B String The second string of the guitar. See How to Change Classical Guitar Strings
B1, B2, B3, B4, …… A single finger holding multiple strings on a stringed instrument at the same time.
Symbol used in standard notation for guitar. Number indicates which fret. Example: B7 (C7, CVII, VII) See Barre
Bachata a genre from the Dominican Republic that is played with guitars and percussion, usually with lyrics that focus on love, treachery, jealousy and desperation
Back & Sides The main wood pieces of the back and sides of a guitar. Traditionally the Back & Sides of the Classical Guitar was commonly made of solid book-matched Rosewood, Mahogany or Cypress, but today's builders have opened their horizons to a wide variety choices. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Back Braces Generally made of spruce, braces add stiffness to the back of a classical guitar. The wood chosen is very straight grained running the length of the brace. See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Backbeat a continuous heavy accent on beats 2 and 4 in jazz and rock and roll music
Backfall a descending appoggiatura
Back-plucked string plucked far from the nut thus producing a round and flutelike tone
Badinage (French) playfulness; a quick eighteenth-century piece in 2/4 time
Badinerie (French) playfulness; a quick eighteenth-century piece in 2/4 time
Bagana a large eight to ten-string Ethiopian plucked lyre with a trapezoidal wooden frame
Bägänna a large eight to ten-string Ethiopian plucked lyre with a trapezoidal wooden frame
Bagatelle (French, German) trifle, unpretentious; a short, light instrumental piece of music of no specified form, usually for piano
Baglama a long-necked Turkish lute, with a pear shaped body, also found in Greece
Baile (Spanish) dance or ballet; flamenco dance
Bailecito typical festive Bolivian handkerchief dance
Baion a slow samba rhythm from Brazil
Baisser (French) to lower
Bajo (Spanish) low, deep
Bajo sexton a Mexican twelve-string guitar
Bakelite phenol plastic; but now usually covers a range of different types of plastic
Baksimba a royal dance of the Baganda people from Uganda
Balalaika a triangular guitar-like instrument with a fretted finger-board normally bearing three strings of Russian origin
Balance The adjustment of volume and timbre between instruments or voices so that, when required, each is clearly heard through the general texture. A Harmonious or satisfying arrangement or proportion of parts or elements.
Ballabile (Italian) in a dance style, to be danced
Ballad a narrative song, often sentimental, with verses alternating with a refrain
Ballade thirteenth-, fourteenth- and fifteenth-century formes fixes, a strophic piece, each stanza having an initial repeated section followed by a second section played only once, and a final refrain; a dramatic heroic piano piece often inspired by poetry; a setting of a poem to music
Balladenmässig (German) in the style of a ballad
Ballet a dance form, originally Italian, established at the French court in the sixteenth century, formal and courtly, originally danced both by professionals and guests but now danced by professionals
Ballo (Italian) a ball, dance
Bambera a flamenco singing style known as swing songs
Bambuca the national dance of Colombia, South America
Banatanka a Serbian dance
Band (English) a group of instrumental players
Band (German) volume
Bandari dance-like instrumental music from Iran
Bände (German) volumes
Bandola of the cittern family, Spanish with six pairs of strings
Bandolín small South American Creole lute, pear shaped, and with a fretted neck, that comes in various sizes and ranges and has from 8 to 15 steel strings
Bandolim Portuguese mandolin
Bandora a plucked string instrument of the lute family, popular both as a solo and as an accompanying instrument to songs of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries, the bandora is a bass register instrument with six or seven metal strings, a long, fretted neck, and a scalloped body
Bandore of the cittern family, Spanish with six pairs of strings
Bandura a fretless plucked dulcimer found in the Ukraine, with a short neck, an oval flat body and which is held vertically
Bandurria small 12-string mandolin-type instrument, played with a pick, with a very short wide neck and 14 metal frets, popular in Spain and Spanish America
Bandurria sonora a bandurria with 6 metal strings instead of guts strings
Banjo a plucked, four to nine wire occasionally gut strung instrument, the strings lying on a low bridge over a resonator made of a metal hoop, popular in early jazz and country music
Banjolele a ukulele-banjo
Banjolin a mandolin-banjo
Bansango (West African) dance rhythm for young women
Bar a vertical line used to metrically divide music into groups of beats see Staff, Barline, & Clef
Barbat Persian ud
Barber-shop harmony a popular, banal style of close harmony singing, originally all male, begun in the US in the late nineteenth-century
Barcarola (Italian) a song or instrumental piece associated with boats and boating generally in compound duple (6/8) or compound quadruple (12/8)
