| Term |
Definition |
| 3:1 Rule |
A microphone placement rule that recommends that when mixing multiple microphones to the same channel, the distance between microphones should be at least three times the distance from each microphone to the source of the sound. This prevents audible phase interference from changing the sound. |
|
| A Cappella |
Unaccompanied vocal music |
|
| A Tempo |
Return to the preceding tempo |
|
| A-B |
A listening comparison between two distinct audio sources, whose levels have been matched. The comparison is done by rapidly switching from one to another. You can use this technique to reference your mix against that of a commercial CD. |
|
| A-Weighted |
A type of measurement made through a filter with a specific frequency response. An A-weighted measurement is taken through a filter that simulates the frequency response of the human ear. |
|
| Accelerando |
Gradually getting faster |
|
| Accent |
Emphasis placed on a note |
|
| Accent Microphone |
Also referred to as 'spot microphone', a closely-placed mic that is ultimately mixed with a distantly-placed mic to improve the tonal balance, as a special effect, or to add presence. |
|
| Access Jacks |
Two separate jacks or one tip-ring-sleeve jack on a mixing board that allow the signal to be routed from the input channel, to an effects device or signal processor, and back into the input channel. Inserting a plug into the access jacks breaks the signal flow, and allows the inclusion of a compressor, exciter or other device. |
|
| Acid Rock |
Rock music with a repetitive beat and lyrics that suggest psychedelic experiences. |
|
| Action |
The height of the strings above the fret board. |
|
| Ad/Da Converters |
AD converters convert analog audio signals to digital; DA converters convert digital audio back to analog. |
|
| Adagio |
A slow tempo, but not as slow as largo |
|
| ADSR |
An acronym for attack, decay, sustain, and release, the four stages of a standard envelope generator. |
|
| AES |
An acronym for the Audio Engineering Society. |
|
| AES/EBU |
Professional digital audio standard developed jointly by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the European Broadcast Union (EBU). The standard describes a format for transmitting stereo digital audio through a stereo cable (such as fiber optic, coaxial, or balanced XLR). |
|
| Aftertouch |
A MIDI message that reports the amount of pressure applied to the keys after they have been pressed. |
|
| Airy |
A mix where the instruments sound as though they are surrounded by a large reflective space full of air, with good high-frequency reflections. Also refers to tracks where true stereo imaging has been captured, as opposed to panned mono tracks. |
|
| Algorithm |
A method or script for creating an outcome. For synthesizers, an algorithm generally refers to the parameter values that create a specific sound. |
|
| Alignment |
The fine-tuning of tape-head azimuth and tape-recorder circuitry to achieve optimum performance from the type of tape being used. |
|
| Alignment Tape |
A pre-recorded tape containing various tones for alignment of a tape recorder. |
|
| Allegretto |
A little slower than allegro |
|
| Allegro |
Lively, fast |
|
| Alternating Bass |
A style of playing where the right hand alternates between two or more strings. |
|
| Alternative |
Guitar-based rock with desultory male vocalists or chirpy female vocalists. It grew in response to the last gasp of dinosaur bands from the 1970s and from the commercial success of bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Also known as modern rock. |
|
| Alto |
A low female voice |
|
| Ambiance |
The acoustics, reverberation and early-reflections in a room. Also the audible sense of a room surrounding a recorded instrument. |
|
| Ambiance Microphone |
A mic placed at a distance from the sound source in order to pickup room ambience. |
|
| Amplifier |
A device that increases the amplitude of the voltage, power, or current of a source signal, making an audio signal louder. |
|
| Analog |
An audio signal is an electrical representation of, i.e., is analogous to, a sound waveform. The signal's voltage fluctuates in the same pattern as the speaker cone that reproduces it. Analog synths use oscillators, filters, amplifiers and other electrical components to create electrical signals analogous to the audio wave forms they are trying to represent. |
|
| Analog-To-Digital Converter |
Also known as 'A/D converter', an electrical circuit or chip that converts an analog audio signal into a digital bit stream. |
|
| Andante |
walking tempo |
