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Saddle Saddle slot SC Scale Scale length Scoop and doop Scratchplate Selective muting Semi-acoustic guitar Semitone Set-in neck Set neck Shape Sharp Signal Signal chain Signal level Single coil pickup Slap Slapback Slide Slide guitar Slur Slurring Smear Solid body Solid-bodied Solid-state amp Solo Soundboard Sound hole Sound hole pickup Sound processor Staccato Stack Staff Standard tuning Static bridge Stave Steel guitar Step Stomp box Strap Strap button Strap pin Strings String gauge String noise String posts String retainers Strum Strumming Sunburst Sustain Sweeping Sweep picking Sweet spot Syncopation |
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| Saddle | A component of the bridge that has a groove to hold the strings in place Full article on Anatomy of the Guitar |
| Saddle slot | The small slit in each saddle that the strings rest in |
| SC | Short for single coil |
| Scale | An ascending sequence of notes that lie within an octave |
| Scale length | The total length of an open string. Used to determine the fret positions (12th fret being at the halfway point for example). |
| Scale tone | A degree of a scale. For example, the 3rd and 5th notes of a scale are two scale tones apart. |
| Scoop and doop | Vibrato bar techniques. Scoop: depress vibrato bar before plucking and release, then doop: depress vibrato bar after plucking. Full article on Whammy bar techniques |
| Scratchplate | Plastic or metal flat cover that protects the guitars finish from scratches. Scratchplates are attached to the body of the guitar just below the pickups. Syn - Pick guard |
| Selective muting | Where the fret hand mutes some strings whilst holding notes on the remaining strings. This allows a full strum whilst only sounding specific notes. Full article on Fret hand muting |
| Semi-acoustic guitar | An electric guitar with a slightly larger, hollow body. Instead of a sound hole it has an F-hole. |
| Semitone | The difference in pitch between two adjacent frets; equal to the distance in pitch between two adjacent notes on the chromatic scale. Syn - Halfstep |
| Set-in neck | Where the neck of the guitar is attached to a slot in the body with an adhesive. Commonly found on acoustic guitars. |
| Set neck | Short for set-in neck |
| Shape | A pattern of notes on the fretboard that can be moved up and down into various keys. This could include chord shapes and scale shapes. |
| Sharp | A semitone higher. Indicated by the symbol #. Full article on Accidentals |
| Signal | An electrical current sent from the pickups to an output. The signal represents changes in the surrounding air pressure. |
| Signal chain | The sequence of signals from pickups through effects units, preamplifiers, amplifiers and all the other devices that may carry a signal from the guitar to the final output. |
| Signal level | The amplitude of a signal that dictates how loud the sound will be |
| Single coil pickup | A pickup consisting of one coil around a magnet |
| Slap | The striking of a string by the thumb. The strike is made by a flick of the wrist and forms the basis of 'slap bass' but can be done on an electric guitar. |
| Slapback | A singular echo |
| Slide | 1. A movement between frets without a release of pressure on the fretboard Full article on Slides |
| 2. Another name for a bottleneck or the use of a bottleneck | |
| Slide guitar | A style of guitar that uses the bottleneck slide to produce a glissando effect. Used mainly in blues and country music. |
| Slur | Another term for a hammer-on or a pull-off
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| Slurring | Performing a series of slurs |
| Smear | A small, unspecified bend that raises the pitch of a note by less than a semitone. |
| Solid body | A guitar body that does not use hollow cavities to resonate sound (electric guitars). Acoustic guitars never have solid bodies. |
| Solid-bodied | Refers to guitars that have a solid body |
| Solid-state amp | An amp with no valves, instead it uses transistors. |
| Solo | Generally the term solo means playing alone, however, in guitar music it is when the guitar plays the leading part whilst the other instruments are used as backing. |
| Soundboard | The top/front surface of an acoustic guitar body Syn - Face, Top and Top plate |
| Sound hole | The hole in an acoustic guitar that allows sound to resonate within the hollow body |
| Sound hole pickup | A pickup found inside the sound hole of an elctro-acoustic guitar |
Sound |
A device that takes digital representations of sound and manipulates them to produce a desired effect. Guitar effects like delay, chorus and flanger make use of sound processors. Compression and noise gates also make use of sound processors and are commonly used by guitarists to 'neaten' up sound. |
| Staccato | Cutting a note short to give a percussive effect |
| Stack | Short for amplifier stack |
| Staff | Another term for stave |
| Standard tuning | Where the open strings of the guitar are tuned to E, A, D, G, B and E from the lowest sounding string to the highest. The strings are tuned a fourth (5 semitones) apart, with the exception of the G- and B-strings. Full article on Tuning your guitar |
| Static bridge | A bridge that does not move (has no vibrato system). As opposed to a floating bridge. |
| Stave | Five horizontal lines on which music notation is displayed, informing you of the rhythm and note pitches. Divided by vertical bar lines. Syn - Staff |
| Steel guitar | Another term for Hawaiian guitar |
| Step | One step is equal to one tone. E.g. whole step bend = one tone bend. |
| Stomp box | A type of pedal that has its own built in effects (distortion for example) that can be turned on and off by 'stomping' on the switch. Enables effects to be activated easily whilst standing up. |
| Strap | A strip of fabric that is attached to the body of the guitar and worn around your shoulder. It allows you to play standing up without having to support the weight of the guitar with your hands. |
| Strap button | Another term for strap pin |
| Strap pin | A round piece of metal located on the body of the guitar to which the strap is attached Syn - Strap button |
| Strings | Pieces of wire or nylon on a guitar that produce notes via vibration Full article on Changing Strings |
| String gauge | Another term for gauge |
| String noise | Unwanted sounds from the guitar. The fretting and picking hands tend to rub against the strings when you play. String noise is not noticed when playing unplugged but amplifiers magnify the problem. Noise gates and muting can help reduce any unwanted noise. |
| String posts | Part of the machinehead around which the strings are wrapped |
| String retainers | Small metal 'saddles' that keep the strings lined up with the string-posts. They are found on the headstock (usually on stratocaster style guitars). |
| Strum | The striking of more than one string in the same motion Full article on Strumming |
| Strumming | Playing a series of strums Full article on Strumming |
| Sunburst | A design found on the body of guitars that consists of a light colour in the centre of the body, radiating out in thin lines to a darker colour around the outer edges of the body. Gibson Les Pauls are the most common example of this. |
| Sustain | The length of time that a note sounds for after it is plucked. String gauge, action, effects and the natural resonance of a guitars body can all have an effect on sustain. |
| Sweeping | The act of sweep picking |
| Sweep Picking | Picking single notes with the fluid motion of a strum whilst sounding like a single-note line. This is achieved by using a series of down- or upstrokes to pick single notes on consecutive strings. Full article on Sweep Picking |
| Sweet spot | A term used to describe the optimal position of something. In the context of guitar music it could mean the perfect spot to execute a pinch harmonic, position a saddle or position your finger when fretting a note. |
| Syncopation | Using accents on some of the weaker beats to create a more diverse rhythm |