Practice: To perform the habit of working often and repeatedly toward
proficiency. A successful practice routine would include: exercises (scales,
arpeggios, and slurs), etudes, sight reading, analysis, memorization, review of
repertoire and new works.
Prelude: An introductory piece often leading to another. In the Baroque period
preludes often contained figuration, broken chords, scales and sounded
spontaneous and improvised. Since the Romantic Era, preludes are often not
intended to lead to anything but are pieces of and to themselves.
Prepare: To pre-position either hand onto the string or fret before it is
necessary to use it.
Presto; prestissimo: Very fast; extremely fast.
Pull-off: A descending slur. See slur
Punteado: Spanish for "plucking." A term used when a series of notes
are intended to be plucked as opposed to strummed (rasgueado).
Purfling: The border around the edge of the soundboard and back of the guitar.
The purfling is often ornamental and is usually inlaid and made of a thin piece
of wood.
Quarter note: A note one-quarter the length of a whole note. ( q
)
Quarter note: A note one-quarter the length of a whole note. (
q )
Rallentando: Becoming slower, to relax the beat and reduce the tempo. Abbreviation: rall.
Range: The total span from the lowest to the highest pitch in a piece, a part,
or a passage.
Rasgueado: Literally "to rip." The technique of striking the strings
with the fingers of the right hand. The strings are struck rapidly and with
each individual finger, any number of fingers or the thumb. It is notated by a
wavy line or a straight line with an arrow to indicate the direction of the strum.
Reed: In
certain wind instruments such as an oboe or clarinet, a small vibrating element
made of cane.
Renaissance Period: (“rebirth”) The time period in Western Europe from
about 1400 (1450 was the year the printing press was invented) to 1600 (the
invention of opera). This was a time when the values and esthetics of the
ancient Greek and Roman civilization where rediscovered. There was an explosion
of knowledge, creativity, curiosity and reform in the church. This was a time
when Magellan sailed around the world, Columbus supposedly discovered America,
Martin Luther led the Protestant reformation, humanism focused on human life
and accomplishments rather than on religious doctrine and the afterlife, and
knowledge was obtained from scholars rather than priests. The imitative
polyphonic Mass of the Renaissance fulfilled the tradition of church music
performed in cathedrals. But music outside of the church played an increasingly
important role as composers came to be employed by kings and nobility rather
than by the church. Continuing the Medieval tradition of music for
entertainment, listening or dancing to music increased in popularity. An
educated person was often trained in music, sang madrigals or played the lute
or vihuela. The instruments of the Renaissance were related to the same string,
woodwind, brass, percussion and keyboard families that exist today. Renaissance
composers continually tried to make their music more expressive, more relevant
to Renaissance society and more reflective to their every day human experience.
Composer-performers for the lute include Dowland and da Milano, and the
vihuelists, Milan, Narvaez, Mudarra, Fuenllana and Pisador.
Repeat signs: Repeat signs are indicated by two dots placed in adjacent spaces. A
repeat sign faces the measure or measures in which need to be played again. If
a repeat is to the beginning of a work a sign at the beginning is not
necessary. If a section repeat is necessary within the body of a work the
measure or measures within the repeat sign that face each other are to be
repeated. Sometimes
the way a piece ends the first time through is different on the repeat. It is
said to have a first and second ending. In that case the first ending is
bracketed to the repeat sing and the second time through, the first ending is
skipped over and the second ending is played.
Other
repeat signs commonly found in music to move you back or forward through a work
in order to save space in writing out repeats are as follows: DC. al fine (DA capo al fine), from the top to the end - Repeat
from the beginning and play to the word fine. DS.
al fine (dal segno al fine), from the
sign to the end - Repeat
from the sign (usually % ) and play to the word "fine." DC. al coda (da capo al
coda), from the top to the coda - Repeat
from the beginning and play to the coda sign (usually _ ) and then
skip to the coda. The coda or tail
is a short section found at the end of a composition that creates a convincing closure or
ending to a work. D.S.
al coda ( dal segno al coda), from the
sign to the coda - Repeat
from the sign ( % ) and play to the coda sign ( _ ) and then skip to
the coda.
Repertoire: A collection of pieces that a person can rehearse, take part in and
prepare to perform.
Resolve, resolution: The movement of a dissonant sound to a consonant
one.