|
| Aria |
a song for a solo singer and orchestra |
|
| Arpeggiate |
To play the notes of a chord one after another instead of at the same time. |
|
| Arpeggio |
A chord played one note at a time. |
|
| Arrangement |
an adaptation of a musical composition from one medium to another |
|
| Arranger |
one who reworks preexisting musical compositions |
|
| Articulation |
clarity and distinct rendition in musical performance |
|
| Ascap |
An acronym for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. ASCAP is one of several performing rights organizations which protect artists' and publishers' performing rights. ASCAP collects, handles and distributes royalties for member composers and publishers whose music has been played or performed publicly. |
|
| Ascii |
An acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard code for representing text (characters, numbers, special characters, etc.) inside a computer. ASCII is also one of the codes used in the transfer of data or files between computers. |
|
| Assign |
Also known as 'channel assign', to send or route an audio signal to one or more selected mixer channels. |
|
| Atonal |
The absence of all tonality in music; the term originally came about to describe the music of Schoenberg. |
|
| Attack |
The beginning of a note. The first portion of a note's envelope in which a note rises from relative silence to its maximum volume. |
|
| Attack Time |
When using a compressor, the time it takes for gain reduction to occur in response to a musical attack. |
|
| Attenuate |
To reduce the level of a signal. |
|
| Attenuator |
In a mixing console, an adjustable resistive network that reduces the microphone signal level to prevent overloading of the input transformer and mic preamplifier. |
|
| Authenticity |
performing music as nearly as possible the way it was performed at the time it was created |
|
| Auto Punch |
The process of automating punch in and punch out on a digital recorder, sequencer or tape recorder. Typically, the exact times (down to the hundredth of a second) of punch in and out may be entered, allowing precise overdubbing. |
|
| Automated Mixing |
Using a computer or computer-enhanced mixer to remember mixer settings, mute switchings and fader movements, so that a mix can be duplicated, edited or refined in multiple stages. |
|
| Auxiliary Bus |
Also known as 'Effects bus' or 'Aux bus', the bus that feeds signal processors, monitor mixes, or effects devices. |
|
| Auxiliary Send |
Also known as 'Effects send' or 'Aux send', the control on a mixer that determines the level of channel signal sent to a signal processor, such as a reverb or chorus unit. |
|
| Azimuth |
In a tape deck, the angular relationship between the head gap and the tape path. |
|
| Azimuth Alignment |
The adjustment of the playback or record head to achieve proper alignment (90 degrees) with the tape path. |
|
| Back-Timing |
A recording technique of cueing up a musical background to a voice track so that the music ends simultaneously with the voice-over. |
|
| Backbeat |
accents on beats 2 and 4 |
|
| Balance |
The relative volume levels of various instruments or tracks. |
|
| Balanced Line |
A cable (such as a three-pin XLR mic cable) with two conductors surrounded by a shield in which each conductor is at equal impedance to the ground. With respect to ground, the conductors are at equal potential but opposite polarity. The balanced line reduces noise because as the two conductors pick up noise, the opposing polarity ensures the noise is canceled when the inverted signal on one conductor is 'added' to the original signal on the second conductor after the signal reaches the destination. |
|
| Ballsy |
A track or mix with emphasized low frequencies, at about 200-250 kHz. Also, an acoustic or electric guitar with a good low-midrange frequency response. |
|
| Bandpass Filter |
a large instrumental ensemble consisting of wind and percussion instruments |
|
| Bandpass Filter |
In a crossover network, a filter that passes a band or range of frequencies but sharply attenuates or rejects frequencies outside the band. |
|
| Bar |
A sub division of time in music. |
|
| Bar Line |
A vertical line which shows the end of a bar of music. |
|
| Barbershop Harmony |
harmony which is created by four male voices; bass, baritone, lead (has the melody), and tenor (who sings higher in pitch than the melody) |
|
| Baritone |
the male voice between bass and tenor |
|
| Baroque |
a period of music between 1600 and 1750 |
|
| Basic Tracks |
Recorded tracks of rhythm instruments (bass, rhythm guitar, drums, keyboards). |
