Appendix · Appendix
Glossary
- Accidental: A sign to the left of a note: either a natural, sharp, or flat. See individual glossary entries.
- Add9 chord: Chord created by adding a ninth (9th) to a major or minor triad.
- Alternating eighth notes: Right-hand comping pattern used in pop and country styles.
- Anticipation: See syncopation.
- Arpeggio: Playing the notes of a chord one at a time, or “broken chord” style.
- Articulation: How the note is played, i.e., staccato (short) or legato (smooth and connected), etc.
- Augmented triad: A triad created by raising the 5th of a major triad by one half step.
- Ballad: A song performed at a slow tempo.
- Bar: See measure.
- Barline: Vertical line on the staff which divides the music into measures.
- Bass clef: Sign at the beginning of piano music indicating notes to be played on the lower portion of the keyboard, usually with the left hand.
- Beam: Horizontal line that connects the stems of adjacent eighth or sixteenth notes.
- Beats: A basic unit of musical time. Different rhythmic lengths (of notes and rests) are expressed in numbers of beats.
- Blues: An indigenous American music that first emerged in the late 19th century as an African- American vocal style.
- Blues form: A twelve-bar form or sequence which is used for the majority of blues songs.
- Blues scale: A six-note scale with the following internal intervals: minor 3rd, whole step, half step, half step, minor 3rd, and whole step.
- Boogie-Woogie: An early 20th century blues style using driving left-hand patterns and fast tempos.
- Chart: Notated version of a song, showing the melody and chord symbols, or just the chord symbols (without the melody). Also see lead sheet.
- Chord: Three or more different notes played at the same time. Chords are usually (but not always) built in stacks of thirds.
- Chord chart: Version of a chart (see above) only containing chord symbols.
- Chord function: Where the chord occurs within a key and the resolution tendancies of that chord. For example, G major is a V chord in the key of C, and its function is to resolve to the I chord.
- Chord inversion: A chord re-arranged so that the root is no longer on the bottom.
- Chord progression: A sequence of chords used in a song.
- Chord root: The first note or foundation pitch of a chord, for example, the root of a C major triad is the note C.
- Chord symbol: Symbol placed above the staff, telling you which chord is being used at that point in the music.
- Chord “upgrading”: Adding notes to the chord beyond the chord symbol, for example, using “upper structure” voicings (adding 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths).
- Chord voicing: An interpretation of a chord symbol by the pianist, i.e., which notes to play in each hand, whether to add or subtract any notes depending on the style, and so on.
- Cluster: A type of chord containing one or more seconds, producing a dissonant sound.
- Common time: Another name for a 4/4 time signature.
- Comping: Musical slang for accompaniment.
- Country: An American music style which emerged in the 1920s, with storytelling lyrics, and mostly straightforward/simple harmonies.
- Crescendo: A dynamic marking instructing to play louder.
- “Crossover” lick: A descending right-hand piano embellishment typical in blues styles.
- Cut time: Same as a 2/2 time signature (two half-note beats in each measure).
- Decrescendo: A dynamic marking instructing to play softer.
- Diatonic four-part chords: Four-part chords which belong to (i.e., are contained within) the major key or scale.
- Diatonic triads: Triads which belong to (i.e., are contained within) the major key or scale.
- Digital piano: An electric piano which plays “digital” recordings (or “samples”) of a real piano when the keys are played. A more portable and lower-cost alternative to a real piano.
- Diminished triad: A triad created by lowering the 3rd and 5th of a major triad by one half step.
- Dominant seventh chord: A four-part chord created by building major 3rd, perfect 5th, and minor 7th intervals up from the root.
- Dotted notes: A dot placed after a note adds half as much again to the duration, i.e., a dotted quarter note lasts for one and a half beats.
- Double flat: A symbol indicating to lower the given pitch by two half steps, i.e., the note “E double flat” is equivalent to the note D.
- Double sharp: A symbol indicating to raise the given pitch by two half steps, i.e., the note “D double sharp” is equivalent to the note E.
