A glossary is an alphabetical list of words and terms about a specific subject, followed by their definition. A glossary is like a brief dictionary. Always remember, a words definition can change over time!
In ancient Greece, glossa meant: a word or term which needed to be defined or explained. Then, around 1550, glossa’s meaning change to: the definition or explanation of a difficult word or term. And, as we all know, if it’s difficult ~ it’s probably important. Over time, glossa was shortened to gloss, and today gloss means: to define, explain, interpret, translate, or paraphrase a word or term.
Ary derives from the Medieval Latin, aris meaning: belonging to, and arius meaning: connected with. So, gloss (words and terms) + ary (belonging to music and connected with the bass) = glossary.
Abridged means: not complete, and since every word and term used to communicate music, bass and musician can’t be listed, let’s discover a few words and terms taken from the Tone Note® Music Method for Bass Book 1 to get you started.
Ability – capable of technique, skill
Accidentals – natural, flat and sharp signs
Again – more than one time, repeat
Analog – does not stop, continuous, connected from the beginning to the end
Anchor Finger – the left hand finger that is connected to the key letter; form
Arpeggio – harmony of three or more different letters sounded one at a time
Attention – conscious of perceiving only one
Audition – hearing, listening, or, a music competition
Aware(ness) – conscious of perceiving more than one
Bass – instrument of 4, 5 or 6 strings and 12 frets in one octave, low frequency
Beat – a steady counted pulse, tempo, rhythm
Beginning – where you should start
B.P.M. – beats per minute, steady and even tempo, metronome mark
Bridge – bass part opposite the nut, or, a song part that connects the verse to the chorus
Change – to become something different, variable
Chorus – song part that usually states the title
Chromatic – flat and sharp, not natural
Clock – steady and regular 60 beats per minute, does not change
Choose – using reason to decide “which one”; logic, philosophy, mind
Chord – harmony of three or more different letters sounded at the same time
Coda – ending, stop
Combine – to add, join or link together
Count – give beat numbers to a steady pulse, meter, time signature
Diagonal – 45 degree angle, slanted line
Different – not the same, variation, enharmonic
Digital – not connected, discrete, separated, fraction, fragment
Dimension: measurement,
1st dimension – width, 1D, how wide something is, interval
2nd dimension – height, 2D, how high something is, treble
3rd dimension – depth, 3D, how deep something is, bass
4th dimension – time, 4D, how much space is between two sounds, motion, rhythm
Down – right hand strum, low to high pitch, thick string to thin string, stroke or ghost
Duration – the length of time a sound or silence lasts, rhythm
End – the opposite of start at the beginning, coda, stop
Enharmonic – same sound, different symbol
Even – regular, equal, same, no variation
Exponential – two or more ideas or thoughts multiplied by each other
Flat Sign – not natural or sharp, one fret lower from any letter or tone number
Fine – the place between the beginning and the end of a song that the music is finished
Form – pattern created by the placement the musician’s anchor finger on a bass string, fraction
Fraction – a part or a piece, the disconnected and separated form, not the whole
Fragment – fraction of a fraction, a part or a piece of a form
Fret – vertical metal strip on the bass fretboard
Fret Zero – the sound at the nut played by using a left hand finger
Frequency – the number of vibrations per second, oscillation, pitch
Fundamental – tone 1, scale degree 1, root, tonic
Genre – categories such as: rock, blues, jazz, classical, etc.
Ghost Strum – a right hand motion, down or up, which does not make sound
Half-Step – interval of one fret
Harmony – interval, arpeggio or chord, letter or numeral symbol
Hearing – touching at a distance, listening, audition
Holistic – connected fragments and form fractions, not the whole
Horizontal – east and west, sideways, bass strings
Idea – the knowledge that thought carries, theory, mind
Improvise – free to choose,”variable, reason, mind
Interlude – play in the middle, usually between the chorus and the verse
Interval – distance or difference between two sounds or symbols
Isotonic – one sound with one location on the fretboard
Isotonic Thinking – one thought with one idea, theory, mind
Key – the letter of tone 1Key Letter – the letter of tone 1, scale degree 1, root, fundamental or tonic
Key Signature – the letters of tones 1 through 7; key plus signature
Key Tone – tone 1, scale degree 1, root, fundamental or tonic
Knowledge – that which is learned as an idea, carried back to the thinker as thought, mind
Layer – one in front of the other, music symbols seen on the bass fretboard
Learn – understand, comprehend, memorize and remember, mind
Left Hand – finger numbers 1 2 3 4, which fret the strings
Letter – first music symbol of pitch
Lick – a tone row of high sounds, 2D
Listening – awareness and attention to sound, more than just hearing
Location – the string and fret “place” of a pitch on the bass fretboard, position
Logic – thoughts and ideas “in-order,” using reasoning to “choose,” philosophy, mind
Mark – written symbol or sign; rhythm symbol of harmony
Measure – group of beats set by the meter, time signature
Meter – to measure, number of beats per bar or measure, top number of the time signature
Metronome – variable clock, steady and even pulse, tempo, bpm
Metronome Mark – beats per minute number, tempo, time
Melody – in-order scale played out of order, sounds one at a time that can’t be changed
Mind – musician, location of the “thought carries idea” process, theory, thinking, philosophy
Modulate – change the letter of tone 1 for only a part of the song
Music – Art: sound of Nature, artificial: sound of man, artifact: recording of man’s sound
Musician – the one who thinks music symbols to play music’s sound, mind
Natural Sign- not flat or sharp, the original 7 letters and tone numbers
Note – rhythm symbol of duration, connected to a tone number or placed on the staff
Number – numeric symbol for place and order
Numeral – third symbol of pitch, numeric symbol of harmony which indicates type
Numeric – the word, number and numeral for place or order: one, 1, I
Nut – part of the bass opposite the bridge, turned into fret zero or open by the musician
Octave – the same letter 12 frets apart, a first octave tone number plus 7 (1+7=8, 2+7=9, etc.)
