of each device that affects the signal from its point of origin (the guitarist/guitar) until it is turned into sound waves. Typically displayed as text with arrows between each piece of the chain, showing the direction of the signal as it is transformed. For example:

Ibanez guitar with Dimarzio Pickups > Ibanez Tube Screamer stomp box > MXR Flanger > Marshall JCM-800 amplifier > Marshall 1968 4x12 cab with Celestion T-75 speakers

Sharp

One meaning is used to describe a pitch that is higher than it should be. "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.

* There is actually a double-sharp symbol that looks similar to an "x" but I don't have a good representation.

Another meaning relates to tone, generally similar to cold or bright.

Shelf

A Shelf filter (EQ) attenuates all frequencies above or below a specified frequency by some variable amount.

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.

Slide

May refer to the technique of quickly changing position while holding a string against the fretboard, traversing the chromatic scale. This may be used as a grace note or as a legato technique. "Slide into that note." "Slide between those notes."

Can also refer to a physical device (usually a hollow cylinder that fits on one of the left-hand fingers) held against the strings in place of using the frets, so that within the range of the guitar's highest and lowest notes, infinite lengths of string and pitches are possible.

Often the style of play when using a slide (device) is also called slide. ex. "He's playing slide".

Smooth (Tone)

Describes a "smooth" tone that is quite easy to listen to. Sounds more like "oooo" than "zzzz". Also can refer to a lack of noise/crackle in the tone/signal.

Opposite of buzz

Splatty

Describes a tone that is not smooth at all, but not necessarily buzzy. Similar to crackly, but whereas crackly is marked by a cracking/tearing type sound in the tone, splatty is marked more by random drop-outs to the tone and high-pitched squeals. It generally occurs by feeding an extremely bright signal to a heavily distorted amp, particularly older amps not designed to be heavily distorted.

Squishy

Refers to a heavily compressed/distorted tone. A squishy tone has a weak/subtle attack and a long sustain - the opposite of a percussive sound. This is particularly evident on palm mutes. Two factors that contribute to a squishy tone are plenty of distortion and a mid-range focus to the signal being distorted.

Staff

The staff is the set of parallel horizontal lines in classical notation where the dots representing notes are placed. Each line represents a particular note, as well as each space between each pairs of lines. Notes can be written above or below the 5 line staff using ledger lines.

Stereo

Stereo refers to two independent signals operating in parallel. Most home stereos systems are called stereos because they output two independent signals through a pair of speakers. And these are often arranged to the left and right of the listener. In guitar terms, the stereo signals originate from a single point - the guitar, even if the guitar outputs from two independent pickups, such as a piezo and a magnetic (or 2 independent magnetics). Also, the signals are often sent to the same or similar devices designed to process both signals. Thus, the two signals are often referred to as a single stereo signal. Most often, stereo signals don't come into play until an amplifier's fx loop, where a mono signal is sent to a stereo fx unit where it is split, processed differently for each signal and output as a stereo signal. The amp then will amplify each signal independently and send them to two different cabs. Or a mono single is split and sent to two amps. Or as previously mentioned the guitar itself outputs stereo from 2 different pickups.

Subdominant

The formal name for the 4th chord in a diatonic scale. Usually serves a predominant function. See F Major Chord.

Sustain

In general, refers to the length of time a note endures before becoming inaudible. In terms of instruments, it can refer to the instrument's ability to sustain a note. For example, "This guitar has great sustain." In terms of ADSR, refers to the volume level of a sustained note.

Tempo

The speed of a piece, describing the number of beats per minute. Usually indicated at the beginning of musical notation but can change throughout a piece. See Music Theory Basics.

Thick

Usually means the tone has a strong low-frequency response, but in a favorable balance with other frequencies. The lower frequencies are generally undistorted and "tight" as opposed to loose or muddy. Usually used in a positive context - you are more likely to hear that the tone was "too dark" instead of "too thick".

Opposite of #Thin.

Thin

Usually means the tone lacks bass or warmth, but isn't just related to the frequency response. It can also mean the tone is too dry or the distortion isn't squishy or warm or punchy enough. The term relates to the association of thinner strings or objects having less mass and producing less momentum, resonance, and lower frequencies. This is almost always used in a negative context - "the tone sounds too thin and wimpy".

Opposite of #Thick.

Timbre

Describes the quality of sound from an instrument. See Music Theory Basics.

Time Signature

Uses a fraction of whole numbers to describe a logical grouping of beats into measures and assigning how many beats each note type endures. The top number is the number of beats per measure, while the bottom number indicates what type of note lasts one beat. 4/4 time has 4 beats per measure with 1 beat = 1 quarter note. 5/4 time has 4 beats per measure with 1 beat = 1 quarter note.

For example, if a song had musical ideas that tend to last 3 beats and occasionally repeat, it would make sense to use a time signature of 3/n, so each measure contains one musical idea. See Music Theory Basics.

Tone

Musicians often use this term to cover any feature the sound of any particular instrument or device contributes to. Some common usages refer to frequency balance - how much high frequencies are present compared to lower frequencies or vice versa...or a particular characteristic of the frequency range (ex. dark tone, bright tone, midsy tone, scooped tone, etc.).

Another usage describes the fidelity of the signal, often referring to tone as though it is a quantified amount. For example, someone might call some device a tone-suck, which means the device increased the noise relative to the signal. Or he might say some device has a huge tone, meaning the output is high-fidelity - low noise and low unwanted distortion. It can also refer to the amount of distortion the device produces. While those are the typical usages of the term, it can even refer to more quirky features, like being swirly, or shimmering, or ambient.

Tonality

Refers to the establishment of a tonic note. A piece with a clear tonality uses keys and harmonic progressions that introduce tension strongly resolved by the tonic note or tonic chord. Some pieces may have ambiguous tonality (several notes/chords seem to resolve tension equally) or purposefully attempt to avoid tonality altogether (atonality).

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.

Transient

Transients are any form of sound outside of periodic oscillations (sustained pitches). For guitar, a transient is typically the collection of noises heard when attempting to play a note, using due to fretting or the fret buzz on the attack of notes. Thus, each played note has a transient as well as the note itself. Good technique can minimize the audibility of the transient portion relative to the note itself.

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.

Warm

Refers to a tone that is generally easy to listen to, with most frequencies in balance, and a healthy dose of "warm" frequencies from 350-800 Hz. Likely to have some resonance or reverb or delay to add at least some ambience.

See also: #Cold.

Wet

Opposite of #Dry.

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.

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Glossary