Playing the ukulele, mandolin and banjo is a rewarding activity, but being familiar with how to play the basics of each instrument is paramount. Before performing listenable pieces of music on a stringed instrument, you have to be familiar with the fundamentals like what key to play, the right chords, and how to tune the instrument. Knowing about parts of the instrument like the fret and slanted frets is also integral to playing either the ukulele, mandolin or banjo properly. Here is an authoritative resource glossary for all the terms you need to be familiar with when playing a stringed instrument.
Key - Key is a term used in music theory. It refers most commonly to what key a certain selection of music is being played in. At times, the terms "minor" or "major" may also appear when using the word key to further specify the type of scale that is being used. In general, when a chord letter like A or B is used to say "in the key of A or B," that means that the chord letter is the music’s harmonic center.
· Keys and Chords for Guitar
· Music Coach
Chord - A chord is a group of tones most commonly sounded together and all at the same time. A chord may be made up of notes on separate or adjacent strings; they can also be played together on all the strings. Major chords are defined by their inclusion of a root note and both a perfect fifth and a major third above the root. Minor chords are almost the same as major chords, with the only difference being the inclusion of a minor third instead of a major third.
· Ukulele Chords
· Ukuleles for Beginners
Vary - Vary or variation refers to the formal technique in music that sees material repeated in a changed form. The variation can at times be somewhat intricate with rhythm, orchestration, timbre, counterpoint, melody, harmony or any combination of these being present.
· Theme and Variations
Fret - The fret is the elevated part of the neck of a ukulele, mandolin or banjo. It typically stretches out across the total width of the neck. Construction-wise, a fret is a metal strip that has been put into the fingerboard. A fret splits up the neck into segments at different intervals that relate to the musical framework.
· Guitar Lessons and Fundamentals
Slanted Fret - A variation on the fret, a slanted fret is more ergonomic than standard frets, which are perpendicular in positioning. Few guitar makers produce slanted frets today. Only Novax Guitars makes them today while Rickenbacker provided them in the late 1960s.
· Moses Slanted Fret System
Open Chord - An open chord is especially significant in playing a stringed instrument. It is a chord which does not employ the barring technique; it instead employs at least one unfretted string that has has been left open to make up part of a chord. Due to the easiness of the concept, an open chord is commonly one of the first principles taught to new students. The most popular open chords are the major chords of C, A, G, E, and D. However, many other combinations exist also.
· My Guide to Guitar
· Guitar Playing for Beginners
Stretch - Stretch refers to a detail in musical tuning, which is applied to stringed instruments in order to address the inharmonicity of vibrating components. In stretched tuning, notes that are only an octave apart are actually tuned farther apart.
· Ask the Luthier
Tuning - In tuning, the reference is mostly always to the pitch of the unfretted or open string. Ukuleles can be tuned in several different ways. C tuning is used for tenor, concert, and soprano ukuleles. D tuning is another option, as is open tuning for Hawaiian ukuleles. Mandolin tuning also features multiple tuning possibilities, but the most popular is GDAE. 5 string banjos are generally tuned in G, but double C tuning and standard C tuning as well as D tuning are common, too. Other banjos like the 4 string can even be tuned open.
· Instructions on How To Tune Your Guitar
Handed - This refers to how to play the guitar, based on whether the right hand or the left one is used. Regardless of which hand is used, there are six factors that optimize guitar-playing. They are the choice of either a free or a rest stroke; the angle of fingers to the strings; the length of the nail as well as the shape; the approach of the fingertip and nail to the string; the pressure of the finger against the string; and the nail and fingertip’s release from the string.
· Guitar Lesson One - Right Hand Technique
Number of Chords - The number of chords refers to the number of chords that are possible on a ukulele. A ukulele has 12 various notes and 21 different chords. It also features 12 frets, starting with zero, or open, and going all the way to eleven with the twelfth fret also being open. There are four stretches and six variations (though there can also be more or less), two ways to string the ukulele (either right-handed or left-handed), and 8 tunings.