This is a glossary of jazz and popular music terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks, fake books and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz, and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects units, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered (e.g. to do an "encore", which is a French term).
0–9 1×10″ A speaker cabinet containing one loudspeaker. Used for small venue PA cabinets and small stage monitor speakers (with a horn), and lightweight bass guitar or electric guitar combination amplifiers ("combos") and cabinets designed for rehearsal monitoring or practice. 1×12″ A speaker cabinet containing one loudspeaker. Used for mid-sized venue PA cabinets and stage monitor speakers (with a horn), and lightweight bass and guitar combos and cabinets. 1×15″ A speaker cabinet containing one loudspeaker. Used for PA cabinets and stage monitor speakers (with a horn), bass combos and cabinets, and in small venue subwoofer cabinets. 1×18″ A speaker cabinet containing one loudspeaker, typically used in subwoofer cabinets for PA applications. 1×21″ A speaker cabinet containing one loudspeaker, typically used in large subwoofer cabinets for PA applications. 2×10″ A speaker cabinet containing two loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets. 2×12″ A speaker cabinet containing two loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets and, with a horn, as a PA cabinet. 2×15″ A speaker cabinet containing two loudspeakers. Used in bass cabinets and, with a horn, as a PA cabinet. 2×18″ A speaker cabinet containing two loudspeakers, typically used as a subwoofer for PA applications or in dance clubs. 4×10″ A speaker cabinet containing four loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass combos and cabinets. 4×12″ A speaker cabinet containing four loudspeakers. Commonly used in electric guitar amplifier systems, less so in bass. Configured with all four speakers on the same panel or with the top two speakers angled upward. 4-track (or "four-track") A simple portable recording and mixing device widely used in the 1970s and 1980s which used compact cassettes. 5-string (or five-string) An electric bass with five strings, which often means the addition of a low "B" string. 6-string (or six-string) An electric bass with six strings, which often means the addition of a low "B" string and a high "C" string. (Note: in uncommon cases, basses with even more strings are used. 6-string bass may as well refer to bass guitar tuned as a typical guitar with an octave down, such as Fender Bass VI). It is also a common slang term for a regular guitar. 7-inch See 45 in this list.
7-string or seven-string An [electric] guitar with seven strings, which often means the addition of a low B string. Seven-string guitars are associated with jazz, fusion, and metal styles. 8-string or eight-string An [electric] guitar with eight strings, which often means the addition of a low F string and a low "B" string. Eight-string guitars are associated with jazz, fusion, and metal styles. 8-track
A tape format popular in the 1970s. 8×10″ ...with eight ten-inch loudspeakers. Used in electric guitar and bass cabinets. It is sometimes called a "stack", and, in the case of a bass cabinet, a "bass stack". 10 In electric guitar parlance, turning a volume knob (or distortion knob) to the highest setting (usually marked "10"). 11th Refers to chords containing the eleventh note of a scale, which is the fourth scale degree up an octave (e.g. an F note in a C minor chord). Elevenths are mostly used on minor chords, sus chords, and dominant chords. The eleventh may be sharpened by one semitone to give a sharp eleventh chord (e.g. D7 with sharp 11 adds a G to the basic D, F, A, C notes). 12-inch A long-format vinyl record that can hold more than 20 minutes of content per side, often called an LP (long-playing) or album. 12-string Both electric guitars and acoustic guitars are available in 12-string versions. Three of the added strings are doubling the standard strings at the unison, and three are an octave higher. 13th Refers to chords containing the thirteenth note of a scale, which is the sixth scale degree up an octave (e.g. an A note added to a C7 chord). Thirteenths are mostly used on dominant chords and major chords, and to a lesser degree, minor chords. The thirteenth may be flattened by one semitone to give a flat 13 chord (e.g. D7 with flat 13 adds a B to the basic D, F, A, C notes). Flat 13 chords are altered dominants.
A vinyl record designed to be played at rotations per minute. A 12-inch record has about enough space more than 20 minutes per side. 45 A 7-inch vinyl record designed to be played at 45 rotations per minute. A 45 record has about enough space for one song on each side. 78 An old-fashioned record designed to be played at 78 rotations per minute. 303 Refers to a Roland bassline synthesizer from the 1980s, the TB-303. The squelchy sound of the 303 features prominently in acid house music. 808 Refers to a Roland drum machine from the 1980s, the TR-808. The TR-808 drum sounds were widely used in electronic dance music. In the 2010s, some of its drum sounds continue to be used in DJ mixes.