Rest Stroke: The rest stroke or apoyando stroke (Spanish for leaning), is the right
hand technique of striking the string with the tip of the finger and after it
sounds the string comes to rest on the adjacent string. The rest stroke
produces a fuller bodied sound and a deeper tone. The finger moves down and in
towards the sound hole and affects the direction of string vibration and
consequently the movement of the face of the guitar. The string moves
perpendicular to the guitar soundboard. The rest stroke is used often for
scales or whenever a single line melody needs to soar over an accompaniment, or
where emphasis is desired.
Rests: Rests are signs used in
music to indicate silence. Each type of note has a corresponding rest sign. Be
sure to keep track of the beat even when you are counting silence. whole
note w =
whole rest _Ó_ half
note h = half rest Ó_ quarter
note q = quarter rest Œ
eighth
note e = eighth rest ‰ sixteenth
note x = sixteenth rest _
Rhythmic notation: Music is a succession of pitches set to a certain rhythm. The time
aspect of music is represented by different symbols. Each musical symbol
represents a specific pitch duration. These duration's of pitch are defined by
beats or regular recurring units of time. As a note or group of notes sound
they sustain for different lengths of time determined by the value of the note.
Beginning with the longest whole note symbol and each subsequent subdivision by
half: 1 whole note w equals 2 half notes h
h equals 4 quarter notes q
q q q equals
8 eighth notes e e e e e e e e equals 16 sixteenth notes x x
x x x x x
x x x x x x x
x x equals 32 r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r 32nd notes, etc.
Rienforzando (rf ) : See sforzando
Ritardando, rit. ritard: A slowing down of the tempo.
Ritardando: A tempo marking indicating a gradual slowing down of the beat.
Abbreviations: ritard, rit.
Roll, rolling: To arpeggiate a chord or play
the notes of a chord in succession rather than simultaneously. See arpeggio.
Roller: The round plastic barrel that holds the tied strings at the head of the
guitar.
Romance: An intimate work of lyrical character, tending to instill a dreamy and
imaginative affect.
Romantic Period: The years between 1827 (the death of Beethoven) and 1900 (the turn of
the century). The Romantic period was a time of highly individual musical
styles. Composers got their inspirations from life experience, from nature and
its wildness, the supernatural, poetry, ancient mythology, the romantic ideal
of love and the notion of unfulfilled love, and the suffering from a loss or
death of a loved one. Small sponteaneous and flexible forms (miniatures),
programmatic forms, or large grandiose forms dictated how the music was
written. Many of the Classical forms such as sonata, theme and variations,
minuet & trio and rondo form, which evolved in order to take advantage of
the dramatic possibilities offered by homophony, were abandoned. The new
Romantic forms were goverened by spontaneity, expression, ideas, individualism
and creative freedom. Romanticism take its name form the medieval “romances,”
which were stories and poems about heroic figures written in one of the romance
languages of the people. Beethoven’s innovations and contributions served as a
catalyst for Romantic era composers. He was considered by many to be the
liberator of music, as the person who broke the molds and led the way.
Romanticism represents an approach to life and to art completely different from
that of Classicism. Whereas Classicism tends to be traditional and objective, Romanticism
is individual and subjective, when Classicism shows emotional restraint then
Romanticism is emotionalistic. The guitar composers from the Romantic period
include: Mertz, Coste, Regondi, de Fossa, and later Llobet, Tárrega, and
Barrios.
Rondo: A musical form consisting of
a periodic return of a central theme, diagrammed as ABACA.
Rossette: The decoration around the soundhole which is often inlayed and built of
small pieces of natural or dyed woods.
Round: Same as canon.
Rubato: In Italian literally
"to rob." The slowing down and speeding up of the pulse. The
"robbed" time is "stolen" from the beat and is likely to be
"given back" a moment later to balance the tempo. Rubato is an
expressive device especially effective in Romantic music.
Sandpaper: A very fine grade of paper with sand like particles attached and used
to smooth the shape and texture of a players right hand nails. Usually 500 or
600 grade TRI-M-ITE, FRE-CUT, paper, A wt. Open Coat.
Sarabande: A Baroque dance in slow triple meter with the three beats
characteristically divided into on-plus-two with an accent on the 2nd beat. The
sarabande is a more solemn dance with rich chords and a profound meaning.
Scale degree: The individual step of a scale.
Scale:
The string length between the nut and the saddle. 650mm is standard but some
guitars go up to 665mm and as low as 640mm.
