Glossary of Common Words and Phrases Used by Working Musicians
Steve Witschel
If you've ever been around a musician, you know that they have a language all their own. If you are a musician, you'll be familiar with many of these real-world terms below.
This glossary is a work in progress, as people constantly come up with new ways to say things, and I'm sure I've excluded many that didn't come to mind. So feel free to offer your suggestions in the comments below, and I'll add the good ones to this index.
This is the only list of its kind on the internet, so consider it a reference tool for you and your fellow musicians, and be sure to bookmark this page and come back often to see what's new!
A software or hardware based effect that adjusts a vocal performance to correct pitch.
1. In rock music it's an electric guitar. (See also: Git-fiddle, Six-string)
2. In jazz, it can be any musical instrument.
The musical equipment that is set up on stage. The term is often used when referring to the gear owned and provided by the venue.
A guitar solo that is played fast with a lot of notes. Perhaps derived from the fact that guitar players get blisters on their fingers. Or maybe something completely different.
To schedule a gig. (Not necessarily legally binding)
1. A pause in the music for dramatic effect.
2. The duration of time when the band leaves the stage.
The part of a song where the majority of the instrumentation falls away, leaving just one or two playing, adding a dramatic, dynamic effect.
1. Sometimes the part of a song that connects the verse to the chorus.
2. The third section to a song usually after the second chorus leading into another chorus or a solo section
3. Part of a stringed instrument
To play music for tips. Usually performed outdoors - ideally around people with money.
Another term for headphones.
Musician that can plaaay. Often the guitarist in a blues band.
Ability to not only play your instrument well, but to also display a unique and personal flavor at a professional level of skill.
A bad or wrong note.
A song that you perform but didn't write. It's usually one that has been recorded and published previously and enjoyed some success that another artist chooses to record or perform live.
An extended period of time when the band is on stage but no music is being played nor is anyone talking on the mic. First coined to describe a radio station that has gone silent. Best to be avoided.
A compilation of songs performed at a gig that creates a relaxed atmosphere.
1. A technique employed by a guitar player using the tremolo bar to create a quick, descending musical effect.
2. A venue that lacks general upkeep and patrons.
The time when the band is to start playing
An intangible quality possessed by most musicians when they turn off their brain and let the music just happen.
A section in a song that quickly spotlights a particular instrument - sometimes more than one instrument at the same time.
To play with a band in place of the usual player. (See also: Sub)
The fan base of an artists or group
Front man
The lead singer. Sometimes it's a woman.
This can mean the sound engineers running the mixing board, or the actual sound coming out of the P.A. speakers.
1. Knob usually found at the top of each input channel on the soundboard. Used to set input levels of the separate channels to relatively equal positions.
2. The amount of increase in audio signal strength, often expressed in dB.
3. The control on a guitar amplifier that determines how much overdrive or distortion the amp creates.
Musical equipment.
Someone who knows a lot of details about all kinds of musical equipment and likes to talk about it.
Anytime you perform music live, usually involving some monetary compensation.
Gravy gig
A performance that requires very little preparation and effort.
Groadie
Combination of groupie and roadie. An ardent follower of the band, consistent attendee, and carrier of equipment in and out of the venue.
A voracious fan of an individual or group - sometimes involved in personal relations with one or more group members.
1. Music that is being played in the pocket. (See also: Pocket)
2. General feel of the rhythm parts of a song
A musician that doesn't play well but acts as though they do.
A musician that is given employment with a band with the full awareness that he/she could lose his/her job at any time.
The chorus of a song.
1. A brass instrument
2. A speaker in a sound system that provides high end frequencies
Term used when the microphone squeals with feedback or is just too loud in general.
Can refer to the people in the venue, or the area where there could be people in the venue. Also a term for the sound in the P.A. (See also: Front of House)
House gig
A performance that follows a regular and frequent schedule at one particular venue.
Idiot check
The act of going back into the venue after everything is loaded out and packed up to ensure nothing was forgotten. Should be performed by two different people.
An extended musical passage with improvisational performances.
The bass drum
Performed an above average quality show that was well received by the people in attendance.
A short, sometimes repetitive musical passage - usually played on guitar.
A musician that will play because they have to and refuses to quit, even in the face of difficulties.
Load In
The moment in time that the crew or band shows up to unload and set up the equipment.
Load Out
To carry musical equipment out of a venue.
The speakers facing the audience along with the system of amps, equalizers, and effects attached to them.
A combination of two or more popular songs played as one.
Short for merchandise. Physical product that a band or artist sells to promote the act and earn extra revenue.
British term for the bridge of a song.
A really, really good musician.
Playing nothing in particular on an instrument. Heard often in music stores and when someone else is trying to sound check.
A sustained note - usually played by the keyboard player.
Paid rehearsal
A gig where there are somewhere between zero and only a few people in attendance, but the band still makes money.
1. Voice (sound) on a keyboard.
2. In complex guitar and bass rigs: A particular set of amps and effects' signal routing that can be operated via MIDI or other electronic methods.
