Music Glossary

A

• Audio & Music Production AAC Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production ADSR Envelope Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Aftertouch Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production AIFF Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Ambience Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Analog Synthesizer Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Arpeggiator Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Arrangement Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Articulation Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Attack Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Audio File Format Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Audio Interface Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Automation Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Aux Read the entry →

B

• Audio & Music Production Balanced / Unbalanced Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Band-Pass Filter / BPF Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production BGM Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Bit Depth Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Bit Rate Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Bounce Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production BPM Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Buffer Size Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Bus Read the entry →

C

• Audio & Music Production Channel Strip Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Clip Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Clipping Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Codec / Coder-Decoder Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Commercial Use Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Comping (Take Editing) Learn how to select the strongest sections from multiple recordings and assemble one final take. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Compressor Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Condenser Microphone Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Container Format Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Convolution Reverb Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Copyright Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Credit Attribution Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Crossfade Learn how a crossfade overlaps two sounds to create a smooth, click-free transition between them. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Cutoff Frequency Read the entry →

D

• Audio & Music Production Damping Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production DAW Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production dBFS Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Decay Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Delay Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production DI Box Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Direct Monitoring Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production DTM Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Dynamic Microphone Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Dynamic Range Read the entry →

E

• Audio & Music Production Early Reflections Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Encoding Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Environmental Sound Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production EQ Read the entry →

F

• Audio & Music Production Fader Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production FLAC Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Foley Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Free Material Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Freeze Learn how track freezing temporarily renders instruments and effects to reduce CPU load while preserving editability. Read the entry →

G

• Audio & Music Production Gain Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Gain Reduction Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Grid Learn how the beat and note divisions shown in a DAW grid guide snapping, MIDI editing, and audio placement. Read the entry →

H

• Audio & Music Production Headroom Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production High-Pass Filter / HPF Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Hit (Impact SFX) Read the entry →

I

• Audio & Music Production Impact Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Impulse Response Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Insert Read the entry →

J

• Audio & Music Production Jingle Learn how a short musical phrase can identify a program, advertisement, channel, or brand. Read the entry →

L

• Audio & Music Production Latency Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Level Meter Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production LFO Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production License Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Limiter Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Line Level / Instrument Level Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Loop Learn how loops repeat audio, performances, or playback ranges and how to create seamless repetition. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Loop BGM Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Lossless Compression Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Lossy Compression Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Low-Pass Filter / LPF Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production LUFS Read the entry →

M

• Audio & Music Production M4A Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Mastering Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Metronome Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Microphone Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Mid/Side Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production MIDI Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production MIDI CC Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production MIDI Keyboard Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Mix / Mixing Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Mixer Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Modulation Learn how modulation uses one signal to move volume, pitch, filter, and other sound parameters over time. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Monitoring Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Mono / Monophonic Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production MP3 Read the entry →

N

• Audio & Music Production Narration Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Noise Floor Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Normalization Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Notch Filter / Band-Reject Filter Read the entry →

O

• Audio & Music Production Ogg Opus / Opus Audio Codec Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production One-Shot Learn how one-shot samples play once per trigger and how to set their playback, start point, and tail. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Oscillator Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Overdub Read the entry →

P

• Audio & Music Production Pan / Panning Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production PCM Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Peak EQ / Bell EQ Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Phantom Power Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Phase Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Phone Plug Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Piano Roll Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Pitch Bend Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Playhead Learn how the playhead shows the current playback or recording position on a DAW timeline. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Plug-in Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Polarity Inversion / Phase Invert Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Polyphony Learn how polyphony defines simultaneous voices and how voice limits affect synthesizers and samplers. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Pre-delay Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Pre-fader / Post-fader Learn how pre-fader and post-fader routing determine whether a channel fader affects a send or output. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Punch In / Punch Out Learn how punch-in and punch-out recording replaces only a specified section of a performance. Read the entry →

Q

• Audio & Music Production Q / Bandwidth Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Quantize Read the entry →

R

• Audio & Music Production Ratio Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Region Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Release Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Rendering Learn how rendering calculates instruments, effects, edits, and automation into playable audio. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Resonance Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Reverb / Reverberation Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Riser Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production RMS Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Royalty-Free Read the entry →

S

• Audio & Music Production Sample Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Sampler Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Sample Rate Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Send Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Shelving EQ Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Shielded Instrument Cable Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Sidechain Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Signal-to-Noise Ratio Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Slope / Filter Slope Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Software Instrument Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Sound Effect Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Sound Logo Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Spot Sound Effect Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Stem Learn what audio stems are, how they differ from multitracks, and how to prepare them for delivery. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Step Input Learn how step input enters MIDI notes one at a time without requiring a real-time performance. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Stereo Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Stinger Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Synthesizer Read the entry →

T

• Audio & Music Production Threshold Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Timbre Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Track Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Transient Learn what a transient is, how it shapes the attack of a sound, and how to handle it in editing and sound design. Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production True Peak Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production TS / TRS Read the entry →

U

• Audio & Music Production Unison Learn how synthesizer unison stacks slightly varied voices to create width, weight, and movement. Read the entry →

V

• Audio & Music Production Velocity Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Voice-over Read the entry →

W

• Audio & Music Production WAV Read the entry →
• Audio & Music Production Whoosh Read the entry →

X

• Audio & Music Production XLR Connector Read the entry →