Guitar & Music Glossary

bar chords	A bar (barre) chord takes its name from the role of the 1st finger of your left hand (fretting hand). This finger acts as a bar across the fingerboard, depressing all six strings and replacing the nut (the ivory piece at the top of the neck). By using your first finger as a bar, you can move any open chord up and down on the fingerboard.
chords	Three or more notes/pitches sounding simultaneously or functioning as if sounded simultaneously. The standard Major chord consists of the 1st, 3rd & 5th notes of the Major Scale. A standard chord diagram... \|\|---\|-2-\|---\|--- <-- thin str' \|\|---\|---\|-3-\|--- \|\|---\|-1-\|---\|--- o\|\|---\|---\|---\|--- x\|\|---\|---\|---\|--- x\|\|---\|---\|---\|--- <-- thick str'
cutaway	A cutaway guitar has the underside (where the neck meets the body)scoooped away. This is so the player can reach further up the fretboard without obstruction of the body. Nylon sting guitars a rarely cutaway, acoustic steel string guitars are cutaway most of the time and electrics are almost always cutaway because they're used more so for soloing.
non cutaway	A non cutaway guitar doesn't have the underside (where the neck meets the body) scoooped away. Nylon sting guitars a rarely cutaway, acoustic steel string guitars are cutaway most of the time and electrics are almost always cutaway because they're used more so for soloing.
fifth chord	Also called powerchords, they are chords that contains no 3rd, only the 1st and 5th (suspended chords, and chords containing 3 or more notes exempted). Technically, a powerchord is not really a true chord because, by definition, a chord has to have a minimum of 3 notes. Powerchords are also called 5th chords, notated as C5.
flat sign	Musical symbol (b) that indicates lowering a pitch by a semitone, eg. when you flatten a B note, you move to the note Bb. This is the opposite to a sharp sign.
fret	Frets are spaced down the neck of the guitar, strings are pressed on the frets therefore shortening the length on the string and producing a higher note.
fretboard	The front side of a guitar neck which contains the frets. Also called the fingerboard!
open chords	These chords contain at least one open strings (not fretted with left or fretting hand). Often the first kind of chords a beginner will learn (D, A, E, C and G etc). The opposite of Bar or 5th/Power chords.
repeat sign	When you see this sign :\|\| on sheet music it means to go back to the beginning of the song and play it through again.
rhythm	The controlled movement of music in time using beat, no beat, long and short sounds, meter, accents, no accents, tempo, syncopation, and so on. On the guitar this is represented by strumming up and down strokes (with the picking hand) across the strings, usually while playing chords.
root note	The fundamental note that gives a chord or scale its name. In a chord the root note is the lowest sounding note played. In a scale the root is the note the scale is built upon, or the starting position of the scale formula (eg. tone, tone, semitone....)
sharp sign	Musical symbol (#) that indicates raising a pitch by a semitone, eg. when you sharpen an F note, you move to the note F#. This is the opposite to a flat sign.
sheet music	Sheet music is where musical pitch, rhythm and expression is written down on paper in a common language for all musicians to share
tablature	Tablature is a quick and easy way to write guitar music on paper. The six lines represent your six guitar strings, the top line is your top string on the guitar (thin). The bottom line is then naturally your bottom string on the guitar (thick)
tempo	This is the speed or pace that a song is played at. A tempo is measured in Beats Per Minute (bpm). This means that if a song is played at 60 bpm, there will be 1 beat every second.
time signature	A number that appears at the beginning of a piece of music. The top number tells you how many beats each measure (bar) will have. The bottom number tells you what kind of a note receives one beat. In 4/4 time there are four beats per measure (bar) and the quarter note receives one beat. In 6/8 time there are six beats per measure (bar) and the eighth note receives one beat.
tone	Also called a whole step. On the guitar this is a two fret move either up or down the same string.
semitone	Also called a half step. On the guitar this is a one fret move either up or down the same string.
acoustic guitar/s	A stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking. The sound is not amplified by electrical means. You can have either a nylon or steel string acoustic guitar.
electric guitar/s	A guitar which can be electrically amplified (usually with a solid body). Common Types: Fender Stratocaster (3 way pickup system), Gibson Les Paul (2 way pickup system).
neck
body
pick
scales
improvising
note values

Chords Table

Open Chords

Chords: Open	Major	Minor	Seventh	Minor Seventh	Major Seventh
C	C Major	Cm	C7	Cm7	CMaj7
A	A Major	Am	A7	Am7	AMaj7
G	G Major	Gm	G7	Gm7	GMaj7
E	E Major	Em	E7	Em7	EMaj7
D	D Major	Dm	D7	Dm7	DMaj7
F	F Major	Fm	F7	Fm7	FMaj7
B	B Major	Bm	B7	Bm7	BMaj7

Bar Chords

Chords: A Shape Bar	Major	Minor	Seventh	Minor 7th	Major 7th
A	A Major	Am	A7	Am7	AMaj7
A# / Bb	A# Major	A#m	A#7	A#m7	A#Maj7
B	B Major	Bm	B7	Bm7	BMaj7
C	C Major	Cm	C7	Cm7	CMaj7
C# / Db	C# Major	C#m	C#7	C#m7	C#Maj7
D	D Major	Dm	D7	Dm7	DMaj7
D# / Eb	D# Major	D#m	D#7	D#m7	D#Maj7
E	E Major	Em	E7	Em7	EMaj7
F	F Major	Fm	F7	Fm7	FMaj7
F# / Gb	F# Major	F#m	F#7	F#m7	F#Maj7
G	G Major	Gm	G7	Gm7	GMaj7
G# / Ab	G# Major	G#m	G#7	G#m7	G#Maj7
Chords: E Shape Bar	Major	Minor	Seventh	Minor 7th	Major 7th
A	A Major	Am	A7	Am7	AMaj7
A# / Bb	A# Major	A#m	A#7	A#m7	A#Maj7
B	B Major	Bm	B7	Bm7	BMaj7
C	C Major	Cm	C7	Cm7	CMaj7
C# / Db	C# Major	C#m	C#7	C#m7	C#Maj7
D	D Major	Dm	D7	Dm7	DMaj7
D# / Eb	D# Major	D#m	D#7	D#m7	D#Maj7
E	E Major	Em	E7	Em7	EMaj7
F	F Major	Fm	F7	Fm7	FMaj7
F# / Gb	F# Major	F#m	F#7	F#m7	F#Maj7
G	G Major	Gm	G7	Gm7	GMaj7
G# / Ab	G# Major	G#m	G#7	G#m7	G#Maj7