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Guitar/Music Vocabulary
1. Pitch: “Highness” or “lowness” of tone. Something is “on” or “off” pitch relative
to another pitch.
2. Note: a single pitch
3. Chord: a combination of two or more notes played simultaneously
4. Half Step: range between pitches that equals one key on the piano, or one fret on
the guitar.
5. Whole Step: range between pitches that equals two half steps; two keys, or two
frets.
6. Octave: Range between one note and the same note repeated either lower or
higher. (From the root “oct-” meaning “eight” because there are eight natural
notes in an octave.)
7. Scale: an arrangement of notes in a system of ascending or descending pitch,
usually within an octave
8. Chromatic scale: scale that includes every half step in an octave. There are 12
half steps in an octave.
9. Interval: the distance between two notes, usu. defined by number in the major
scale (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc.)
10. Tempo: the time at which music is played.
11. Sharp: Refers to a pitch being slightly higher than another.
12. Flat: Refers to a pitch being slightly lower than another.
Mike Moffitt, CWA, 2009