Words that make people go “Huh?”

You’ll notice in the previous blog that the word “gear” was used a couple times, referring of course to musical “stuff”. We realized that there are probably many odd words that us musician types use on a regular basis – words that make people go “Huh?”
So we present to you, for your education, a handy glossary of commonly used musical terms (you may want to print it out and keep it in your pocket for handy reference).


GROOVE: This is the feel of a song, or sometimes more specifically, the feel that is established between the bass player and the drummer. “Just listen to that funky groove those two are laying down.”
CHOPS: This refers to one’s ability to play a musical instrument well. To have great chops is to be exceptionally skilled on one’s instrument. It can also refer to massive side-burns.  “That guitar player has fantastic chops. He also has fantastic chops.”
EARS: In-ear-monitors. It’s just easier to say ears rather than in-ear-monitors. Pure laziness.
GIG: This should be a no-brainer, but in case you don’t know, it’s a show or an event. Add the word “bag” or “rug” to it and you have something you take to a gig. “We packed our gig-rugs and our gig-bags and drove to the gig where we did some gigging.”
IN THE POCKET: Referring back to groove, this is the depth to which one is able to establish and maintain said groove. “That guy is so in the pocket he’s lint.”
dB: Abbreviation for decibel, a unit of measurement of audio level. This isn’t to be confused with a dB meter, which is a device that instantly causes the drummer to play quieter!
AXE: Electric guitar, although I guess it could also refer to an acoustic guitar. “Man, that Gordon Lightfoot sure can shred on that axe of his!”
FEEDBACK: The return of a portion of the output signal to a device's input.  That’s the technical definition. It’s that ear-piercing, high-pitched blast that makes people run screaming from the building.
HOT: Very loud and/or sensitive as in “This microphone is really hot – can you turn it down?”  Also, “That drummer is really hot”, but that’s a whole different blog.