accidental

1. A note appearing in a piece of music that does not belong to the scale called for by the key signature. See Keys: Sharps and flats

2. A generic term used to mean any note whose letter name is accompanied by a sharp or flat symbol. See Keys: "Music begins at C"

anticipation

Starting a note a bit ahead of the beat. See: Ornaments: Anticipation

capo

A device that clamps onto the neck of a guitar for the purpose of changing the overall key of the guitar. See: Capo

chord equivalents

Chords converted to other chords by using a capo. See: Capo: Conversion chart

chord, major

A chord made from the 1, 3, and 5 notes of the diatonic (do-re-mi...) scale. See: Chords: Major chords

chord, minor

A chord made from the 1, flatted 3, and 5 notes of the diatonic (do-re-mi...) scale. See: Chords: Minor chords

chord, 7th (or 7 or seventh)

A chord made from the 1, 3, 5, and flatted 7 notes of the diatonic (do-re-mi...) scale. See: Chords: 7th chords

clef

A symbol at the beginning of a piece that dictates the notes of the staff it occupies. See: The staff and clef

dotted note

A note having 1 1/2 times its usual value, determined by the addition of a dot. See: Time: Dotted notes

double stop

Two notes played simultaneously on the fiddle. See: Ornaments: Double stops

drone note

Continuous notes of one pitch, played in addition to melody notes on the fiddle. See: Ornaments: Drone notes

duration

The length of time various notes are held. See: Time: note values

fermata

A symbol meaning to hold a note. See: Ornaments: Fermata

flat

Involving the lowering of pitch by one half-pitch. See: Keys: "Music begins at C" and Keys: Sharps and flats

grace note

A quick note attached to another note. See: Ornaments: Grace notes

key signature

Sharps or flats (or none) appearing on the staff which dictate that their respective notes are to be played accordingly throughout the piece. See: Keys: "Music begins at C" and Keys: Sharps and flats

modes

Scales other than the "do-re-mi..." (major or diatonic) scale. See: Keys: Modes

natural

A note with no flat or sharp symbol attached to its letter name, either with or without the natural symbol. See: Keys: Sharps and flats

notes of the staff

See: The staff and clef

notes, parts of

See: Time: Note values

octave

The distance from a note to the next note of the same letter name, going either up or down in pitch. See: Keys: The key of C

pitch

1. A term describing the sounds of various notes in terms of where they fall on the spectrum of low, medium, or high, as in "high-pitched" or "low-pitched". More specifically, the letter names of notes refer to their pitches within a known range, as in "a note of the pitch G".

2. A unit of measure. The keys of a piano and the frets of a guitar are divided into increments of one half-pitch each.

See: Keys: "Music begins at C"

pizzicato

Making notes on the fiddle by means of plucking rather than bowing the strings. See: Ornaments: Pizzicato

punch

A bow ornament used by traditional fiddle players that involves playing a note and adding another to it, most commonly at the ends of lines. See: Ornaments: Punch

rest

A stop or pause in music. See: Rests

scale

A designated set of notes. See: Keys: Key of __ and Notes and scales of the fiddle

sharp

Involving the raising of pitch by one half-pitch. See: Keys: "Music begins at C" and Keys: Sharps and flats

slide (glissando)

Uninterrupted, non-incremented movement from one note to another. See: Ornaments: Slide

slur

The grouping of two or more notes of different pitches. See: Ornaments: Slur

staff

The five lines on which music is written. See: The staff and clef

tied notes

The grouping of two or more notes of the same pitch to make one continuous note. See: Time: Dotted notes

time signature

The numbers or symbol at the beginning of a piece which determine(s) the duration and number of beats per measure. As it applies to the book, the time signature defines the rhythm pattern of the guitar accompaniment. See: Accompaniment rhythms and Time

trill

A quick flutter between two notes of different pitches. See: Ornaments: Trill

triplet

A group of three notes of the same duration, the group having a total value of two rather than three times that of the individual notes. See: Ornaments: Triplets

turn

An ornament used by traditional fiddle players, usually at the ends of lines, which involves a fairly specific series of quick notes. See: Ornaments: Turns

unison notes

Two identical notes played simultaneously on the fiddle. See: Ornaments: Unison notes