Effect or tuner on the floor of the stage used by guitarists and bass players. Keyboard players use one for sustain. Drummers have at least two - one for the kick and one for the hi-hat.
A singer's voice. The term is only used when the singer is good.
The place where the tempo and groove of a song feels the most comfortable.
A musician who feels and acts entitled.
1. Electronic components set up in a compact casing - usually employed by guitarists and bass players.
2. The hanging toms on a drum kit.
1. Sometimes used to indicate a guitar solo.
2. A cymbal
A guitar part that serves as the basis for a song's musical theme.
A collective term for a musician's equipment.
To play very well on guitar. (See also: Tear, Burn, Kill, Shred)
Person that works with a group that specializes in carrying equipment in and out of a venue, helps the band set up and tear down, and travels with the band.
An initial playback of a recording before the instruments are optimized.
A vocal improvisation without any actual words.
The period of time a performer is on stage.
A grouping of songs to be played during a performance.
Sit-in
To play on stage with a band that you don't usually play with.
A style of bass playing - usually employed in funk music.
A box of connectors musicians plug into that is wired to the mixing board.
An above average player or performance.
Activity sometimes performed before a show to set the proper levels for each instrument and vocal.
Planning the proper location for each individual on stage.
Effects pedal. Can also be a tuning pedal.
To take down musical gear off of the stage
1. Short for substitute. To fill-in for another player who is absent.
2. Short for subwoofer
Talk box
A guitar effects unit that allows a voice to modulate (control) a guitar signal by a vocalist talking with a tube in his/her mouth.
To take apart your equipment and get it off stage when your show is over. It's the part of the gig that is the least amount of fun.
Numeric representation of the beats per minute.
The beginning of the song.
A frightful moment during a live performance where the band loses its way during the song beyond the point of salvation.
A term for a particular guitar tone, often used in country music.
To make minor adjustments. A slang term for calibration (a setting of all operating controls and adjustments for optimum performance of a device) especially very precise calibration.
1. To play a line or riff that can be repeated to fill up time
2. To kill time speaking on the mic
A weekly gig at a particular venue. (They line up vertically on a calendar)
A musician who can sing very well or "bring it" on an instrument.
A musician who usually has a primary vocation during the week that doesn't involve playing music.
Woodshed
To practice with determination under time constraints.
The place where all thinking stops and the music is being channeled through you. A time when your subconscious mind, usually dormant during waking hours, takes the lead.
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Reginald Thomas
Great reference material! I appreciate this, thank you.
Jangeter
Unplugged - a performance without amplified sound. My personal favorite.
Chile Pi
Chart - Written music that is less complete than full sheet music; at its most basic a song chart is lyrics with chords
House band - The only band used by a particular venue
Power chord - A triad missing the 3rd, i.e., only the 1 and 5 notes. Often played by a guitar on the lower-pitch strings
DADGAD - An alternative guitar "open" tuning where the strings are tuned, in order from lowest, to the D A D G A D notes.
Open tuning - Any guitar tuning with one or more strings tuned lower than the standard EADGBE. Often results in being able to play chords in the first position with fewer fingered strings, allowing more open (unfingered) strings
Here's one I've just made up inspired by the folks here in Nashville...
"Auto-crooner" - someone whose great vocals are due mostly to auto-tune
Blowback: Stage monitors.
AGA0899
Lug, In or out, means to carry band gear into, or out of, a venue.
Tubs = Drums
Hook is often the chorus but not always. A better definition is a part of a song that is unique and "hooks" the listeners attention.
Pipes is not only used for good singers. I've heard the term rusty pipes, or bent pipes to describe a vocal performance not up to snuff.
Vicki randle
Play "footballs" usually bass players, playing whole notes
JohnnyCajonEDM
"pick it up!" Works in the Ska context of "pick up the beat and dance" but as a drummer I use it all the time when we count in to the song and it's a little slow.
Good glossary, but after Axe ( 1. In rock music it's an electric guitar. (See also: Git-fiddle, Six-string) 2. In jazz, it can be any musical instrument.)
I did not see Git-Fiddle listed, and I always heard my mom refer to he violin as a Git-Fiddle when she picked it instead of using a bow. Of course that was many years ago.
Also "hit" as a synonym for downbeat - the start time of a gig. Also used as a synonym for gig in general.
Play the ink - play the specific notes that are written on the page as opposed to improvising.
herohog
"Second-Line"
A funky New Orleans style rhythm carried primarily by the drums and bass.
"Lay Back"
To play slightly behind the beat, almost sloppily.
Jimmy Fingers
Here are a few more
"Money song" Term used by "one hit wonder" groups to describe their hit record which keeps them working.
"Opener" the song that opens the show.
"Closer" song that ends the show.
"Games" songs where the audience gets to participate either singing with or being a guest performer within the group for one song. All done in good taste of course.
A "Screamer" . In the wedding band business in the NYC area--a hastily put together band of substitute musicians for wedding where none of the members are those promised for the affair.
