Eric Williams Graduation Project: Webliography

Key Terms

3/4-size guitar - A smaller than normal guitar with shorter strings and less space between frets.
Action - A term referring to the height of the strings above the frets and fretboard.
Altered and open tunings - The result of changing the tuning of one or more strings from standard EADGBE.
Alternate picking - Picking in alternate directions (down-up-down-up).
Chord - Three or more notes sounded simultaneously.
Chorus (of a tune) - strictly speaking, the portion of a song lyric or melody that is repeated, often with other voices joining in. In jazz improvisation, however, "playing a chorus" would mean taking a turn improvising over the tune's chords progression.
Flatpick - A triangular or teardrop-shaped piece of nylon or plastic used to pluck or strum guitar strings. Flatpicks are available in a large variety of shapes, sizes, and thickness.
Hammer-on - A note sounded literally by "hammering" down with a left hand finger, often performed in conjunction with a note first plucked by the right hand on the same string.
Pull-off - The opposite of a hammer-on. Performed by plucking a note with a finger on a higher note and pulling parallel to the fret to sound a lower note on the same string.
Slide - A plastic or glass tube placed over the third or fourth finger of the left hand and used to play "slide" or glissando effects in rock and blues and other forms of traditional music.