Scale: The word scale comes from
the Italian “scala,” or ladder. In Latin scale means “a series of steps.” In
music a scale is a pattern of pitches rising and falling on the degrees of the
staff. A scale is also a series of pitches from which melodies and harmonies
can be made. Scales divide an octave up into smaller intervals. The two most
commonly used scales in Western music are called major and minor. Major refers
to the greater or larger interval found between the first degree of the major
scale, (the tonic), and the scales third degree. Minor refers to the lesser or
smaller interval found between the first and third degree of the minor scale. Because
of the size and arrangement of the intervals in major or minor scales they have
very different characteristics of spirit and mood. Major can be the cheerful or
happy scale, where as minor can be serious, sad and sometimes the more romantic
scale. But there are many exceptions to this rule. Pieces such as the Largo
from Dvorák “New World Symphony” is a
beautiful melancholy melody written with the major scale. The happy melody of Packington's Pound is actually written
with a minor scale. In the church mode system of the medieval period the major
scale was known as the Ionian mode and the minor scale was known as the
Aeolian. The remaining church modes have characteristics of either the major or
minor scales.
Score: The full musical notation
for one or several performers.
Semi-tone: Same as half step.
Sequence: The repetition of a musical pattern at a different pitch level.
Sforzando: An especially strong accent
or emphasized note. (sf ) Carcassi uses a rienforzando to
mean essentially the same thing. ( rf )
Shaping: Adding dynamics to follow the contour of the notes as they rise
(crescendo) and fall (diminuendo) with the line.
Sharp ( # ) : The symbol that raises the pitch of a note a half step or one fret.
Sharp: A symbol which raises the
pitch of a note a half step or one fret. (
# )
Sight reading: The ability to play music seen for the first time, at first sight.
Sixteenth
note: A
note one-sixteenth the length of a whole note. ( / )
Sixth: The interval composed of two notes with one either written on the line
of the staff and the other written on the third space away or on note written
on a space and the other on the third line away. When it is 9 half steps higher
than its lower note it is called a major sixth (M6), whereas if it is only 8
half steps higher its is called minor (m6).
Slur: A
curved line joining two notes of a different pitch is called a slur or legato.
It indicates that the notes are to be played as smoothly as possible with no
breaks between the notes (legato).
When two notes are played with the right hand, articulating each note, it is
not as connected as when they are slurred. The ascending slur looks like this: For
example; it is executed by striking the E and while holding down the string
with the 2nd finger, hammering down the 3rd finger to sound the F. The right
hand does not articulate the second note, the left hand produces it. The action
of the left hand is quick and the impulse very sudden. Make sure the finger is
curved and that it lands on its extreme tip. Avoid striking the note before the
slur too strongly. This will make the second note sound weak and uneven. The
descending slur looks like this:
For
example; the first note E is played in the normal way. Then pull off the first
finger slightly to the left toward the
floor to sound the B. Notice that the second note of a descending slur is
produced by plucking the string with the left hand finger. Again, avoid
striking the first note overly hard to create an uneven second note. When
slurring from C to B on the second string the first finger will fall on the
adjacent string to create a type of left hand rest stroke. This is all right
unless the note on the adjacent string needs to continue to vibrate, if that is
the case then the finger should pull off without touching the adjacent string.
When you need to slur and the first note is not an open string as in the case
of slurring form F to G; Then you must hold down the first note F and keep it held
while the left hand hammers the G. When descending from G to F the G and F come
to their respected positions together and as G sounds and you pull off to F and
the first finger already is anchored and prepared to make a smooth transition:
Sonata: An instrumental work with multiple movements in contrasting tempos.
Soundboard: The front of the guitar to which the strings are attached through the
bridge. The soundboard is said to be the most important makeup in a guitars
sound. Cedar and spruce wood is generally preferred for concert guitars. The
Soundboard is often referred to as the face
, table, top or belly of the guitar.
Soundhole: The opening in the soundboard through which some of the sound is
projected.
Srophic form: A musical form having one section only with the same music played or
sung on each repeat; diagrammed as A.
Staccato: To play in a short and detached manner, as opposed to legato. The musical sign ( . ) is placed above the note that is to be performed staccato.
Staff: Music is written on five
lines or four spaces on what is called a staff. Each line or space is used to
place a note which represents a pitch and a rhythm.
Stem: A
vertical line drawn to the head of all notes smaller than the whole note. When
notes are written on a staff the stems are turned up when the note heads are
below the middle line. The stems are turned down when the note heads lie on or
above the middle line. In guitar music when two voices or two different lines
are written on one staff, one voice is written with all stems up, the other
with all stems down. This is also true when voices cross and when independent
rhythmic parts are present.
String crossing: Movement of the left or right hand finger as it intersects the string.
