Glossary
This glossary brings together, on a single page, the technical vocabulary you'll run into on the practice sheets and articles across the site: chord names, right-hand and left-hand techniques, music theory concepts. It's for beginners who get stuck on a specific word ("what's a hammer-on?") just as much as for anyone who wants to double-check a definition before using it. Every term is explained in plain language, then linked to at least one catalogue sheet so you can see the idea applied concretely — never a definition on its own, cut off from actual playing.
- Arpeggio
- Barre chord
- Bend
- Chromatic
- Degree (music theory)
- Diatonic
- Fingerstyle
- Gallop (metal rhythm)
- Groove
- Hammer-on / Pull-off
- Legato
- Open chord
- Palm mute
- Pentatonic box (neck position)
- Pentatonic scale
- Position 1 vs CAGED positions
- Power chord
- Relative scale
- Riff vs Lick
- Shuffle
- Slide (technique)
- Turnaround
How to use it
The list above is sorted alphabetically; on a computer, your browser's search (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) is still the fastest way to jump straight to one term. Every term page follows the same template: a definition, a deeper explanation, practical tips, and links to related terms or sheets — follow those links rather than treating each term in isolation, a lot of the nuance only becomes clear once you compare them.
Practical tips and things to watch for
- Don't read the glossary front to back like a course: dip into it whenever a word on a sheet stops you, then go back to what you were working on.
- Every term links to at least one catalogue sheet: the best way to understand a definition is to play it, not just read it.
- Some terms deliberately overlap — bend, slide and vibrato, or legato and hammer-ons/pull-offs — and point to each other to clarify the nuance between related techniques.
- The glossary isn't fixed: new terms get added as new content is published. If a word from a sheet isn't in here yet, it might show up in a future update.