Note
A single musical sound, like C or F♯. On guitar, every fret on every string is a note.
Reference
Plain-English glossary
Short definitions for the words that usually make music theory feel harder than it is. Read these like translations, not like dictionary entries.
Pitch
How high or low a note sounds. The same note name can appear in many pitches, like low E and high E.
Half-step
The smallest common move in Western music. On guitar, one half-step equals one fret.
Whole-step
Two half-steps. On guitar, one whole-step equals two frets.
Root
The main note a scale or chord is named after. In C major, C is the root. In A minor, A is the root.
Interval
The distance between two notes. A riff, melody, chord, or scale is built from intervals.
Scale
A chosen set of notes arranged from low to high. A scale gives you the raw notes for melodies, riffs, and solos.
Scale degree
A number for a note inside a scale. In C major, C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, and so on.
Chord
Three or more notes played together or understood together. Chords create the harmony under a melody.
Chord tone
A note that belongs to the chord currently playing. If the chord is C major, the chord tones are C, E, and G.
Triad
The simplest full chord: three notes. Major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords are all triads.
Key
The musical home base. If a song is in C major, C usually feels like the place where the song can rest.
Chord progression
A sequence of chords. Progressions create the emotional journey of a section, like verse or chorus.
Tonic
The home chord or home note. It feels stable, finished, and resolved.
Dominant
A chord or note that strongly wants to move back home to the tonic. It creates tension before resolution.
Diatonic
Inside the key. If a note is diatonic to C major, it belongs to the C major scale.
Chromatic
Moving by half-steps or using notes outside the key. Chromatic notes often create color or tension.
Mode
A scale flavor made by treating a different note of a parent scale as home. Modes are useful when you connect them to chords and feelings, not when you memorize names only.
Voice leading
Moving from one chord to another smoothly by changing as few notes as possible.
Motif
A small musical idea that repeats or changes. Motifs make solos and melodies sound intentional.
Phrase
A musical sentence. A phrase has a beginning, middle, end, and usually some space after it.