Structure: Same as form.
Strum:
To strike the strings of a chord with the right hand. Also see rasgueado.
Style: The particular way a work of
art is distinctive. Style is also the uniqueness of an artists work.
Stylized dance music: Dance music that became in the 16th Century more
elaborate, more interesting, artistic, and more often listened to rather than
danced to. Early guitar and lute dance music was not always directed toward
dance but instead it was performed by players who enjoyed performing popular
dances or for playing for others.
Subdominant: The note or chord found on the 4th degree of the major scale. The IV
chord or note.
Subito: Suddenly, as in subito forte or subito piano.
Suite: A multiple movement work consisting of a series of dances. Many of the
Baroque Suites fall into a uniform pattern or series of movements: Prelude,
Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. Between the Sarabande and Gigue an
optional movement was inserted; a pair of Minuets, a Bourrée or a Gavotte.
Sympathetic vibrations: Resonating guitar strings that are not played on but
that vibrate “sympathetically” with the regular melodic strings. Sometimes
these sympathetic strings reinforce the melody other times they are a
distraction and need to be damped.
Syncopation: To stress the off beat. To accent a beat that is normally weak or to
find an accent occurring on a weak beat.
Tablature: A form of musical notation that tells the player directly where to
place his or her fingers on the fingerboard. Used in all guitar music from the
15th to the 18th century it survives today in many editions of popular music.
In vertical tablature each vertical line represents a string: The horizontal
lines show the frets. A dot indicates where the string is to be stopped; if
there is no dot, the string is an open one: In
horizontal tablature, music for the guitar, lute and vihuela was written on a
four to six line staff, each line represents a string. Numbers or letters show
the performer which frets to put the fingers on. An "o" or
"a" represent an open string, "1" or "b" the
first fret on a string and so on.
Table: Same as soundboard.
Tap plate: Same as golpeador.
Tasto (sul tasto): (In Italian literally fingerboard)
It means to play close to or over the fingerboard and when the string is struck
there it produces a warm, mellow or dark sound.
Tempo indications: Here are common Italian tempo indications from slow to fast:
Tempo: The rate of speed we feel or hear in the pulse of music determines the
tempo. We perceive a fast or slow tempo in relationship to our constant
heartbeat. Choosing the right tempo is one of the important factors in a
successful performance of a piece. Tempos are written in Italian and give
considerable freedom to the performer unless a metronome mark designates the
number of beats per minute.
Ternary form: A three part musical form in which the last section repeats the first.
A musical form having a departure from the first section and then a return of
the first section; diagrammed ABA
form.
Terpsichore: A collection of dances published in 1612 by Michael Pratorius.
Texture: The blend of various sounds and melodic lines occurring in a piece of
music. The interrelationship of voices and instruments. How many melodies occur
and how they are related. There are three textures in music they are; monophonic, polyphonic and homophonic.
Theme: The most important melody in a piece of music. The basic subject matter
or principal melodic material in a piece of music.
Third: The interval comprised of two notes written on adjacent lines or spaces
of the staff. When it is four half steps higher than its lower note it is
called a major third, whereas if it is only three half steps higher it is
called minor.
Through-composed: A musical form in which new music is continually written for each
section.
Tie:
The tie is a curved line connecting two or more notes of the same pitch,
indicating that the second note is not to be played again but that its time
value is to be added to that of the first note. A tie allows a note to be
sustained across a bar line. A tie is frequently used to express a musical time
length that cannot be shown in any other way.
Timbre: The tone quality or the unique characteristic of a tone; tone color.
The timbre of a note produced on the guitar is determined in part by the size
and design of the instrument and by the way the sound is produced. Some of the
determining factors in the timbre of a guitar note are, where the string is
struck in relation to the bridge and the rosette, the angle and type of attack,
the right hand position, the length, shape, and smoothness of the nails, the
type of strings the guitar is fitted with, etc.
Time
signature: The
numbers on the staff at the beginning of a piece that indicate the meter. The
top number indicates how many beats are grouped in each measure; the bottom
number tells which note value represents one beat. Also see meter.
Tirando: see free stroke
Tonality, tonal: The feeling that one note and its chord is heard as the strongest. The
sense of the music focusing around a single "home" pitch or tonic.
Tone Color: see timbre
Tone: 1)
Same as note. 2) the quality of the sound. 3) same as whole step
Tonic: The first degree of a scale, heard as the strongest pitch. The tonic
chord is built on the first scale degree.