- Downbeat: The first beat of a measure, or, a note falling “on the beat” of a measure as opposed to “between the beats.”
- Dynamic marking: A marking in the music signifying how soft or loud to play.
- Eighth note: A note which lasts for a half of a beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Eighth rest: A rest which lasts for a half of a beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Electric piano/keyboard: A general term applied to a keyboard instrument which makes its sound “electronically” instead of “acoustically.”
- Enharmonics: Alternative names for the same note. For example, the note “C sharp” is enharmonic to the note “D flat.”
- Fake book: A book containing lead sheets of songs (see “lead sheet”). Musicians will improvise their arrangement of the songs, working from the fake book.
- Faking it: The art of improvising the piano arrangement from a lead sheet or fake book, as above.
- Fallboard: The long piece of wood that is hinged to the piano at the top of the keys.
- Fermata sign: A sign over the music indicating a held note/chord or pause. Sometimes used at the end of a chart, on the last note/chord.
- Fingering: Assigning different fingers to the notes in the music in order to play them. Also see “hand position.”
- Fingering groups: A way of splitting up or grouping the notes in a scale to see the fingering more easily.
- Finger numbers: The numbers 1–5 to indicate which fingers are to play which notes:
- 1 = Thumb
- 2 = Index finger
- 3 = Middle finger
- 4 = “Ring” finger
- 5 = Pinkie or little finger
- Flags: The “tail” added to the end of the stem, for individual (not beamed) eighth or sixteenth notes.
- Flat: A sign to the left of a note which lowers it by one half step.
- Forte (loud): A dynamic marking (signaled by the letter “f ”) instructing the pianist to play loudly.
- Fortissimo (very loud): A dynamic marking (signaled by the letters “f f ”) instructing the pianist to play very loudly.
- Four-part chords: Chords consisting of four notes: typically the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th.
- Funk: A sub style of R&B which emphasizes groove and syncopation.
- Fusion: A term used to describe the blending of jazz with rock and/or funk styles.
- Gig: Live performance (paid or not!).
- Grace note: A note of very short duration which is “squeezed in” before another note.
- Grand piano: See horizontal piano.
- Grand staff: A combination of treble and bass staves which is used to notate piano music (one staff for each hand).
- Half note: A note which lasts for two beats (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Half rest: A rest which lasts for two beats (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Half step: The distance between any note on the keyboard, and the very next note (either higher or lower). The half step is the smallest interval measurement in conventional Western music.
- Hand position: Placement of the hand which enables you to reach the notes in the music. Except in the simplest tunes, hand positions are likely to change while playing the piece.
- Hanon exercises: A set of exercises written by C.L. Hanon which emphasize finger independence and are used for developing technique.
- Harpsichord: An early forerunner of the piano. Strings are plucked as opposed to struck.
- Horizontal piano: Also known as a grand piano. The strings and soundboard are horizontal (as opposed to a vertical piano).
- Improvised solo: A spontaneous sequence of notes, normally played “over” the chord progression of a song (or section).
- Interval: The distance between two notes.
- Inversion: See chord inversion.
- Jazz: An American music style emphasizing improvisation and sophisticated harmony.
- Jazz-blues: Music which combines jazz and blues elements. One method is by applying more sophisticated harmony and improvisation to tunes which have a blues form.
- Jazz standard: A well-established tune in the jazz repertoire, commonly played by successive generations of players.
- Key: The key indicates the principal note or tonic of the piece, and which scale the piece is based on (subject to any accidentals in the music).
- Keyboard: The arrangement of black and white keys on the piano, or a general term used to describe an electronic keyboard instrument.
- Key signature: A series of sharps or flats at the beginning of the music indicating which key you are in via which notes are to be played flat or sharp.
- Lead sheet: Notated version of a song, showing the melody and chord symbols.
- Ledger lines: Small staff lines placed above or below the staff in order to write notes which are too high or too low to be placed on the staff.
- Legato: Play in a smooth and connected style.
- Line note: Note which is written on a line (rather than in a space) on the staff.
