A

Acoustic having a sound made naturally, rather than made louder by electronic means

Action The distance between the guitar strings and the fingerboard. Low-action guitars are easiest for beginner to play.

Amplify To increase the power of an electrical signal.

Arpeggio A chord whose notes are played separately. This technique is common in classical guitar style.

B

Bar A group of counts. 

Bar chord A moveable chord shape in which your first finger presses across the strings like a bar. 

Bar line A line which divides one bar from the next. The end of a piece of music is shown by a double bar line.

Bass A lower sound. The three bass strings on a guitar make low notes. A bass guitar is tuned one octave lower than a standard guitar. 

Bass/Chord strum A way of playing a chord which combines a plucked bass note and a strum. 

Bass line Notes plucked on a bass guitar or on the bass strings of a guitar. 

Bass run A folk guitar technique in which a series of notes links the bass notes of two chords. 

Beat The counts in a bar are divided into rhythmic units called beats. 

C

Chop A way of playing reggae chords so that they sound clipped.

Chord A group of notes played together. 

Chord sequence A series of chords to be played one after the other. 

Chord shape The position of your left hand fingers on the neck of the guitar when playing a chord.

Clave rhythm A West Indian rhythm traditionally played on a pair of sticks, called claves. 

Click  A technique used in funky music for giving chords a muted, clicking sound.

Count A bar is divided into equal units called counts. 

D

Da capo al fine Italian for 'from the top to the end'. If you see this written at the end off the music, you must repeat the first part again.

Damping Using the left hand to muffle the vibrating strings. 

Dominant 7th The name for the third chord in a three-chord set.

Dotted note A note followed by a dot. The dot means the note is half as long again. For example, a dotted quarter note lasts for one and a half beats.

Downstroke A strum from the bass strings towards the top strings. 

E

Eighth (note) A note that lasts for half a beat.

F

Fifth fret trick A method of tuning the guitar, in which the strings are pressed down at the fifth fret and then plucked to see if they sound the same.

Fingerboard the long, narrow part of the guitar on which the strings are stopped by the fingers.

Finger picking A style used a lot in folk music, in which each string is plucked individually.

Flat note A note which is played one fret lower than the note of the same letter name. 

Flatpicking A plectrum technique which combines plucked strings and strumming.

Free stroke A classical plucking technique which produces crisp, clear notes.

Fretting Pressing down on a string behind one of the frets with a left finger.

H

Hammer-on A technique that enables you to sound two notes by plucking a single string. It is used to give a distinctive folk sound to open-string chords.

Harmonics Clear, ringing notes made by touching a string lightly at certain points while you play it.

Harmony A combination of notes sounded together to make chords or part of a tune.

I

Improvise To invent as you go along. A lot of folk music, flamenco for example, is improvised. Most improvised rock music involves making up a melody to go with an existing chord sequence.

Input The electrical signal fed into a piece of equipment.

K

Key The letter name given to a scale of notes. It is usually the same as the first note of the scale.

Key chord The chord that begins a three-chord set and gives the set its letter name.

Key note The bass note of a chord, which gives the chord its letter name.

M

Major A major chord or scale contains eight notes separated by certain specific intervals.

Melody A sequence of notes forming a tune.

Minor A minor chord or scale has eight notes separated by different intervals from a major one.

N

Ninth chord A moveable chord shape which includes the ninth note of a scale, much used in jazz.

O

Octave A distance of eight notes separating two notes of the same letter name.

Off-beat-rhythm A reggae rhythm, in which the second and fourth beats of a bar are stressed.

Open string A string that is played without fretting it. On a chord diagram, this is represented by a zero.

Open string chord A chord that includes some open-string notes.

Output The signal sent out by a piece of electrical equipment.

P

Passing notes Plucked notes, linking the key notes of a bass line.

Picking An alternative word for plucking (see below).

Pitch How high or low a note sounds.

Plucking Sounding the strings with the fingers and thumb, or with a plectrum.

Power chord A two-string chord shape, popular in heavy metal music.

Pull-off A technique which enables you to pluck extra notes from the neck of the guitar with your left hand. 

Q

Quarter (note) A note of one beat.

R

Rasguado A rapid strumming technique used in flamenco guitar.

Rest A beat in a bar where you do not play.

Rest stroke A classical plucking technique which produces a full, strong sound.

Rhythm A pattern of long and short notes which makes up a melody.

Riff A 'phrase' of music, often repeated throughout a tune. 

S

Scale A set of notes going up or down in order. A tune is usually composed from one particular scale. On the guitar neck there are twelve frets between the first and last notes of a scale.

Seventh chord A moveable chord shape that includes the seventh note of a scale.

Sharp note A note which is played one fret higher than the note of the same letter name.

Sharpened ninth chord A variation of the ninth chord, in which the ninth note is played as a sharpened note.

Sixteenth (note) A note that lasts for a quarter of a beat.

Slap and pop A way of playing bass guitar, used a lot in funky music.

Slide the part of a steel guitar that can be moved along the strings to alter the pitch.

Sliding chord A chord shape, such as a ninth, that you can slide up and down the neck of the guitar to vary the pitch.

String-bending A popular technique in blues music, in which you can give a note a moaning sound by bending the string with a left finger.

 Strumming A way of playing chords by sweeping down and up the strings with your first finger.

Sub-dominant The name for the middle chord in a three-chord set.

T

Tablature A way of writing down music for the guitar, in which the strings are represented by six horizontal lines. 

Three chord trick A set of three chords that enables you to play a vast number of tunes, especially folk and blues songs.

Tied note A note joined to another one by a curved line. The note is played once only, and lasts for the length of both notes.

Transpose To play a piece of music in a different key from the original one.

Treble A high-pitched sound. The top three strings of the guitar. 

Trill A rapid alternation between a pair off notes. You play a trill by hammering-o and pulling-off notes from the same string.

Triplet A group of three notes played in the time usually given to two.

Tune up To adjust the pitch of the strings to make the correct sounds.

U

Upstroke An upwards strum from the top strings to the bass strings.

V

Vibrato A vibrating note made by vibrating a string with a left finger.