Glossary
Terms and Definitions
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A
- A/D
- Analogue to Digital Converter. Typically found in most Audio Interfaces to capture acoustic/analogue audio sources.
- AAC
- Stands for ‘Advanced Audio Coding‘. Lossy and compressed, but sounds generally better. Apple’s alternative to MP3 – Used for Apple Music streaming.
- AAX (Avid Audio eXtension)
- A plugin format more popular among audio engineers as opposed to producers – native to Avid Pro Tools only and requires a 64-bit system. The newer version of RTAS.
- AC (Alternating Current)
- An analogue electrical current used to power hardware. The default power you’ll find from a standard electrical outlet. ‘Alternating’ refers to the sine wave shape of the current.
- ADSR
- Attack – the beginning of the sound;
Decay – a fading sound;
Sustain – how long it can hold;
Release – the fade to silence.
The elements form the ‘envelope’ that describes the shape of a sound.
- AIFF
- Short for Audio Interchange File Format. Similar to the WAV format, AIFF is a high-quality audio file format created by Apple.
- ALAC
- Apple has also developed its own lossless audio compression technology. In addition to AAC, the entire Apple Music catalogue is also encoded using ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) in resolutions between 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD quality) and 24-bit/192 kHz.
- AU
- Acronym for Audio Unit, is a plugin format created by Apple. It’s compatible with macOS only.
- AU (Audio Unit)
- A plugin format created by Apple for macOS/OSX only. Other formats include VST, AAX and RTAS.
- Ableton Live
- A popular DAW created by the company Ableton. Ableton Live is used by many artists like Skrillex, Flume and Diplo, and is very good in a live scenario.
- Acapella
- A vocal, typically ripped or is a recording from an existing song. Used in remixes, bootlegs, and sampled in originals. Also used in DJ sets as a DJ tool.
- Acoustic Instrument
- An instrument that produces sound in the physical world without digital or analogue technology. Can refer to a guitar, piano, drums etc.
- Acoustic Treatment
- The process of reducing acoustic inaccuracies and reflections in physical spaces by introducing dampening materials, such as foam and bass traps etc., in key areas.
- Acoustics
- The sonic properties of any space that alter the qualities of a sound being played. Can refer to natural reverb, phase cancellation and/or background noise etc.
- Active
- A device that has its own built-in power amplifier. The opposite of a passive device. Most studio monitors these days are active.
- Additive Synthesis
- A form of audio synthesis that outputs sound by mathematically adding harmonics (sine waves) to each other.
- Aftertouch
- A MIDI parameter found on most keyboards. It senses the pressure applied to a key after it has been initially played, and then that can be mapped to control a specific modulation source, such as volume, a filter or anything.
- Aliasing
- Subtle distortion that occurs in the digital realm when the input frequency is higher than the sample rate. The sample cannot be measured accurately and thus introduces imperfections into the sound.
- Ambience
- Refers to a sound in a track which creates a sense of space or atmosphere – typically achieved by the use of time-based audio effects such as delays and reverbs. Also can refer to the level of sound in a recording that contains background noise, separate to the intended recording. Typically this background noise is undesirable, but sometimes it is an aesthetic choice.
- Ambient
- A genre of music featuring drawn-out drones and pads, typically features no drums and is very stripped back and loop-based.
- Amp (Amplifier)
- Typically refers to a hardware or digital emulation of an amplifier, which is a tool that increases the level of a signal to increase loudness. Different methods of amplification can colour the sound in pleasing ways, and thus an amp is also a creative tool, rather than just a functional one.
- Amplitude
- Refers to the loudness or height of a waveform – higher means louder, lower means quieter. An amplitude of 0 (or -∞dB) means silence.
- Analogue
- Audio that occurs in physical space as opposed to bits in the digital space. Analogue signals and technology are continuous and infinitely measurable, whereas digital signals are limited to the defined sample rate and bit depth. Thus, analogue is commonly referred to as having a warmer, more realistic sound.