Barcarolle (French) a song or instrumental piece associated with boats and boating generally in compound duple (6/8) or compound quadruple (12/8)
Barcaruola (Italian) a song or instrumental piece associated with boats and boating generally in compound duple (6/8) or compound quadruple (12/8)
Bariolage (French) rapid alternation of open and stopped strings on the violin
Baritone Clef See clef in Staff, Barline, & Clef
Barkarole (German) a song or instrumental piece associated with boats and boating generally in compound duple (6/8) or compound quadruple (12/8)
Barline a vertical line drawn across the staff to mark off measures of a particular length, containing a number of notes whose total time value is set by the time signature see Staff, Barline, & Clef See Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar see Elements of Tablature for Classical Guitar
Barn dances barn dances are the product of the colonial United States of America. Early Americans recreated them from England's country dances. They were performed in halls and barns as get-togethers among North America's first social gatherings
Barocco (Italian) bizarre, a very clearly definable type or genre of European music from the period c. 1580 to c. 1730
Barok (German) bizarre, a very clearly definable type or genre of European music from the period c. 1580 to c. 1730
Baroque (French) bizarre, a very clearly definable type or genre of European music from the period c. 1580 to c. 1730
Baroque dance the baroque style of dance evolved during the middle of the seventeenth-century
Baroque guitar an early form of the modern guitar, normally double strung with five courses unlike the six single strings on the modern instrument
Barre (French) a device that clamps to the neck of a plucked string instrument and which change its tuning by shortening the sounding length of every string See Barre See Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar
Barrios Mangore, Agustin (1885-1944) See Classical Guitarists and Composers
Basese popular Malagasy dance rhythm from Diego Suárez
Bas instruments soft instruments suitable for chamber music
Baskiche Tänze (German) Basque dance
Basques a term applied to rhythmically complex dance music of Basque origin
Bass Strings The wound strings on a guitar. The fourth, fifth, & sixth strings. See How to Change Classical Guitar Strings
Bass bar a strip of wood glued under the belly of a sound board to support one foot of the bridge and to improve the instrument's bass frequency resonant response
Bass fiddle double bass
Bassa (Italian) low, deep, bass
Basse (French) bass
Basse dance a very early dance type, in which the feet are kept close to the ground
Bassi (Italian) low, deep, basses
Basso (Italian) low, deep, bass
Basso continuo figured bass
Bassoon à serpentine (French) racket
Basso ostinato ground bass, a pattern repeated several times over in the bass line to accompany one or more ever-varying upper parts
Bass-saite (German) the bottom string on a bowed or plucked instrument
Bassus the lowest part in a polyphonic composition
Battaglia (Italian) a piece suggesting a battle
Battre (French) to beat time
Battuta (Italian) a beat; a bar or measure
Battuta, A (Italian) a tempo, return to the original speed
Batucada Afro-Brazilian jam sessions
Batuque Afro-Brazilian jam sessions
Bayle (Spanish) dance or ballet; flamenco dance
B.B.C. British Broadcasting Corporation
Be (German) the flat sign
Beam A part of a note. See beam in Elements of a Musical Score
Beam Grouping Notes beamed in groups in a manor to distinguish the beats in a measure. See Elements of Standard Notation for Classical Guitar see Elements of Tablature for Classical Guitar
Bearbeit (German) arranged
Bearbitung (German) arrangement
Bearclaw A wood grain pattern. Like it sounds, it looks like a bear used a tree to sharpen its claws and left nonsymmetrical small waves in the grain. Once considered inferior because of appearance, it’s now sought after because of its increase in density. Bearclaw tops have become popular on bluegrass guitars and may be seen as an alternative in Classical Guitar construction. See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Beat rhythmic pulse in a piece of music; a throbbing or undulating effect taking place in rapid succession when two notes not quite of the same pitch are sounded together
Beaucoup (French) much
Bebend (German) trembling, tremolo
Bebop a complex 1940's jazz style, characterized by very fast or very slow tempos with improvised lines of notes, irregular accents, and extended harmony, the patterns often ending with an abrupt two-note figure that sounded like be-bop
Bécarre (French) the natural sign
Becuadro (Spanish) natural sign
Bedächtig (German) careful
Bedarfsfall, Im (German) in case of need
Bedautend (German) considerable
Begeistert (German) inspired, enthused
Begeisterung (German) inspiration, exaltation
Begleiten (German) to accompany
Begleitung (German) accompaniment
Begleitend (German) accompanying
Behaglich (German) agreeably
Behend (German) nimbly
Behendigkeit (German) nimbleness
Beherzt (German) courageous
Behind the beat when a performer deliberately sounds the notes slightly after the beat set by the ensemble
Beide (German) both
Beinahe (German) almost
Beispiel (German) example
Beisser (German) mordant
Beklemmt (German) oppressed
Beklommen (German) oppressed
Belebend (German) animating
Belebt (German) animated
Belebter (German) more animated
Beleiben, Nach (German) at will, at your pleasure, ad lib
Beleibig (German) optional
Bellicosamente (Italian) warlike
Bellicoso (Italian) warlike
Belly the upper surface of a stringed instrument on which the bridge rests, also called the table
Belustigend (German) amusing
Bémol (French) a sign which lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone
Bemol (Spanish) a sign which lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone
Bemolle (Italian) a sign which lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone
Benda change in the pitch of a note for expressive purposes, so named because on the guitar the effect is produced, literally, by bending the string
Ben (Italian) well, much
Ben marcato (Italian) well marked, accented
Ben tenuto (Italian) well held
Bene (Italian) well, much
Benedictus the second part of the Sanctus of the Mass
Beneplacimento (Italian) when preceded by A suo the phrase means ad lib
Beneplacito (Italian) when preceded by A suo the phrase means ad lib
Benga Kenyan Luo pop music
Bent Sides The sides of a guitar so named because they are bent to shape. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Bequadro (Italian) the sign placed before a note that is neither sharpened or flattened
Bequem (German) comfortable
Bercement (French) rocking, lulling, swaying
Berceuse (French) a lullaby or instrumental piece in compound duple, 6/8 time
Berda Croatian fretted bass
Bereite vor (German) prepare, make ready
Bereits (German) already, previously
Bergamasca (Italian) a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century dance originally from Bergamo, then in simple duple time, but now associated with a wider range of time signatures
Bergomask (German) a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century dance originally from Bergamo, then in simple duple time, but now associated with a wider range of time signatures
Bergamasque (French) a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century dance originally from Bergamo, then in simple duple time, but now associated with a wider range of time signatures
Bergerette (French) a shepherd's song
Beruhigen (German) to make restful
Beruhigend (German) becoming restful
Beruhigt (German) become restful
Beruhigter (German) more restful
Beruhigung (German) calming
Bes (German) the note B double flat
Beschleunigen (German) to speed up
Beschleunigt (German) to speed up
Beseelt (German) animated
Bestimmt (German) prominent, in a decided style
Betend (German) praying
Betont (German) stressed, emphasized, accentuated
Betonung (German) accentuation
Betrübnis (German) sadness
Betrübt (German) saddened
Beweglich (German) agile
Beweglichkeit (German) agility
Bewegt (German) speeded
Bewegter (German) quicker
Bewegung (German) speed
Bhajan Indian devotional song
Bhangra beat a popular hybrid of traditional Indian music fused with late twentieth-century pop
Bianca (Italian) a half note
Bicinium a song for two voices
Bien (French) well, very
Big Daddy and Authorized Personnel famous blues band of the Midwest, also known as Authorizes Personnel
Bigleaf A distinctive wood grain pattern. See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides
Bigleaf Maple Bigleaf is a distinctive wood grain pattern. Maple is known for its figured grain, particularly “curly” or “flamed” wood exhibiting the tight even curls of “fiddleback” figure, as well as “birds-eye” and “quilted” or “blister” figure. European Maple is between Rock Maple and Bigleaf in hardness, and is fine and even-textured. Bigleaf Maple is a bit coarser and harder to work. It can range in color from ivory, to pink, to tan. Quilted Maple is the hardest to obtain. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Bikutsi a rhythmic style which originated with the Beti people of present day Cameroon, Originally associated with war, the shedding of blood and calls for vengeance against other groups
Bin Indian plucked lute
Binary form a musical form made up of two sections sometimes termed A and B
Binary measure two beats in a bar or measure
Birch Carbuncle Burl An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Bird's eye A fermata
Bis (French) repeat, encore, play again
Bis (German) until
Bisbigliato (Italian) whispered
Biscroma (Italian) a thirty-second note see Note Values
Bitonal where two keys are used simultaneously, originating from the use of modes, common in pre-baroque, folk-style and more modern works
Bitonality where two keys are used simultaneously, originating from the use of modes, common in pre-baroque, folk-style and more modern works
Bittend (German) entreating
Biwa a short-necked Japanese lute, used in the seventh-century in gagaku, with a cranked neck. played with an oversized plectrum. The number of frets varies from 4 to 6 and the number of strings vary in number from 3 to 5 but there are usually 4
Biwagaku (Japanese) music played on the biwa
Bizzarro (Italian) bizarre, whimsical
Black Acacia Black Acacia a is honey brown or golden brown in color wood with straight grain. It is an excellent alternative to the rosewoods with a luminescence and depth similar to mahogany. Though from Northern California, Africa and India, the best Black Acacia is from Australia. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Black & White Ebony An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Black Bottom a quick-tempo dance, characterized by a shaking or wiggling of the body
Black Palm An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Blanche (French) a half note see Note Values
Bleiben (German) to remain
Bleibt (German) remains
Block chords where the notes of the entire chord are played simultaneously and structured accordingly in succession
Bloodwood An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Bloss (German) mere, merely
Blue grass form of country & western music that developed during the mid 1940's, played by groups that include a double bass, two or more guitars, mandolins, fiddles, steel or Hawaiian guitars, dobros and five-string banjo
Blue notes flattened third, seventh and occasionally fifth degrees of the major scale
Blues Scale see Musical Scales
Bocca chiusa (Italian) wordless humming
Boceto (Spanish) sketch
Bocote A wood from Central America that features a tobacco/reddish brown color with distinct, parallel black lines. It’s less brittle than Ziricote. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Body the resonance box of a stringed instrument. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Bog (German) tie or bind
Bogen (German) tie or bind
Boiled Linseed Raw linseed oil with chemical accelerators, called driers, added to quicken drying time. Often used on bare fingerboards to prevent cracking. See Dressing the Frets on a Classical Guitar See How to Change Classical Guitar Strings
Bolerito a triple meter dance but includes only one or two sections or movements as compared with the standard three in a bolero
Bolero Spanish dance in 3/4 time; Cuban dance derived from the Spanish bolero, initially into 2/4 time then eventually into 4/4, but always slow
Bolombatto harp from West Africa with four gut strings over a gourd resonator and an attached tin rattle
Bolon a three string bass harp with a resonating gourd that can be used as a drum
Boloye one-string bass from the Ivory Coast
Bomb in jazz and particularly in bop, an unexpectedly loud beat from the drummer on a backbeat, upbeat or irregular eighth note beat
Bone A material used for making bridge saddles and fingerboard nuts. See The Classical Guitar Fingerboard Nut See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Boogie woogie a blues style of music which evolved in the Mississippi basin of the Deep South of the U.S.A
Book Matched Two wood pieces (cut from a single piece and reoriented) that mirror each other in grain. See Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides
Bop a complex 1940's jazz style, characterized by very fast or very slow tempos with improvised lines of notes, irregular accents, and extended harmony, the patterns often ending with an abrupt two-note figure that sounded like be-bop
Borre (English) a French dance similar to the gavotte but beginning on the fourth beat of four rather than the third of four as in the gavotte
Borree (English) a French dance similar to the gavotte but beginning on the fourth beat of four rather than the third of four as in the gavotte
Borrowed chord use of a chord in a key in which it is not diatonic, or the substitution of a chord from a different key into a work
Borrowed division a term used to describe when a note is divided into an unusual number of smaller notes, for example, when three quarter notes are to be played in the time of a half note
Borry (English) a French dance similar to the gavotte but beginning on the fourth beat of four rather than the third of four as in the gavotte
Bossa nova a Brazilian popular music style developed in the late 1950s
Bottleneck guitar a slide guitar, where a smooth, hard object, usually a hollow metal or glass cylinder, is used to change the pitches of the strings
Bouffe (French) comic
Bourrée a French dance similar to the gavotte but beginning on the fourth beat (of four) rather than the third (of four) as in the gavotte
Bout (French) end
Boutade (French) an improvisation
Bouts the curves in the sides of the instrument, especially the C-shaped inward curves that form the waist
Bouzouki a twentieth-century long-necked Greek lute with a fretted neck and a pear shaped body containing two courses of strings which are tuned like the upper strings of a guitar
Box Elder Burl An alternative wood for the back and sides of a classical guitar. Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Alternative Wood Choices for Back & Sides See Anatomy of a Classical Guitar
Boyau (French) catgut, made from the intestines of sheep, lambs or goat
Bpm beats per minute, the usual measurement of tempo
Braccio (Italian) of the arm
Brace a rustic dance in duple time, similar to the gavotte, originating in France