Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K
L M N O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z

Accidental: A symbol used to raise or lower a note's pitch. (e.g., sharp or flat )
Accidental Gadget: In the Scale Palette, the gadget that allows you to select notes which aren't in the scale.
Arpeggio: A sequence of notes based on a chord, usually arranged in thirds, played in quick succession across the strings.
Augmented: Used to refer to a Sharp 4th or 5th interval which equals +/- 6 or 8 semitones. (See also Diminished, Dominant, Major, Minor, Perfect, Suspended.)

Blues: A musical style characterized by the I-IV-V movement and heavy use of pentatonic scales. Blues stresses the soulful, emotional element of music while concealing its nuances in a guise of simplicity.

Change: The point of transition between chords or keys.
Chord: A group of three or more notes played together. (2 notes played together is a Harmony).
Chord Harmony: A chord based on a scale degree and its extensions.
Circle Of Fifths (also The Circle Of Keys): The sequence of key-centers arranged by 5ths. From C clockwise each key gains a sharp note, while counterclockwise each gains a flat note. Since each key's neighbors are its closest relatives the Circle demonstrates the readiest movements.
Current Chord: The chord which will be affected by your operations in FretPet. This is the chord which is highlighted in the Bank if a document is open.
Current Key: The key indicated by the Key Cursor, in the key column of the Scale Palette.
Current Root: The root of the Current Chord - either the Current Tone or the Current Key.
Current Scale: The full sequence of notes in the Current Key. (A whole row of notes in the Scale Palette.)
Current Tone: The note indicated by the Scale Cursor.

Dd

Diminished (Dim / ^o): 1. A Flat 5th tone.; 2. A Chord with a Flat 5th and a Flat Dominant 7th (6th).; (See also Augmented, Dominant, Major, Minor, Perfect, Suspended.)

Dissonance: An effect created by the irregular "artifacting" of two or more tones. In melody, a note which appears in stark contrast to the lead.
Dominant: The Flat 7 tone. (See also Augmented, Diminished, Major, Minor, Perfect, Suspended.)
Dynamics: Elements of music which augment its style and its substance. Among these are changes in tempo and volume, the use of rests, and the use of repetition and harmonic interplay which define a spirit or energy.

Ee

Enharmonic Scale: A scale which may have more than one letter name applied. The letter name is significant in that it determines whether a scale is considered to be a sharp scale or a flat scale in a composition containing key changes.

Extension: A note which is added to a chord triad, such as a 7, 9, or 11.

Ff

Flat ( b ): A half-step lower.
Frequency: The amount of time between peaks in a sound wave. For example, if a wave peaks 300 times every second then the frequency is 300 cycles per second or 300 Hertz.
Fret: One of several metal strips mounted across the front of the guitar neck which the player uses to change the length - and so the pitch - of the plucked strings.
Fretboard: The front of the guitar neck where the frets are mounted.
Fret Bracket: In the Guitar Palette, this indicates the range of frets in which to build a fingering.
Fret Cursor: The animated square in the Guitar Palette indicating the current Fret Note.
Fret Note: The note indicated by the Fret Cursor.

Gg

Gravity: The quality of preference exerted by the ear upon a passage of music. Gravity is assigned to tones based on inferential cues in the melody. The most obvious example of gravity is in the movement of a cadence, which leads strongly to a resolve.

Hh

Half-Step: The interval between two Chromatic tones.; A Semitone.
Harmony: The quality of two notes rung together.
Hertz (Hz): Full cycles per second. To determine the Hertz value of a sine wave you count the number of peaks above zero which cover a second of time.; A thousand Hertz is called a KiloHertz (KHz); A million Hertz is called a MegaHertz (MHz)

I i

Interval: The distance between two notes. Intervals can be "up" or "down," indicating the direction of movement in a sequence of tones. When "up" or "down" is omitted the movement is assumed to be upward.
Intervallic Notation: A notation developed by Schumann as part of his "Twelve Tone System" of music, which essentially ignores key-centeredness in favor of pure movement.

Jj

Jazz: A style of music originally derived from Blues and Classical which emphasizes poetic lyricism, improvisation, and rhythmic spontaneity in search of music without boundaries.
Juxtaposition: An unorthodox overlapping of contrasting themes, phrases, or styles. For example, placing a classical violin passage in the middle of a honkytonk jam.

Kk

Key: The dominant character of a recent passage of music. The tone or chord of resolution.
Key Cursor: The highlight in the first column of the Scale Palette which indicates the Current Key.
Keyscale: The same as Key, but considered in wider terms of its scale and its tonic.