- Major intervals: Intervals contained within the major scale, from the tonic to other scale degrees (apart from 4ths, 5ths and octaves). Also see perfect intervals.
- Major scale: A seven-note scale made up of the following internal intervals: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, and half step.
- Major seventh chord: A four-part chord created by building major 3rd, perfect 5th, and major 7th intervals up from the root.
- Major triad: A three-part chord created by building major 3rd and perfect 5th intervals up from the root.
- Measure: A section of music between two consecutive barlines, containing a specific number of beats.
- Metronome: A mechanical or electronic device which “clicks” on each beat. An essential practice aid.
- MIDI: Stands for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface.” The protocol via which keyboards, computers, and other musical equipment communicate with one another.
- Middle C: The note C in the middle of the piano keyboard.
- Minor seventh chord: A four-part chord created by building minor 3rd, perfect 5th, and minor 7th intervals up from the root.
- Minor seventh (flat 5) chord: A four-part chord created by building minor 3rd, diminished 5th, and minor 7th intervals up from the root.
- Minor sixth chord: A four-part chord created by building minor 3rd, perfect 5th, and major 6th intervals up from the root.
- Minor triad: A three-part chord created by building minor 3rd and perfect 5th intervals up from the root.
- Music alphabet: The letters which are used for note names: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
- Natural: A sign placed before a note to cancel a flat or sharp, either that from within the same measure, or from the key signature.
- New Age: A late 20th century style of music with an emphasis on calming sounds and avoidance of harsh textures.
- Octave: The interval distance between any note to the next-occurring note of the same name, either higher or lower on the keyboard.
- Open triad: A triad (either in root position or inverted) in which two or more of the notes span more than one octave. Used for left-hand arpeggio patterns in ballad styles.
- Pentatonic scale (major): A five-note scale with the following internal intervals: whole step, whole step, minor 3rd, whole step, and minor 3rd.
- Pentatonic scale (minor): A five-note scale with the following internal intervals: minor 3rd, whole step, whole step, minor 3rd, and whole step.
- Perfect intervals: Unison, 4th, 5th, and octave intervals which are contained within the major scale. Also see major intervals.
- Piano (soft): A dynamic marking (signaled by the letter “p”) instructing to play softly.
- Pianissimo (very soft): A dynamic marking (signaled by the letters “pp”) instructing to play very softly.
- Pickup measure: An incomplete measure at the beginning of a song. Used if the melody does not begin on beat 1.
- Plug-in software: Software instruments or effects which “plug into” a host, such as a sequencer program.
- Polyphony: The number of notes an electronic keyboard or synthesizer can “sound” at once.
- Pop ballad: A contemporary music style using slow-to-medium tempos, and eighth or sixteenthnote subdivisions.
- Pop/Rock: A contemporary music style using medium-to-fast tempos, combining the melodic hooks of pop music with the driving energy of rock music.
- Progression: See chord progression.
- Quarter note: A note which lasts for one beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Quarter rest: A rest which lasts for one beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- R&B (rhythm and blues): An American music style which emerged in the 1950s. Nowadays, the term encompasses all “black popular music,” such as soul, funk, dance-pop, hip-hop, neo-soul, etc.
- Rest: A rest indicates silence—that you don’t play for the specified number of beats (depending upon the length of the rest).
- Rock ’n’ roll: A highly rhythmic blend of pop, blues, country, and gospel which emerged in the 1950s, and influenced all subsequent popular music styles.
- Root: The fundamental note of a chord. For example, the root of a C major triad is the note C.
- Root position: A chord which has not been inverted, i.e., the root is still the bottom note.
- Scale: A sequence of notes built using a specific set of intervals.
- Sequencer: Software program which allows you to multitrack record (and more!) on your computer. Can also refer to the recording component of a workstation keyboard/synthesizer.
- Seventh chords: Alternate name for four-part chords.
- “Seven-three” (7–3) voicings: Voicing technique using the seventh and third of the chords in a song. Commonly used in jazz styles.
- Sharp: A sign to the left of a note which raises it by one half step.
- Shuffle: An alternate term for a swing eighths feel.
