Musical Slang 101

For all the years I've been teaching, you'd think I would have written this article a long time ago! The music world is full of slang terms (I'm guessing all industries are, but....) and its good to know the language if you're surfing these waters, kids!

We will avoid genre-specific slang and focus on general terms....and I'll up-date this piece, so feel free to contact me directly or leave a comment if you have any terms you think I should add.

We'll start with general musical terms and then look at some other specific terms (like studio lingo or business sayings).

Also note: I've utilized AI for the time-frame/origin of the terms and, in most cases, my personal understanding of the terms confirms the research. However (as personal knowledge falls into the category of "the fallacy of small sample"), I'm interested in YOUR views on the terms and origins. So please contact me or comment any corrections!

Finally, there are many outstanding genre-specific resources out there, and I'd refer you to those for specific musical styles. Books like Debra Devi's "Language of the Blues", "STREET TALK: Da Official Guide to Hip-Hop & Urban Slanguage", by Randy Kearse, "Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary" by Stephen Calt, and many others exist for those who dig the language exploration, both contemporary and historical. I highly recommend taking the dive - the water is warm!

Here we go!

Happy 60

How on earth did I neglect, WAY BACK in October of '24, to do my birthday post???
 

Vintage, baby!! Scotch is the only way to fly!

Apologies, y'all!

OK, I usually start these off with a quote, so here we go:

"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."
― Madeleine L'Engle

Another frenzied dance around the sun, making music, playing with my kids, teaching guitar and bass and ukulele and percussion and songwriting and improv and more, hitting the gym, recording in studios and playing on stages, hosting open mics and recitals, doing radio & TV....a massive FREE summer session of guitar for all the kids due to school budget cuts (we served 100 kids and gave away 50+ guitars).....and our 10th anniversary for Lexi Music Awards (which turned out to be our final year at the Lyric Theatre, as we switched in 2025 to the Singletary Center for the Arts on UK's campus)!

New Guitar Class Session

We had a HUGE summer session....and as school comes back in for the fall, we're gearing up for a new 8-week session of group classes!

We also have private lessons available (limited spaces) - so contact me if you're interested!

The new group session starts Thursday, August 22. Sign-up form is here:

SIGNUP FORM

Group cost is $240 for the 8 weeks.

I also have a few private lesson slots available. Contact me directly (909-929-2007 or sdmusiclab@gmail.com) if you're interested. 

Cost for private lessons is $129 per month.

Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

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If you value my work and want to support it......contact me for lessons (guitar, electric bass, ukulele, social drumming, songwriting, etc), sign up to my Patreon, or feel free to leave a tip (one-shot or monthly):

PayPal (one-time or monthly options)
http://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic

Venmo (one-time only)
www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47

Free Summer Guitar Session

(Up-dated 6-19-24)

As announced last month, in response to budget issues at Fayette County Public Schools, we've decided to offer the 8 week summer group classes at Willis Music in Lexington for FREE.

The social media traction led to TV, radio, & newspaper interviews (see WLEX story, Spectrum News story, Herald-Leader story & mirror at Yahoo News, and I'll include link to WEKU story soon) and I'm happy to announce that is also led to FIVE guitar donations so far to help students in need, other arts orgs announcing free services (including On the Move Art Studio giving away art supplies & art lessons, and Studio 223 giving away a month of free lessons AND free guitar rental), and we have - as of this writing - registered 96 students.

That is $23,040 worth of guitar lessons FREE this summer!

PLUS we've gathered donations and, so far, given away over 20 guitars!

I can't thank Willis Music enough for allowing us to do this, I can't thank everyone enough who has helped promote this initiative, and I can't thank everyone enough who has donated guitars!

To accommodate that many students, we've had to double the number of class options (G1 classes at noon, 5pm, and 6pm, and our Boot Camp class at 4pm). We hope to secure a few more guitar donations so we can assist everyone in need.

Classes begin Thursday, June 6, at Willis Music in Lexington.

For more info, contact me directly at sdmusiclab@gmail.com 

For more info about me & past students, see my bio at SDML Academy of Guitar.

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If you value my work and want to support it......contact me for lessons (guitar, electric bass, ukulele, social drumming, songwriting, etc), sign up to my Patreon, or feel free to leave a tip (one-shot or monthly):

PayPal (one-time or monthly options)
http://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic

Venmo (one-time only)
www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47

FREE Guitar Lessons to FC Students

Howdy, all!

We have had an amazing response to the free lessons that we're doing in response to the budget issues at FCPS. We've extended to offer of a free summer guitar classes to private schools & home schoolers who may also be in need.

As of his writing, we have 78 registered students (about 10 in the G4 class, all others beginners), leading us to offer addition class times to accommodate everyone.

If anyone is reading this who has NOT registered, please contact me directly for info (I can be reached at sdmusiclab@gmail.com).

Classes begin THURSDAY, JUNE 6 at Willis Music. After the first class, we will also make a Zoom link available, though I strongly urge everyone to attend in person.

Class times are as follows:

G1 (beginner) students have he option of attending class at noon, or 5pm, or 6pm.

G4 (the "boot camp") students can attend the 4pm class.

Each class is roughly 40 minutes long, and we'll run the session for 8 lessons across 9 weeks (we're off Thursday, July 4). We provide all handouts and such - just bring a guitar and be ready to learn!

Yes, I also offer group classes year round AND private lessons year round. In addition, I teach workshops covering a wide array of topics (improvisation, social drumming, intro to piano, songwriting, etc).

For anyone who is interested in more info about me, my official bio can be found at our academy website HERE.

We have had a couple of guitar donations, so anyone in need, please don't hesitate to contact me to we can attempt to get you a guitar to use!

That about wraps it up for the moment. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone this Thursday at Willis Music! 

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If you value my work and want to support it......contact me for lessons (guitar, electric bass, ukulele, social drumming, songwriting, etc), sign up to my Patreon,  or feel free to leave a tip (one-shot or monthly):

PayPal (one-time or monthly options)
http://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic

Venmo (one-time only)
www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47