Keeping up with our vocabulary discussions, our most recent set of terms branched out from our previous focus on musical notation and terms. This week we covered hardware, techniques, and theory.
Cent: Cent is a unit of measurement used to define a standard unit of difference between frequencies to fit the logarithmic nature of notes. If A4 is out of tune by 5 cents, it will be the same note (but different octave) as A3 out of tune by 5 cents, even though the frequency differences between each note and it’s out of tune version are different.
Circle of Fifths: The circle of fifths is a circular chart which shows related chords and scales that work well when played together. It is easy to use, as you can simply find a chord you want to play and choose any of the adjacent chords on the chart to play with it. The chart has two concentric circles, with the outer circle showing major chords and the inner circle showing minor chords. The minor chords are also considered adjacent to the major chords, including diagonally. So, if C is your starting chord, the circle of fifths shows five chords to chose from: F, G, Dm, Am, and Em. This is a good, clear version of the circle of fifths.
Drum Rudiments: Drum rudiments are common sticking patterns in drumming that have been identified, defined, and named. There are 40 standard rudiments which include different drum rolls, diddle patterns (hitting with the same hand twice in a row), and patterns that use grace notes to form flams and ruffs. Drummers usually learn most, if not all, of the patterns fairly early in formal training, as doing so builds the muscle memory to play them and gives drummers the vocabulary necessary to discuss rhythms and sheet music with a common language. [More Info]
Pickup: A typical electric guitar pickup is a combination of magnets and wire that “picks up” the vibration of the strings, converting that motion to an electric current. That current is sent to the output jack and can be converted into sound by amps, speakers, etc. There are also piezoelectric pickups that work using the piezoelectric effect.
Single-coil Pickup: The simplest type of magnetic pickup. True to its name, a single-coil pickup consists of one wire coiled around the magnet or magnets that are placed underneath the strings. Based upon a number of factors, including the resistance of the wire, the strength of the magnet(s), material and thickness of the strings, etc, the sound produced by different single-coil pickups can vary widely.
Humbucking Pickup: A humbucking pickup or humbucker is essentially a pair of single-coil pickups arranged so that the opposite magnetic poles are pointing at the strings. That is, one points its “north” at the strings and the other its “south”. The two pickups are then wired together either in series or parallel. This is done for two reasons. First, single-coil pickups act, to a degree, as a directional antenna. They pick up electromagnetic interference from nearby sources such as fluorescent lights. The opposing orientation of the two magnetic cores in a humbucker cancels out this effect. Second, because there are two pickups, the amplitude of the output signal from a humbucker is generally greater at certain harmonic frequencies than with a single coil. This leads to humbuckers having what is described as a “fatter” sound.
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