|
| Bass |
a low male voice |
|
| Bass Trap |
An assembly whose function is to absorb low-frequency sound waves. |
|
| Bass-Strum Style |
A right hand technique which involves picking a bass note then strumming the rest of the chord. |
|
| Bassy |
A track or mix with emphasized low frequencies, at about 200-250 kHz. |
|
| Baud Rate |
The symbol frequency being used to transmit data over a communications line or a MIDI cable. Baud rate is often used interchangeably with bps (bits per second), although incorrectly. For example, both CCITT V.22bis (2400 bps) and CCITT V.22 (1200 bps) transmit data at 600 baud, but V.22bis modems use 4 bits per symbol while V.22 modems use 2 bits per symbol. |
|
| BBS |
An acronym for Bulletin Board Systems. An electronic form of a bulletin board, containing graphics, sounds and text files that may be downloaded from the BBS to a personal computer. A BBS can be established on computers of all sizes, and can be accessed by PCs all over the world. |
|
| Beam |
A horizontal line which shows two eighth or sixteenth notes belonging to the beat shown on the bottom of the time signature. |
|
| Beat |
A sub division of time usually felt as the pulse within a piece of music. |
|
| Bi-Amplification |
Also known as 'Bi-amping', driving a woofer and tweeter with different power amplifiers. A crossover is typically connected ahead of these power amplifiers. |
|
| Bi-Directional Communications |
The ability of a keyboard, sound module or drum machine to send and receive MIDI messages simultaneously from a computer or other device. |
|
| Bi-Directional Microphone |
Also called a 'cosine microphone' or 'figure-eight microphone' due to the shape of its polar pattern, a microphone whose pickup pattern is sensitive to sound arriving at the front and behind the microphone. It rejects sounds approaching either side of the mic. |
|
| Bias |
In tape-recorder electronics, an ultrasonic signal that drives the erase head, and also is mixed with the audio signal applied to the record head to reduce distortion. |
|
| Binary Form |
two part form; AB |
|
| Binaural Recording |
A two-channel recording made with an omnidirectional microphone in each ear of a human or a simulated head for playback over headphones. The object is to represent sound as closely as possible at all frequencies. |
|
| Bit |
Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of information in a binary number system. A bit may take on one of two values; either a 0 (off) or 1 (on). |
|
| Bits Per Second |
Also known as 'bps', it indicates the maximum number of bits of data transferred per second, through a phone line, communication line, or MIDI cable. |
|
| Blanketed |
A track or mix with weak highs; muffled as though a blanket was covering the loud speakers. |
|
| Bloated |
A sound with emphasized or excessive mid-bass around 250 kHz. |
|
| Bloom |
A sound or track with excellent reproduction of dynamics and reverberation, and a good low-frequency response. Also referred to as 'Spacious'. |
|
| Bluegrass |
An early form of country music that combines the gospel-tinged vocals of the Blue Ridge Mountain region with folk melodies. Instrumentation generally includes guitars, banjos, mandolins and fiddles. |
|
| Blues |
A style of music that evolved from southern African-American secular songs and is usually characterized by slow tempo and flatted thirds and sevenths. Blues influenced the development of rock, rhythm and blues and country music. |
|
| Blumlein Array |
A stereo miking technique where two coincident bi-directional mics are angled 90 degrees apart (45 degrees to the left and right of center). |
|
| Blurred |
An unfocused sound with vague or poor stereo imaging. A sound or track with poor transient response. |
|
| Bmi |
An acronym for Broadcast Music International. BMI is one of several performing rights organizations which protect artists' and publishers' performing rights. BMI collects, handles and distributes royalties for member and publishers whose music has been played or performed publicly. |
|
| Board |
Also known as 'mixing console', a large unit having additional functions such as tone control, equalization, pan pots, channel assigns, monitoring sends, and control of signals sent to external signal processors. |
|
| Body |
The main part of a guitar (not the neck). |
|
| Boogie-Woogie |
A style of jazz piano characterized by a repeated rhythmic and melodic pattern in the bass and a series of improvised variations in the treble. |
|
| Book |
the story and the dialogue of a musical |
|
| Boomy |
