Glossary: Words and Terms of Music, Bass and Musician

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. 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. here are a few words and terms, taken from the Tone Note® Music Method for Bass to get you started.

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

Able (Ability) - capable of technique, skillAccidentals - 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
Choice, 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
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 thoughts or ideas 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 signatureMetronome - 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 key 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 - bass part 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, placePractice - 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, 3D
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
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, 4D, 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, 2D
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, 1D
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!

So, 'till next time, begin having some grammar fun with your new found glossary ~ I'll be listening.