page_title: Glossary of jazz and popular music
section_title: P
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of jazz and popular music / P
caption_attribution_description: Hammond TR-200
context_page_description: This is a list of jazz and popular music terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks, fake books and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz, and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects units, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered.
context_section_description: PA system
  An abbreviation for public address system (which may be further abbreviated to "the PA"), the term for the speaker cabinets, monitor speakers, amplifiers, and the mixing board used to provide sound for bands in clubs, bars, and similar venues. Sound engineers often use the term "sound reinforcement system", a term that tends to refer more to concert-sized systems rather than pub-sized setups.
   P-bass
  An abbreviation for the Fender Precision bass, a widely used model of electric bass manufactured by Fender guitars since the mid-1950s
   pad
  In reference to the music played by a keyboardist, this refers to a "synthesizer pad", which is a sustained background synthesizer sound used to accompany a band or singer (it typically has a slow attack); in arranging and orchestration, a sustained accompaniment for bowed strings may be called a string pad and a similar arrangement for horn section may be called a horn pad; in reference to sound engineering, this refers to an attenuation circuit which reduces the gain of an excessively "hot" signal, typically by 20 dB.
   pedal
  A stompbox effect unit, a volume pedal, or a similar device.
   pedalboard
  An organ keyboard played with the feet. A Hammond organ has a bass pedalboard.
   pedale (ped)
  In piano scores, this instructs the player to press the damper pedal to sustain the note or chord being played. The player may be instructed to release the pedal with an asterisk marking (*).
   pedal point
  A sustained or repeated note in a song or tune, often in the bass register. The term is a reference to the bass pedal keyboards that are used to sustain a pedal point in organ music. The most common and effective pedal notes are the tonic note (which can be held under the first eight bars of many blues progressions or even the entire 12 bars of some simpler progressions) and the dominant pedal (which can be used under many turnarounds, last four bars of some songs, or even entire B sections). Pedal points create tension and drama when they work well, because dissonance is produced and then resolved.
   performance art
  An experimental show which combines music, dance, visual effects, and drama (e.g. Laurie Anderson). Associated with some types of art rock and experimental rock.
   pianissimo (pp)
  Very gently (i.e. perform very softly)
   piano (p)
  Gently (i.e. played or sung softly). See dynamics.
   piano-vocal score
  The same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar. Piano-vocal scores enable performers to sing works originally scored for singer and large ensemble (orchestra, big band, etc.) with a single pianist.
   pickup or pick-up
  In reference to an electric guitar or bass, this refers to the magnetic or piezoelectric device which transmits the vibrations of the string or the guitar body to an amplifier; in reference to a song or tune, a "pickup" or the "pickup notes" refers to one or several melodic notes which lead into a subsequent section (e.g. a band leader will tell the band to "start from the pickup into the bridge").
   pickup group or pickup band
  A musical ensemble brought together for a single performance or a few performances.
   pizzicato (pizz)
  Pinched, plucked (i.e. in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow)
   portamento
  Sliding in pitch from one note to another.
   poseur
  In punk, metal, jazz, and other styles, this is a pejorative term used to refer to musicians or music fans who are deemed to not truly understand the music and its history ("That guy in the grey shirt says he's a hardcore fan, but he doesn't even know Black Flag...what a poseur!").
   power chord
  A chord consisting of a note, a fifth above, and the octave. It is widely used in rock, metal, hardcore punk, and other genres, usually with overdrive or distortion. Power chords may just be the root and fifth, especially in faster chord sequences.
   producer
  An individual who directs the recording process through artistic, technical and organizational decisions and execution. The producer might select session musicians, coach the s
caption: This Hammond spinet organ shows the relatively short pedals and 13-note range used on the pedalboards of spinet organs
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