A sound or mix with excessive bass response around 125 Hz. |
|
| Bop |
A style of jazz characterized by rhythmic and harmonic complexity, improvised solo performances and a virtuoso execution. |
|
| Bottom |
Another term for low frequencies, usually below 125 Hz. |
|
| Bouncing Tracks |
When two or more separate tracks are mixed onto an empty track. The submixed tracks can then be erased, freeing them up for new music. |
|
| Boundary Microphone |
A mic designed to be used on a hard, reflective surface. The mic is mounted as close to the surface as possible so that direct and reflected sounds arrive at the microphone diaphragm in phase at all frequencies. |
|
| Boundary Microphone |
A mic designed to be used on a hard, reflective surface. The mic is mounted as close to the surface as possible so that direct and reflected sounds arrive at the microphone diaphragm in phase at all frequencies. |
|
| Boxy |
A mix having resonances as if the music were played from the inside of a box, perhaps due to a boost at 250 to 50o Hz. |
|
| Brass |
wind instruments who derive their sound from lip vibrations transmitted through cup shaped mouthpieces |
|
| Breathing |
Also known as 'pumping', the undesired audible rise and fall of background noise that may occur with a compressor. |
|
| Breathy |
Flute, clarinet, or sax recordings with audible breath sounds. Also, sounds with a good response the upper midrange and high frequencies. |
|
| Bridge |
A connective part of a musical composition; the "b" section of AABA song form; a support to raise the strings of a stringed instruments |
|
| Bright |
A tonal balance with emphasized high frequencies or upper harmonics. Sounds having harmonics which are strong relative to fundamentals. |
|
| Brittle |
A sound or mix with high-frequency peaks or weak fundamentals; lacking roundness and fullness. |
|
| Broadway Musical |
a stage presentation which combines the four fine arts of visual art, music, drama, and dance |
|
| Buffer |
A storage or 'holding' area for data in the computer's memory until it can be processed. |
|
| Bulk Tape Eraser |
A large electromagnet used to erase a whole reel of recording tape or an entire cassette at once. |
|
| Bus |
Can mean the output of a mixer or submixer, or a channel that feeds a tape track, digital recorder, signal processor, or power amp. |
|
| Bus Master |
Located in the output section of a mixing console, a fader or knob that controls the output level of a bus. |
|
| Bus Trim |
Located in the output section of a mixing console, a control that provides variable gain of a bus, used in conjunction with the bus master for fine adjustment. |
|
| Buzz |
An unwanted edgy tone than can be present in an audio signal, containing harmonics of 60Hz. |
|
| Byte |
A group of eight adjacent bits recognized as a single unit. A byte can represent characters, numbers, punctuation or any special codes. Bytes are to computers what words are to humans. |
|
| Cadence |
a breathing break; termination of a musical phrase |
|
| Cadenza |
a solo section in an improvisatory style |
|
| Cakewalk |
an exuberant dance with syncopated rhythms that may represent an early form of jazz |
|
| Calibration |
Commonly referred to as 'alignment', the adjustment of tape-recorder electronics and head alignment to achieve the best performance for the type of tape being used. |
|
| Call And Response |
question and answer pattern in which a soloist leads and group responds |
|
| Calypso |
A type of music that originated in the West Indies and is characterized by humorous, improvised lyrics often on topical subjects. |
|
| Canon |
a musical form that uses exact imitation |
|
| Cans |
A slang word for headphones. |
|
| Capstan |
In a tape-recorder transport, a rotating post that contacts the tape (along with the pinch roller) and pulls the tape past the heads at a constant speed during recording and playback. |
|
| Cd Rom |
An acronym for Compact Disc Read Only Memory. A compact disc full of data such as programs, graphics, sounds, movies, etc., that can be read by a computer, but cannot be written to or changed. |
|
| Channel |
A single path of an audio channel. Usually, each channel contains a different signal or one half of a stereo pair. |
|
| Charleston |
a kind of fox trot with a characteristic syncopated rhythm, probably named for the city in South Carolina |
|
| Chart |
a jazz score |
|
| Chase Lock |
A synchronization system for audio equipment.. |
|
| Chesty |
A track in which the vocalist sounds as if his chest was very large, due to an emphasis in the low-frequency response around 125 to 300 Hz. |
|
| