It all started with marveling about the note H in the German musical alphabet and me being on the phone trying to spell something akin to Oachkatzlschwoaf (which means tale of a squirrel where I come from!). English is not my mother tongue. The way German is wired, we just don’t spell like they do here. And if we do, most certainly not in English. And the international phonetic alphabet with Alpha Bravo Charlie… is just so un-inspiring. So I decided to create the new Music Theory for the Bass Player Phonetic Alphabet and recruited Facebook for help. Here it is. If you find omissions, please continue to play in the comments! Thanks everyone for playing.
Rules
- Music theory terms or bass terms okay.
- No names of bass players for letters (no Jaco Pastorius, no Xander Zon… That is the next game!)
- No song names (also another game)
The Music Theory for the Bass Player Phonetic Alphabet
- A (#, b, maj7, 7, 9 etc!)
accent
acciaccatura
adagio
allegro
amp
approach
arco
articulation
augmented
arpeggio
aeolian
altered - B
Bass
bridge
backbeat
bar
bass solo
bebop
Big Box/Little Box
Boot Shape
buzz - C
cable
cantus firmus
chicks
chromatic
comping
compressor
clef
chord
chorus
cycle
circle - D
dedication
delay pedal
diatonic
diminished
Do
double-stop
duration
dynamics
dorian
distortion
downbeat - E
ending
ebony
embellishment
end pin
equalizer
ergaonimics
Excuse me – I hit a bad note! - F
funk
fretless
flat-9
f clef
Fa
fatigue
feel
filter
finger picking
fingers
flat
flatwounds
fret
fuzz - G
gain
gargoyles (I look like gargoyle when I’m gigging)
ghost notes
gig bag
gigue
groove
gig
- H (the German B)
half step
hands
harmonic minor
harmonics
harmony
hazard exercises (Steve Bailey)
heart
hemiola
Hexagon shape
hipshot
homophony
horse hair
hum bucker
impedance
improvisation
improvise
instrument
intermezzo
interval
intervallic
intonation
ionian
hammer-on - input
- jazz
jacks
jam
jazz
joint
juxtaposition - knobs
keeperofdafunk
key signature
klezmer - La
ledger line
legato
Little Box/Big Box
lydian
locrian
legato - major
maple
measure
melodic minor
melody
meter
metronome,
mezzo
Mi
minim
minor
minor,
mixer
modality
modes
modulate
monster groove
mordent
mute
mixolydian - noise
neck
nut
natural
ninth
No time to practice! - offbeat
oooops
overtone series
octave - pull-off
parametric
passive
pedaling
pentatonic
phrasing
pianissimo
piccolo
pick
pickup
pizzicato
pluck
pocket
ponticello
practice
precision
prelude
pulse
Pythagoras
phrygian
- quarter note
quaver
quintuplet - reggae
rallentando
Re
recapitulation
repeat
rest
rhondo
rhythm
rock
root
roundwounds
riff
run - sustain
staff
string
swing
syncopated
segno
saddle
scale
seventh
sharp
shuffle
slap
slide
smorzando
So
staccato
strap
swing - TAB
tabular
thumping
tritone
triad
third
tap
tenor clef
tenth
Ti
tone
transducer
transpose
tremolo
triangle
triplet
tuner
tuners
Two-feel - unison
upbeat
Upside Down Boot - verse
vintage
volume - waveform
walking
whammy bar - x and bacon after the gig!
X Brace (Double bass)
x pattern
x-factor
xenochrony
XLR - Yyz
y connector - zone
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