A A section In a multi-section song form, such as AB or AABA form, the first section. In 32-bar AABA form, the first A section is the first eight bars, and it contains the main melody. accordion A free-reed instrument with two keyboards played with the hands, in which the sound is produced by pumping a bellows. In the piano accordion, the right hand plays chords and melody lines on a small piano-style keyboard, while the left hand plays bass notes and chords on a button board. The accordion is like a miniature organ in its conception, as it has registers (like organ stops) so the player can add octaves or change the tone. The button board usually contains 120 buttons on professional piano accordions, although there are bass button boards with 12, 24, 48, 60, or 72 buttons to save weight and costs. The bass buttons play a bass note or a bass note and its octave below. The chord buttons play three-note chords, typically major triads, minor triads, dominant seventh chords, and diminished chords. Some accordions have all buttons for both hands. Accordions are used in Zydeco, hot jazz (a type of swing), and many folk and traditional musics. Accordions are becoming less common in North America but they remain popular in Europe. acid rock A style of rock music from the late 1960s and early 1970s which emphasizes psychedelic imagery, unusual sound effects, and distorted guitar playing. at liberty The speed and manner of execution are left to the performer. In some cases, the instruction suggests that the performer improvise a part. alt (English), alt dom, or altered dominant A jazz term which instructs chord-playing musicians such as a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist to perform a dominant (V7) chord with altered upper extensions (e.g. sharp 11th, flat 13th, etc.). altissimo Very high alto High; often refers to a particular range of voice or instrument, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano (e.g. alto sax) amp An abbreviation for "amplifier" (i.e. a musical instrument amplifier or a PA system power amplifier); also an abbreviation for ampere analog Sound equipment in which the signal containing the voice, electric guitar signal, etc. is electrical, rather than converted into digital "1"s and "0"s (binary system). Whether analog or digital recording and effects are "better" is a subject for debate. Proponents of analog effects and mixing boards often argue that analog gear has a "warmer" or more "natural" tone. arpeggio Like a harp (i.e. the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another (usually ascending) instead of simultaneously). Arpeggios are frequently used as an accompaniment. See also broken chord. arrangement The preparation of an existing song or instrumental piece for a new ensemble, group, or purpose. The person who makes the arrangement is an arranger.
art rock An avant-garde genre of rock that is related to progressive rock (Genesis; Rush; Gentle Giant); both genres tend to use unusual instruments, meters, and timbres, and both aim toward more complex, experimental compositions and novel sonic textures. artist and repertoire (A&R) A department in a record company responsible for assigning songs to artists for recording and distribution, seeking out new or emerging performers to sign, and working with music publishers. as is A jazz term which instructs the performer to play the noted pitches as they are printed. Parts for jazz musicians in big bands often consist of lengthy sections of empty bars labelled with the changing time signatures and chord changes. Rhythm section members improvise an accompaniment (see Comp), and lead instruments improvise solos. In sections where the jazz arranger wants the performers to read notated pitches rather than improvise, they indicate this with the notation "as is". autotune A pitch correction effect that corrects sung or played pitches. With extreme settings, it creates unusual sounds that are used in some pop and hip-hop genres.
B
B-3 The B-3, a widely used version of the Hammond organ, an electromechanical, tonewheel-based keyboard instrument. B-section A second section of a song typically following the initial verse. It uses different chords or melodic center and typically leads into a chorus, hence it is sometimes referred to as a "pre-chorus". Alternatively in some parlance "B-section" might refer to a bridge (see "bridge" below) occurring anywhere in a song once or twice. back-beat Beats 2 and 4 in time, particularly when they are strongly accented. A term more used in rock 'n' roll. backmasking Recording a sound and then flipping it so that when it is replayed, it sounds backward. Backmasking was explored as a recording studio effect in the psychedelic 1960s. A moral panic was created when some listeners claimed to hear evil, Satanic messages in backmasked sections. While any recorded music can be backmasked, it is most effective when applied to individual instruments. ballad A slow song, often on a romantic or emotional theme. barre chord or bar chord A guitar chord in which the first (or another finger) holds down two or more adjacent strings (that is, it "bars" several notes). bass
The lowest-pitched voice of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony; in a jazz or popular music context, the term usually refers to the double bass or the electric bass. bassline The low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument, often by an electric bass player or upright bassist, but a bassline can also be performed on organ, piano, or even guitar. While basslines emphasize the root and the fifth of the chord, other chord tones, notably the third and seventh, are used to express the type of chord and add musical interest. (see also "line") beat The pronounced rhythm of music; or one single stroke of a rhythmic accent. bend Jazz term referring either to establishing a pitch, sliding down half a step, and then returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note. With the electric guitar, bending is widely used in blues, blues-rock, and rock and, in a somewhat different fashion, in jazz.
bin or bass bin