Music & Electronics

Question 1

Acoustic music

Answer 1

Music that is performed entirely on electronic instruments (as opposed to music performed without electronics

Question 2

Electroacoustic music

Answer 2

A more specific term for music which uses both electronic and acoustic elements

Question 3

Synthesizer

Answer 3

An instrument which produces and modifies sounds by purely electronic means

Often in format of a piano

Question 4

Amplifier and common use

Answer 4

An electronic device for increasing the amplitude of electrical signals (i.e., increasing the volume); the signal is reproduced and projected from a loudspeaker

• Commonly used for electric guitar, electric bass, etc.

Question 5

Musique concrète

Answer 5

A style of music in which found sounds are recorded and manipulated in order to create the composition

Question 6

Acousmatic music

Answer 6

Modern and contemporary classical music which includes only electronic sounds and is ‘performed’ by loudspeakers

Question 7

MPC

Answer 7

the means of composition and performance using devices like MPCs (music production centres) for sampling, sequencing, and production of music

Question 8

Audio mixing

Answer 8

the process of digitizing, editing, and combining individual tracks in a typically multitrack recording
The mixing process involves many individual sub-processes, including balancing levels (volume), equalization (EQ), panning (placing tracks within the sound field), and adding effects

Question 9

Treble frequencies

Answer 9

higher frequencies

Question 10

Bass frequencies

Answer 10

lowerfrequencies

Question 11

Reverb

Answer 11

a type of signal processor that reproduces the spatial sound of an environment (like a closet or a cave)

Question 12

Delay

Answer 12

A type of signal processor that produces distinct repeats (echoes) of a signal

Question 13

DAW

Answer 13

Digital audio workstation; audio mixing software used to digitize and edit audio (e.g., Pro Tools, GarageBand)

Question 14

ADSR

Answer 14

The four parameters which are used to categorize sound envelopes are attack, decay, sustain, and release

• Attack: the time taken for the sound to rise from silence to peak; the characteristics of the beginning of a sound
• Decay: the time taken for the level to reduce from the attack level to the sustain level; a decline in intensity
• Sustain: the level maintained before the release
• Release: the time taken for the sound to fall to silence