Open – the sound at the nut not played by a left hand finger
Order – in or out of place, numeric
Oscillation – a single swing in one direction of a bass string, vibration, frequency, pitch
Pattern – a group of things; letter pattern, tone pattern, rhythm pattern
Perform(ance) – the result of practice, playing for others, technique, skill
Philosophy – thinking about thinking, choice, logic, reason, mind
Pick – a plectrum held by the right hand to strum the strings
Pitch – frequency, vibration, oscillation, letter, number, numeral and staff
Place – string and fret location on the bass fretboard, position
Play – will, ability, technique, skill
Position – a four-fret and 4, 5 or 6 string area on the bass fretboard; location, place
Practice – repetition which leads to performance, technique, skill
Process – the analog flow of thought and idea, theory, mind
Pulse – a “sound in time” that is not a beat because it is not counted
Reason(ing) – method used to decide what to choose,”logic, philosophy, mind
Re – again, one more time
Refer – to bring the answer back to the question
Regular – equal distant, steady and even like a clock, metronome, tempo, rhythm, bpm
Repeat – more than one time, a music sign meaning to do again
Represent – present the sound again as symbol; letter, tone number, numeral, staff-note
Result – a consequence or outcome
reWrite® – to convert staff-note into tone number to create
Tone Note® Rhythm – beat plus notes or marks, two or more analog patterns at the same time
Riff – a tone row of low sounds
Right Hand – finger letters: T i m a c, which strum the strings
Root – tone 1, scale degree 1, fundamental, tonic, key tone or key letter
Same – not different, no variation
Separated – digital, fragment, form fraction
Scale – in-order sounds connect by steps; half-step (one fret) and whole-step (two frets)
Scale Degree – numeric tone number; also used to locate harmony numeral
Sharp Sign – not natural or flat, one fret higher from any letter or tone number
Sign – a call to action, tells you to do something, direction
Signature – what something is, key signature, time signature
Similar – to share somethings but not all
Skill – ability and technique, practice, perform
Stack – one above the other, time signature
Staff – 5 horizontal parallel lines, pitch as letters, not TAB
Staff Note – a connection of a rhythm note with a staff letter
Start – the best place to begin, there are many places to start but only one beginning
Steady – regular and even like a clock, tempo, beat, metronome
Steps – half step (one fret) and whole step (two frets), interval
Stop – at the end, coda
Strings – Bass has 4, 5 or 6
Stroke – a right hand strum down or up which makes sound
Strum – a right hand motion down or up; stroke or ghost
Style – a sub-category of a genre, such as: classic rock, smooth jazz, heavy metal, etc.
Symbol – represents sound as: letter, number, numeral, note, etc.
TAB – 4, 5 or 6 horizontal parallel lines (bass strings) with “layered” fret numbers, not staff
Technique – skill and ability, gets better over time; repeat, practice, perform
Tempo – rate of speed (slow or fast) of the steady beat, bpm, metronome mark
Theme – the original melody or “tone row”
Theory – to think, thought connected to idea, mind
Think(ing) – process of connecting thought with idea, awareness and attention
Thought – carries an idea (knowledge) back to the thinker; refer, theory, mind
Tie – a “curved line” that “connects” sound (tones and notes); silence (rests) do not get tied
Time – rhythm, motion, when a sound or silence occurs, pulse, beat, tempo, count
Time Signature – meter and value numbers “stacked” one above the other
Tonic – tone 1, scale degree, fundamental, root
Tone Note® – the connection of a rhythm note with a tone number
Tone Number – second music symbol of pitch, scale degree
Tone Row – series of connected pitches as tone numbers; melody, lick, riff, etc.
Transpose – change the key of the entire song
Treble – high frequency
Type – what kind of scale, arpeggio or chord; major, minor, whole tone, etc.
Unison – the same sound in more than one location on the bass fretboard
Unison Thinking – one thought with two or more ideas
Up – right hand strum, high to low pitch, thin string to thick string; stroke or ghost
Value – one beat, bottom number of the time signature, note that gets one beat changes
Variation – to change the original, different, not the same
Variable – able to change; metronome, improvise
Verse – song part that tells the story
Vertical – north and south, up and down; nut, bridge and frets
Vibration – repeated back and forth motion, oscillation, frequency, pitch
Whole – all, complete, undifferentiated fragments, forms fractions; not separated
Whole Step – interval of two frets,
Will – self directed action behind thought and idea, play
Zero – the number 0 before 1, as in fret zero, not the letter O as in open
Congratulations, you now have the necessary vocabulary to begin playing music on your Bass!
’til next time, begin having some vocabulary fun with your new found glossary ~ I’ll be listening . . . http://www.12tonemusic.com/bass/tonenote/
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