Music Technology Terms Flashcards
Balance
The volume of instruments or parts relative to each other.
Clipping
Exceeding the maximum volume specification of a given device. Digital clipping produces a particularly unpleasant sound, but clipping in an analogue device is sometimes acceptable.
Cutoff Frequency
The nominal value at which a filter has an audible effect on the frequency range of a sound. Normally applied to Low Pass Filters, where the cutoff frequency describes the highest audible frequency.
Chorus
A form of modulation combining a slightly delayed and detuned version of a sound with the original to produce a thickening effect.
Compression
A method of ‘squeezing’ the dynamic range of a signal by reducing the signal level above a user-defined threshold by a user-defined ratio. The resultant signal is normally boosted so that the whole signal is perceived to be louder than before compression.
Cross-rhythm
Different rhythmic patterns performed simultaneously.
Delay
A time-domain effect in which the original signal is repeated one or more times. There is normally a decrease in volume and high-frequency content with each repeat.
Dry/Wet
A dry signal is an original, unprocessed signal; a wet signal has been affected in some way.
EQ (Equalization)
Originally a method of compensating for deficiencies in the frequency response of recording and playback equipment, EQ is now used to cut or boost specific frequencies within a sound without affecting the rest.
Expander
The opposite of a compressor, raising any signal below a user-defined threshold by a user-defined ratio.
Flanger/Phaser
Forms of modulation, similar to chorus, but the original and delayed signals are combined differently to create distinct audible effects.
FX
Short for ‘effects’: Processes applied to a signal to alter its sound quality in some way, or the devices used to do so.
Gain
The stage of a pre-amplifier that boosts the level of a signal at the beginning of the signal path. Commonly refers to any volume boost in the signal path.
Gating
An extreme form of expansion in which signals below a user-defined threshold are cut.
General MIDI
An agreed standard to ensure compatibility between MIDI equipment manufacturers. Often used to refer to the agreed list of 128 voices in the GM soundset or the agreed standard for a set of drum/percussion sounds.
Harmony
The combination of chords used in a piece of music, focusing on the vertical aspects of music (chords and how they change).
Key
Describes both the tonality of the music and the tonic note (the most important note in the tonal hierarchy).
Limiter
A compressor with an extremely high ratio setting.
Lo-fi
Low fidelity sound. A recording that is deliberately noisy.
Loop
A repeated passage. Often refers to samples that are imported into a sequence and repeated.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
An 8-bit computer language developed to allow electronic musical instruments to communicate with each other and the hardware necessary for this communication.
Mixing
The process of combining sounds. A master mix is the final combination of all component signals after processing.
Mono (Monophonic)
A signal carried on one channel. In stereo systems, the same signal is heard on each channel.
Normalising
The process of boosting an audio signal so that the loudest point registers as 0 dB.
Overdub
The process of adding additional tracks to previously recorded material.
Pan
The placing of a sound in the stereo field.
Plugin
A computer program written to either produce or manipulate audio within an existing audio sequencing package.
Resonance
The accentuation of a specific frequency, often in the context of the cutoff frequency in filters.
Reverb (Reverberation)
The natural reflection of sounds from surfaces, giving the impression of space. Reverb units emulate natural reverb through mechanical or electronic means.
Sample/Sampler
A sample is a short pre-recorded sound used in music. A sampler is a device used to capture, edit, manipulate, store, and playback samples.
Sequence/Sequencer
A sequence is a piece of music input via a MIDI-capable device into a computer package for editing. A sequencer is the computer package used for this purpose, often combining MIDI data and audio.
Skeleton Score
A musical score stripped down to several essential parts.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The level of the wanted signal compared to unwanted noise. A good signal-to-noise ratio minimizes noise and maximizes the wanted signal.
Sound Module
A standalone box that connects to a keyboard or computer via MIDI, USB, or other cables, requiring external audio output to hear the sounds.
Stereo (Stereophonic)
A signal carried on two channels, left and right, to represent a sound image as it might be heard by two ears.
Syncopation
Placing strong beats where weak beats are expected and vice versa. Can occur on or off the beat, such as in reggae music.
Synthesizer
An instrument capable of producing sounds by combining different waveforms or pre-recorded, sampled voices. Synthesizers often have a piano-style keyboard or need to connect to an external keyboard.
Tempo
The speed of the music, indicated at the start by a word (e.g., ‘fast’) or a metronome marking.
Texture
The sound quality of a piece, dependent on the number of parts, the tone quality of instruments/voices, and the spacing between parts.
Timbre
The precise tone quality of a particular instrument, part, or noise in music, including its attack, decay, and subjective tone quality.
Tonality
The use of major and minor keys in music and how these keys relate. Music can also be modal, atonal, or based on non-Western scales.
Velocity
A MIDI note’s second data byte (range 0-127), determining note loudness and potentially other timbre characteristics.