- Sixteenth note: A note which lasts for a quarter of a beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Sixteenth rest: A rest which lasts for a quarter of a beat (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Slash chart: See chord chart.
- Slash chord: Chord symbol which places a chord over a bass note (other than its root), i.e., C/E. This is often done to place the chord over its 3rd or 5th in the bass.
- Slur: A curved line in the music which groups certain notes together, indicating that they are to be played legato (smooth and connected).
- Soft pedal (una corda): The leftmost pedal, which moves all the keys to the left, resulting in a softer sound.
- Software piano: A computer program which accesses a large library of recorded piano sounds, and, therefore, gives a very realistic piano emulation when playing a MIDI keyboard hooked up to the computer. Can also be a “plug-in.”
- Sostenuto pedal: The middle pedal, which sustains the notes currently being held down on the keyboard, without sustaining notes played afterwards.
- Space note: Note which is written in a space (rather than on a line) on the staff.
- Sound check: A procedure before an “amplified” gig where the sound engineer checks the individual sounds of each instrument, as well as the whole band playing together.
- Staccato: A kind of short and bouncy style, with considerable separation between notes.
- Staff: The system of five parallel lines on which music is written.
- Standard songs: Well-known songs in a particular genre.
- “Straight eighths” feel: A rhythmic style in which each eighth note gets exactly one half of the beat.
- Suspended triad: A triad in which the 3rd has been replaced by another note, normally either the second or fourth, i.e., in a C major chord, the E would be replaced by a D or F to make it a Csus chord.
- Sustain (or damper) pedal: The rightmost pedal, which lifts all of the dampers off the strings, enabling them to vibrate after the notes are released from the keyboard.
- “Swing eighths” feel: A rhythmic style in which the first eighth note in each “pair” gets two-thirds of the beat, and the last eighth note gets one-third of the beat.
- Syncopation: Rhythmic emphasis on upbeats (i.e., on notes not falling on the beat).
- Synthesizer: An electronic keyboard or module capable of producing many different instrument and synthetic sounds.
- Tempo: Speed of the song, normally expressed in “beats per minute.”
- Thumb turn: Passing the thumb underneath the other fingers when playing a scale, or playing blues “crossover” phrases.
- Tie: A curved line in the music connecting two notes of the same pitch, indicating that only the first note is to be played, and then held for the combined duration of both tied notes.
- Time signature: A numeric symbol at the beginning of the music telling you how many beats there are in each measure, and what rhythmic value is assigned to the beat.
- Treble clef: Sign at the beginning of piano music, indicating to play notes on the upper portion of the keyboard, usually with the right hand.
- Triads: Three-note chords, built in thirds.
- Tribute bands: Bands performing cover tunes by one well-known band or artist only, i.e., they are a “tribute” to that band or artist.
- Triplets: Three notes fitting into the space normally occupied by two, for example, an eighth-note triplet divides the quarter note into three equal parts.
- Upbeats: A note falling “between the beats” (i.e., on the “and” of 1, or halfway through beat 1, as opposed to “on the beat”).
- “Upper structure” voicing: The upper tones of a chord (for example, the 3rd, 5th, and 7th) played in the right hand, over the bass note played in the left hand.
- Vertical piano: Also known as an “upright” piano (although “upright” is in fact just one type of vertical piano). The strings and soundboard are vertical (as opposed to a “horizontal” or grand piano).
- Voice leading: Using inversions for smooth movement between chords (i.e., without large interval skips).
- Voicing: See chord voicing.
- Waltz: A piece of music which is in 3/4 time, usually used for dancing.
- Weighted keyboard: A feature of some electronic keyboards, which attempts to duplicate the weight and feel of an acoustic piano keyboard.
- Whole note: A note which lasts for four beats (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Whole rest: A rest which lasts for four beats (in time signatures with a “4” on the bottom).
- Whole step: An interval twice the size of a half step. Also equivalent to a major second (2nd) interval.
- Workstation keyboard: An electronic keyboard or synthesizer with a built-in sequencer, allowing for multitrack recording capability.