Liz Elias
4 years ago from Oakley, CA
Great glossary! I like "autotune." That sounds like software that could make even a tone-deaf person sound good--remember "Mrs. Miller" from back in the 1960's? (Yeah--I'm dating myself! LOL)
My ex-husband was a musician (not by vocation, but as a hobby--but he was very good--and could figure out how to play any instrument handed to him.) "Chops" by his definition meant muscular strength in the jaw for playing wind instruments; both brasses and reed instruments. (He did not have 'good chops' due to polio as a youngster--but he could play recorders; from sopranino to great bass.)
I think some of the terms are also found in other areas, such as "gearhead." That is also heard around automotive shops; a person who is really "into" cars and what makes them tick.
Voted up, useful and interesting.
joplinsk saw this for real in a show..denotes style
BassmanPDX
Cow, calf: Jazz jive-talk - not used much any more. "Calf" rhymes with "half" and means $50 (half a hundred). Therefore "cow" is $100. "That dive only pays a cow and a calf for 4 sets, man."
Diamonds: Playing sustained chords. In the 'Nashville Number System' of music notation, when a chord is to be sustained for a whole bar it's usually represented by a diamond shape.
Quick four: In a blues jam setting it means "play an IV chord in the second bar rather than staying on the I chord." The first 4 bars would then be I, IV, I, I, rather than all I.
Trade fours (or eights or twos): Soloists will take turns playing solos of the stated number of bars.
Play the ink
In a jazz big-band, means stick to the sheet music and don't improvise.
Ted Gonlag
Head: When referring to the intro or beginning of a song.
Tag: Repeat the hook at the end of a song
Take it out: Wrap up the song
Backbeat: Accent on the 2 and 4 beat in a 4/.4 rhythm pattern.
Fatback: Extra emphasis on the backbeat.
Four on the floor: Straight 4/4 rhythm.
Straight 8: Rhythm with evenly divided eight notes.
Shuffle or Swing: Rhythm with a triplet feel. Sometimes expressed as "just a few, just a few".
Texas shuffle: A particular type of laid back country or western swing shuffle, sometimes called "behind the beat".
Ice cream changes: The old doo-wop, C, Am, F (or Dm), G7 progression.
Ninja Dave
From the top - beginning of a song
Heavy - music played primarily in the low-end frequencies,
Brutal - extremely heavy
Joyce T. Mann
5 years ago from Bucks County, Pennsylvania USA
Loved this! I didn't realize that the last time I played in a bar for "tips and beer" I was really busking.
Vincent Pendley
Ostinato - This is a baroque term, but still being used. It refers to a simple repeating bassline of a song. The bass line will repeat but the chords change over it. - Example is Billy Jean by Micheal Jackson.
Cake: the amount of money paid to each musician
Do-Ya-Do: An incessant, sometimes mind numbing barrage of requests or the incessant requester.
Kit Packham
Surprised you didn't have...
Dep - noun: A musician standing in for (ie deputising) a regular band member on a gig or rehearsal.
Dep - verb: to stand in for a regular band member on a gig or rehearsal.
Changes - the chord sequence of a tune or passage. Mainly used by jazz musicians.
Vanilla changes - the most basic chord sequence of a jazz standard, ie not using more elaborate chords that might be favoured by be-bop stylists, etc.
Turnaround - a short sequence of chords that returns to its starting point, often used as a vamp.
RayJ
Hook - another name for the chorus
Head - another name for the verse or the melody
Cave: like a paid rehearsal, but more demoralizing
Sausage party: a crowd full of men
panty soaker: a tune the ladies will enjoy
OC Last
take it from the EDGE...beginning of song...
Vocal Vamp: When the vocalist Adlibs and re-arranges the words or scats on the melody line, and / or alters the melody with the vamp while the accompanimest continue on the chorus section.
sub - can also be sub woofers - refers to low end of PA
axe - generally refers to the main instrument of a multi-instrumentalist...
poser - one who looks the part but can't play for $hit...
GC: Short for Guitar Center
G.A.S. or Gear Acquisition Syndrome: an intense lust or desire for a particular musical instrument, effect or amp, etc. Dude I'm totally Gassin for that 68' Fender P-Bass.
Noob: a musician whos a beginner or novice.
Set-List: The list or grouping of songs to be played during a performance
Mark Newstetter
A 'vamp" isn't really "to improvise on an instrument" but to play a line or riff that can be repeated ad-nauseum to fill up time, usually while the singer is coming out on stage after the band has started playing, or while they're leaving the stage. It comes from Vaudeville when, if a scheduled act was late, they would send a sexy dancer (a vamp) on stage and she would keep dancing (vamping) while the band played until the act was ready to go on.
train wreck , I thought that was the name of an ending
Joe Sanford
Load in.....load out.
Dots: Sheet music, often handwritten and transposed, given to an in-house band by a singer. Common term used on the British club/cabaret circuit.
Bob Kaye
These are mostly used by rock musicians more than jazz musicians. To a bebopper, and axe is any instrument. The term "cover" didn't exist 40 or more years ago.
James Browne
Common one in Ireland is Beard. i.e. A very long drive, long enough to grow a beard.