Glossary

[Axl_Rose]

Everyone help me learn the lingo!!
Reply with 5 terms you know! Im no sure wot stacato or legato mean so start with them if you want. Any descriptive word or name for a technique or move in a solo.
later

[BarHook]

legato - to play smoothly, flowing; on guitar legato is usually picking the first note on a run and hammer on the rest.

staccato - these are all picked and each note is cut to give the passage a jumpy quality

I never knew what glissando meant; anyone?

[SLY]

glissando is the Italian (not dead sure) word for Slide.

i.e. e--3/4--

Stacato : Mute right after each note .
i.e. each note sound a little bit separately.
In standard notation (and probably tabs too) , it's written as dots ABOVE the notes that are to be played this way.

Legato : Usualy means hammerons & pulloffs , generaly means not to pick , or play fluidly.

[Edited by SLY on 03-03-2003 at 04:01 PM]

[Axl_Rose]

Is there a name for playing the same note twice at the end of a run on guitar? Its a common technique in solos.

[Benoit]

I think it's called I-wish-I-was-Santana .... but I'm not sure :)

[Dr_simon]

Here is some stuff to wet your appetite:

Portato- (long bar across notes)- Half way between staccato and legato and translates to heavy emphasis on each note (think baby elephant playing the guitar).

Presto - Very fast
Vivace - Quite fast
Andante - Walking pace
Adagio - A little bit slow and gentle
Largo - Quite slow

Grave - Even slower than Largo (think Dirge, opposite to Scherzo)

Scherzo - a bit light hearted, rapid tempo (3/4) with unexpected bits can be a bit playful or sinister

(My wife was a music major.....thanks Catherine !!!)

[u10ajf]

Here are some names of techniques, you'll know some of them for sure:

tapping: using the picking hand to fret notes, playing hammer ons, pull offs with the "wrong" hand.

Pick tapping: hammering the string with edge of a pick, e.g. as in Satriani's Surfing with the Alien.

Squeal = a harmonic. Often combined with a bend or whammy bar stunt.

Pinch harmonic: Brushing the edge of a string using the side of your thumb keeps part of the string from moving resulting in a harmonic. Called "pinch" from the sort of pinching action.

Harp harmonic: The right hand thumb picks a note while the 1st finger of that hand briefly and lightly touches part of the string to make a harmonic.

Touch harmonic: the tip of a finger is brought forcibly into contact with a string sounding a harmonic. Alternatively a note can be pulled off and another finger present at a harmonic node starts a harmonic, most easily done combined with tapping.

Artificial harmonic: a harmonic where the left hand frets a note on the string concerned.

Natural harmonic: a harmonic where the string is open.

For more on harmonics you might try this link:
http://www.guitartricks.com/2000/trick.php?trick_id=5647

Behind the nut bend: If you dont' have a locking nut on your guitar you can bend a note on a string by pressing down on the string behind the nut.

Prebend: A note is bent up without playing it and, once bent, played. This note can then be unbent. Useful if you dont' have a whammy bar or if there's some other string sounding which you don't want to alter the sound of by diving a whammy. Very tough.

Unison bend: two or more strings are fretted and one or more of these are bended. Hard to do this properly, Roy Buchanan could bend one string one tone and another a half tone at the same time. That's talent...

Oblique bend: One note is prebent, then two are plucked, the bend released and another note bent up simultaneously. Possibly the toughest functional technique I know of.

Violining,AKA volume swell.

The string is picked with the volume down and the little finger, curled around the volume pot, swells the volume. This cuts off the initial "attack" of the note making a smooth sound. Sounds great with a bit of delay or reverb.

Tiger purr.

A floydd rose type trem makes this cool purring sound if you pull it away from the strings and let it snap back quickly.

[Azrael]

Hey Axl! (and everyone else)

I´m working on a full list of musical terms with explainations. As soon as i´m done i´ll put it up here (host section) and i´ll send it to zepo for the newsletter.