- Apple
- Apple is the designer and manufacturer of laptops and desktops and has been the choice of audio professionals for years. Oh, and they’re one of the largest technology companies in the modern world.
- Arp (Arpeggio)
- A chord played in a series of repeating steps instead of at the same time. Makes you sound like a good producer without much of the effort.
- Arpeggiator
- A MIDI Effect that turns a static chord into an arpeggio. If that doesn’t make sense, it makes things go bleep-bleep-bleep.
- Arrangement
- The way that instruments and sections are laid out in a track/song. Referred to as Instrumentation and Structure, respectively. A very important concept in songwriting.
- Artist
- Someone who creates music and releases it. Not just people who play the guitar.
- Arturia
- A hardware and software manufacturer responsible for a lot of analogue and analogue-modeled equipment. They make the V Collection, a collection of synths that model famous analogue synthesizers.
- Atmosphere
- A sonic effect created by reverb, long tails and quieter sounds. Referred to as the background of a track.
- Attack
- The initial part of an ADSR envelope – describes the amount of time for a sound to reach maximum amplitude in milliseconds or seconds. Faster attack sounds plucky and comes in straight away (low milliseconds), slower attack sounds spacey and takes a while to fade in (high seconds).
- Attenuation
- The lowering of the loudness of a signal, usually measured in dB (decibels). The attenuation knob on a piece of gear or on a plugin is used to reduce increases in loudness introduced by other effects, such a distortion or amplification.
- Audacity
- An audio editor used to edit audio, available on Windows and macOS. Powerful but lacks the functionality of a professional DAW like Ableton.
- Audio
- Technically, this just refers to all sound that we hear in the range of human hearing (~20Hz-20000Hz). Commonly, audio is used to refer to a recording of a sound, particularly when on an audio track and it being played in a track’s arrangement.
- Audio Effect
- Any plugin, stock effect or piece of gear that processes audio and alters the sonic properties of a sound. Can refer to EQ, compression, reverb, delay, distortion etc.
- Audio Engineering
- The process of recording, mixing and mastering studio or live recordings.
- Audio Interface
- An audio interface is a hardware that is used for connecting audio gear, such as microphones to computers. The device works by converting analog signals into digital audio.
- Audio Track
- A track that stores and plays audio, as opposed to a MIDI Track.
- Automation
- The modulation of a parameter over time, such as a filter sweep or volume change. Usually, automation is recorded into the arrangement of a track and automatically adjusts a parameter once recorded.
- Aux Channel
- A send or return channel that allows for additional parallel processing of multiple sources at once. For example, most people put reverb on an aux channel to allow group processing of multiple sounds that need reverb. Not to be confused with the cable that your friend asks for whenever they want to bump tunes in the car.
- Avid
- The company behind Pro Tools.
B
- B (Note)
- A musical note.
- BPM
- Short for beats-per-minute; the tempo of a song, which is measured in the number of beats per minute.
- Balance
- The relative level of two or more instruments, voices, sounds, etc. in either a live or recorded mix, as through a mixing board, or achieved by placement of musicians in a hall, and by musicians listening to one another, so that dynamics blend well to the ear.
- Band Pass Filter
- A filter type that acts as both a low-pass and a high-pass, allowing only a narrow range of frequencies through. Can be used to get things to sound lo-fi.
- Band Stop Filter
- A band-stop filter (aka a notch filter or band-reject filter) works by removing frequencies in a specified band within the overall frequency spectrum. It allows frequencies below the low cutoff point to pass along with frequencies above the high cutoff point.
- Bandcamp
- A website allowing artists and labels to set up an independent store for selling music and merchandise. Great if you don’t want to work with labels or with major distribution services and remain fully independent. Certain niches of music still love to purchase songs rather than stream, and Bandcamp also allows vinyl records to be sold online.
- Bandwidth
- Bandwidth is a frequency span. Beyond that definition, its meaning will depend somewhat on context. For example, the bandwidth of a band pass filter is the upper cutoff frequency minus the lower cutoff frequency (cutoff frequency being the filter’s -3 dB point).
- Bank
- A group of presets that can be loaded on a synth. Also called a soundbank.
- Bar
- A musical term describing a measure of beats, with four beats being the most common, but any number of beats can be counted in a measure depending on the time signature.
- Bass
- The lower frequencies in a sound – typically from ~20Hz to ~400Hz.
- Bass Music
- A form of EDM that typically features loud, compressed bass growls and sounds. Genres include dubstep, trap, bass house, drum and bass and many more.
- Bassline
- The pattern of notes that fills up the bass area of the frequency spectrum – can be played by a synthesizer, bass guitar, an 808 or any sound with tonal quality.
- Beat
- The consistent timing and rhythm of the music. Also can refer to a track, especially in hip-hop.
- Beat Repeat
- A type of effect that takes audio as an input and repeats the snippet back at timed intervals to create a glitch effect.
- Beats
- Sometimes used to refer to a genre of music that combines hip-hop with electronic, or something that a rapper would use as a track.
- Bell
- A synth sound that aims to have the sonic texture of a real bell, like tubular bells, a glockenspiel or similar.
- Bell Curve
- The most common curve on a parametric EQ, used to boost or cut a band of frequencies in a natural manner.
- Bit Rate
- The number of bits per second, measuring the accuracy of a recording, the higher the bit the more detailed.
- Bouncing
- Means to export a track. Usually to an MP3 or WAV file.
- Breakdown
- Part of a song in which various instruments have solo parts (breaks). This may take the form of all instruments playing the verse together, and then several or all instruments individually repeating the verse as solo parts.
- Bridge
- Musically and lyrically, the bridge is different from the verse and the chorus. It takes the song in a different direction; if the verse is describing a story that takes place through time, the bridge can take a different perspective (for example, the lyrics can describe what somebody else was doing during that time).
- Bus
- An auxiliary track that is assigned audio from multiple other tracks in a DAW. This allows for group effect processing such as reverb and compression.
C
- Chorus
- An effect that adds two or more delays with different time values, producing a de-tuning effect.
- Clipping
- Another word for ‘distorting’ or ‘peaking’.
- Compression
- A dynamic range effect that reduces the volume of a signal when its amplitude exceeds a certain level, and increases the volume again when the amplitude drops below another set level. It’s often used to make the overall volume of audio signals more consistent.
D
- DAW
- An acronym for digital audio workstation and is the term used to describe the software in which music is created, recorded, and edited in a modern studio environment. Popular DAWs include Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and FL Studio.
- DSD
- The single-bit format used for Super Audio CDs. It comes in 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz and 11.2MHz varieties but, as it’s high quality and uncompressed, is (mostly) impractical for streaming.
- De-esser
- A type of audio processing tool that takes sound from the frequency bands where hissing or sibilance is likely to occur and raises or lowers the volume at certain times to create a less irritable listening experience.
- Decay
- A fading sound.
- Decibel
- A standard measurement for loudness. All dB measurements are relative to a reference point.
- Delay
- The audio effect that creates a series of echoes occurring at intervals.
- Demo
- Recording a song or piece of music as a first example of the project, in preparation for a proper full recording.
- Distortion
- A process whereby audio is enhanced, giving it a bolder sound. It might help to make your recordings sound fuller and more aggressive.
- Dolby Atmos
- A surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects.
- Dynamic Range
- The difference in decibels between the highest and lowest points in a source’s amplitude. A high dynamic range means that there is a large difference between the two, while low dynamic range means that there is not much of a difference.
E
- EQ
- The process of adjusting the levels of certain frequencies in a sound without changing the rest of it.
- Early Reflections
- A continuation of a reverb tail, early reflections are the first sound heard when there is natural or algorithmic reverberation.
- Effect
- Modifies an audio signal. Effects are often used to enhance or distort sounds.
F
- FLAC
- This lossless compression format supports hi-res sample rates, takes up about half the space of WAV, and stores metadata. It’s royalty-free and is considered the preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums. The downside is that it’s not supported by Apple (so not compatible with Apple Music).
- FX
- Short for ‘effects’. Common effects include reverb, chorus, distortion, and flange – processes or devices applied to a signal to alter its sound.
- Feedback
- A delay or distortion effect that relies on the signal it is producing being fed back into its own input, resulting in a sort of reverberation. The more feedback a delay has, the longer the effect will last.
- Filter
- It only lets a certain group of frequencies through. Different kinds of filters include low-pass filters, high-pass filters, band-pass filters and band-reject filters.
- Flanger
- A time-based effect in which a copy of the original sound is created with a few milliseconds of difference, resulting in slightly different harmonic content or de-tuning effects.
G
- Gain
- The initial amplification level of a sound source. With higher gain, all of the harmonic content in the sound source is augmented. Simply put, it is how loud a sound is before it is put through an amplifier.
- Gating
- A means of cutting out unwanted signals that fall below a specific threshold.
- Grain
- A short snippet of audio, often looped in quick succession to achieve oscillation.
H
- Headroom
- The difference between the highest level a sound can reach and zero decibels on a master channel; having adequate headroom makes it possible for a mastering engineer to boost the volume without causing distortion.
- Hook
- A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to “catch the ear of the listener“.
I
- IR
- Short for Impulse Response, it is an audio file that can be loaded into a convolution reverb to apply a room or space’s natural reverb to any sound. It is useful to reproduce the specific acoustics of a room or environment without having to actually be in it.
J
- Jack
- A connector. Usually comes in 6mm, 3.5mm mini jack and 2.5mm sizes.
- Jitter
- The time distortion of recording/playback of a digital audio signal. Essentially, it is the deviation of time between the sample rate and analog rates.
K
- Key
- A system of functionally related chords deriving from the major and minor scales, with a central note, called the tonic (or keynote). The central chord is the tonic triad, which is built on the tonic note. Any of the 12 tones of the chromatic scale can serve as the tonic of a key.
- Knee
- Setting of a compressor that refers to its gradual activation when the predetermined volume threshold is reached. A hard-knee setting activates the compression immediately; a soft-knee setting ramps up the compression as the signal gets louder, creating a smoother effect.
- kHz
- The unit of measurement used to measure sampling rate, or how often a device samples an audio input signal.
L
- LFO
- A low-frequency oscillator (LFO) is an oscillator typically below the range of human hearing. It is used as a modulation source to change the character of a sound over time.
- Latency
- An audio delay between input from a sound source and its output in a performer’s headphones.
- Loop
- A repeated section of a song, often using an imported sample.
M
- MIDI
- Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a set of digital codes that represents musical notes and instructions. These instructions are recorded by electronic instruments, such as MIDI keyboards, and they can be played back using Digital Audio Workstations.
- MP3
- Popular, lossy compressed format ensures small file size but is far from the best sound quality. Convenient for storing music on phones and iPods.
- MQA
- A lossless compression format that packages hi-res files for more efficient streaming. Used for Tidal Masters hi-res streaming. Also used for the CD format too.
- Mastering
- The fine-tuning of levels and equalization of a track, preparing it for replication and broadcast. The final process your track goes through before it is released.
- Mixing
- This means combining multiple recorded tracks (singing different parts, playing instruments, etc.) and adjusting the audio levels of each to create a balanced track.
- Mono
- A sound that has one source, rather than two.
N
O
- OGG
- Sometimes called by its full name, Ogg Vorbis. A lossy, open-source alternative to MP3 and AAC, unrestricted by patents. The file format used (at 320kbps) in Spotify streaming.
P
- Panning
- The practice of positioning a sound in the stereo field to the left or right speaker.
- Parallel Compression
- A type of multi-band compression, parallel compression mixes the effected signal in parallel to the original sound.
- Phase
- The vibration of air caused by the position of the signal and generated sound at the same time.
- Phono
- A commonly-used term for RCA inputs/outputs and the cable format used to connect line-level devices like turntables, cassette decks, and mixers
- Pitch
- Position of a single sound in the complete range of sound. Sounds are higher or lower in pitch according to the frequency of vibration of the sound waves producing them.
- Plugin
- Software to extend your DAW with extra effects, processing or instrumentation.
- Polyphonic
- A capability of some instruments to play more than one note at once.
- Pre-Chorus
- Used to connect the verse and the chorus. It adds a little more to the running story, and leads the listener up to the chorus. (not all songs necessarily have this)
Q
- Quantize
- A feature that adjusts and analyzes MIDI or audio input so it is “on the grid” and in time.
R
- Reverb
- The reflection of sounds from surfaces.
- Room Tone
- The sound of reverb in a room. It also refers to how a room colorizes a sound.
S
- SFX
- Abbreviation for sound effects.
- Sample
- A short pre-recorded sound, taken from one recording and used in another. The smallest unit of measurement in digital sound.
- Sampling
- Audio sampling is the process of transforming a musical source into a digital file. Digital audio recording does this by taking samples of the audio source along the soundwaves at regular intervals.
- Sequencer
- A MIDI sequencer can be used to record and edit a performance without using an audio-based input source. It doesn’t record the actual audio but the data – what note was played at what time, etc.
- Sibilance
- The “s” sound. It occurs in words such as sit, stay, masks, etc.
- Sound Font
- A file format that contains samples of musical instruments, as well as support for numerous music parameters.
- Stereo
- Opposite of mono; a sound that has two sources, rather than one, for the purpose of creating the illusion of space or distance.
T
- Tempo
- Defined as the pace or speed at which a section of music is played. Tempos, or tempi, help the composer to convey a feeling of either intensity or relaxation. We can think of the tempo as the speedometer of the music. Typically, the speed of the music is measured in beats per minute, or BPM.
- Threshold
- A control that sets the level at which a compressor, noise gate, or other effects device will begin working.
- Time Signature
- Time signatures, or meter signatures, indicates how many beats are in each measure of a piece of music, as well as which note value is counted as a beat. Time signatures are located at the beginning of the staff (a set of five lines used to dictate each note’s pitch), after the clef and key signature.
- Tracking
- Recording songs, on computer, recorder or tape. In a DAW, tracks contain audio and MIDI layers. Each instrument gets its own track.
- Transient
- The very beginning section of a sound, which is also the loudest and most percussive part of the sound.
- Transport
- An area that contains the playback controls in DAW.
U
V
- VST
- VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology – plug-ins to bring extra instruments and effects into DAWs.
- Velocity
- A MIDI parameter that determines the loudness of each performed and recorded note.
- Velocity
- The force at which a note is played.
- Verse
- This is where the storytelling happens. The first verse gives listeners an idea of what the song is about, the second verse builds on that idea, and the final verse (if there is one) concludes the idea.
W
- WAV
- WAV, or Waveform Audio File Format, is the standard format for lossless audio files. Great sound quality but it’s uncompressed, meaning huge file sizes (especially for hi-res files). It has poor metadata support (that is, album artwork, artist and song title information).
- WMA
- A lossless incarnation of Windows Media Audio, but no longer well-supported by smartphones or tablets.
- Waveform
- A soundwaves shape, displayed on an oscilloscope.
- Wavetable
- A cycle of waveforms that can be scanned through, blended with one another, and modified.
- Wet / Dry
- A dry signal is a pure unprocessed sound, like a vocal recorded as is. A wet signal is a sound with effects on it.
X
- XLR
- An electrical connector that features three pins and is round. It is commonly used to connect microphones or speakers.
Y
Z
- Zone
- The keyboard mapping assigned to a sample or group of samples and controls pitch and velocity.
SOURCES : TechTarget : PCMag : WhatHiFi : MakeUseOf : NewIndianExpress : Wikipedia : DigitalAudioWiz : RouteNote : EDMProd