Top: Same
as soundboard
Transcription: When one piece in a certain type of notation is transferred into
another for which it was not written.
Transpose: To move a piece, or a section of a piece, from one pitch level to
another.
Treble: 1) The highest voice part in harmonic music. 2) the upper half of the
open strings, 1st string E, 2nd
string B, and 3rd string G.
Tremolo: The right hand technique involving the rapid repetition of a note to
create a sustained or unbroken melodic line. The tremolo is usually fingered a m i for the melody (on a single
string) and p for the bass note
accompaniment, together creating a fast moving p a m i .
Triad:
A three note chord built in thirds.
Trill: ( ` or m or
µ )Two
adjacent notes played rapidly in alternation. The alternation involves the main
note and the note immediately above it in the scale; (alternating usually at
least 4 times). The trill in the 17th and 18th centuries began with and
emphasized the dissonant tone above the main note. In the 19th and 20th
centuries the trill begins with and emphasizes the principal tone.
Triple meter: Meter consisting of one accented beat alternating with two unaccented
beats: one two three, one two three.
Triplet: A group of three notes performed in the time normally taken by two. A
triplet is indicated by a slur and the number 3 over the group of notes. A
triplets total duration must equal that of twice its smallest value. In other
words an eighth note triplet is equal to two of its smallest notes; two eighth
notes. The three notes that make up a triplet usually equal the pulse note.
Tune: A
singable melody, memorable and with a clear sense of beginning, middle and end.
Tuning fork: A two-pronged metal fork that sounds a given pitch when struck. A
tuning fork is used to provide a reliable pitch to tune the guitar. A tuning
fork calibrated at A 440 gives the
same pitch as the first string depressed at the fifth fret. The E 329.6 tuning fork gives the same pitch
as the first string open. The sound of a tuning fork is amplified by pressing
the stem gently against the wooden bridge.
Tuning Pegs: See pegs,
Unison: The same pitch played or sung by more than one voice or instrument in
the same or different octaves.
Upbeat: The upbeat or anacursis note or group of notes in a composition, is
also refereed to as the pickup. A piece of music doesn’t always start on the
first beat of a measure and when it begins with only a part of a measure it
usually sets up a rhythmic pattern that is carried on throughout the
composition. The effect of an anacrusis is to introduce or set up the following
downbeat, creating a very brief introduction to the first full measure. At the
end of a composition, or section of a piece, the value of the upbeat is
subtracted from the final measure as in the ending to
Valse, Vals: Same as waltz but in the case
of the South American valse, more rhythmic syncopation and folkloric inspiration.
Variation form: The musical form of repeating a clearly defined melody (theme) and
successively changing it artfully and cleverly without ever losing touch with
the original melody. In variation form as each section re-dresses the main
theme, the main theme is always present in the listeners ear.
Vibrato: A slight wavering in the pitch of a tone. This fluctuation of pitch is
achieved on the guitar by changing the string tension while playing. This can
be achieved in two different ways: 1) While holding the note, move the left
forearm back and forth pushing and pulling the string towards and then away
form the bridge. This will move the pitch flat and then sharp. 2) Bending the
string by pulling in down towards the floor or up toward the ceiling and then
returning it to its former position using a vertical motion of the finger. This
will raise the pitch and return it to where it began. For a strong steady
vibrato it is helpful to free the thumb from the back of the neck. Vibrato adds
expression to notes when used with discretion. Vibrato can emphasize a pitch,
add sustain (or the impression of sustain) and make a slow passage sound very
distinctive. But when vibrato is used too slowly or covers too wide a pitch
interval, it can "wobble" and the effect is overly sentimental and
annoying.
Vihuela: A 16th century guitar-like instrument used for art music in the courts
of Spain. The vihuela had six pairs of strings (courses) and was tuned like a
lute. Its music survives in tablature and was popular in Spain during the
Renaissance while the lute occupied musical life throughout the rest of Europe.
Voice: 1) A separate line or melody in the music. 2) A contrapuntal line in a
polyphonic piece.
Waist: The incurved side portion of the guitar body at its narrowest part.
Waltz: An elegant and graceful dance in triple meter introduced in the 19th
Century and replacing the minuet.
Whole note: The longest note in normal use and the basis for shorter notes such as
half notes, quarter notes, etc. ( w )
Whole Step: The interval equal to two half steps or two frets. If two successive
frets are combined they equal a whole step. Also, when moving from an open
string to the second fret a whole step is formed.
Wolf note: A tone that is weak in resonance in relationship to the rest of the
notes across the fingerboard.