L l

Lead: An accompanying melody which plays against a chord progression, adding harmony and color. The term refers to the quality of "leading the ear," which indicates that the listener is being led through the progression.

Mm

Major ( ): Used to indicate an interval which is characteristic of the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th tones of the Major Scale. (See also Augmented, Diminished, Dominant, Minor, Perfect, Suspended.)
Major Chord: A chord with a major 3rd interval between the root and the 3rd.
Major Scale: 1. A scale with major and perfect intervals.; 2. The first (Ionian) mode of a particular Major Scale which serves as the theoretical basis for characterizing all other scales.
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A series of hardware and software standards that allow communication between digital instruments and computers.
Minor (m): Used to indicate a flat 2nd, 3rd, or 6th tone. (See also Augmented, Diminished, Dominant, Major, Perfect, Suspended.)
Minor Chord: A chord with a minor 3rd interval between the root and the 3rd.
Minor Scale: A scale with minor and perfect intervals.
Mode: 1. A scale.; 2. A scale based on another scale, but starting from a different degree. The modes of the Major Scale are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
Movement: 1. The path a song takes through notes, chords, scales, and keys. For example, a I-IV-V movement in the key of C indicates that the C-F-G chords are played in succession.; 2. A section of a piece of music which begins a major variation on the theme, usually in another key. For example, the "second movement" of a flute concerto.

Nn

Natural: Intrinsic to the key, being neither sharp or flat relative to the keyscale.
Note: A sound with a single discernable pitch.
Nut: The groovy piece at the head of the guitar which holds and aligns the strings.

Oo

Octave: An interval indicated by two notes which have frequencies at a 2:1 ratio to one another. For example, the note A at 220Hz is one octave below A at 440Hz.
Open String: A string which is not currently fretted by the player.
Overtone: A third tone which emerges as the product of a harmony.

Pp

Passing Tones: Notes inserted between chords to alter the transition from one to the other.

Perfect: The 4th or 5th interval which is characteristic of the Major Scale. A Perfect 4th equals +/- 5 semitones. A Perfect 5th equals +/- 7 semitones. (See also Augmented, Diminished, Dominant, Major, Minor, Suspended.)
Pitch: The relative frequency of a sound wave.
Plectrum: A flat triangular piece of plastic or metal which is used to pluck or strum the strings of an instrument. Also called a "pick."

Qq

QuickTime™: A system extension for MacOS™ and Windows95™ that adds native support for multimedia, including video, sound, VR, and musical instruments.

Rr


Raised: See Sharp.

Reverb: Reverberation. An effects process which lengthens and deepens a sound, making it sound as if it were inside a larger space.
Root: 1. The note used to name a chord. Other tones in a chord are specified relative to the root note.; 2. The first note in a scale.

Ss

Scale: A sequence of tones, usually associated with a set of intervals.
Scale Cursor: The highlight in the Scale Box which indicates the Current Tone.
Scale Degree: The position of a note in a scale. (i.e., F is the 4th degree of the C Ionian scale)
Sequence: A series of notes arranged in time (a melody).
Sharp ( # ): A half-step higher.
Standard Tuning: Tuning of the guitar strings to the notes (in ascending order) E - A - D - G - B - E. The intervals between strings are Perfect Fourths, except between the G and B strings, which is a Major Third.
Suspended (sus): A Perfect 4th which fulfills the 3rd function in a chord. (See also Augmented, Diminished, Dominant, Major, Minor, Perfect.)

Tt

Third (3rd): An interval represented by counting three notes in the Major Scale. A Minor Third equals +/- 3 semitones. A Major Third equals +/- 4 semitones. For example, the interval between C and Eb is a Minor Third.

Tone: A sound with a discernable pitch.

Tonic: The first note in a scale. (See Root)
Transpose: To change all the tones of a chord by the same interval. For example, to transpose a C chord to the key of G move all tones up by the interval between C and G (a perfect fifth).
Triad: A chord with three tones.

Uu

Undulate: To shift between two or more positions with a wavelike motion.
Utter: "The despair I felt over the loss of you was -------- ."

Vv

Value: A temporary state of emphasis. For example, the value of the note C will differ throughout a melody depending on the context which has been set up for it.

Ww

Wave: A sound's effect on the air, created by changes in pressure as gas molecules push against each other in a chain reaction. If you could see sound it would appear as a sphere expanding outward in all directions from its source.

Xx

X: The Roman numeral 10.; Short for Christ.; A really great band.; A generational moniker.; A very short wavelength of light energy.; A former spouse or lover.; The axis parallel to the horizon.; A popular chromosome.

Yy

Yellow: The color used to indicate the Root of a Chord in FretPet.

Zz

Zappa, Frank: Musician.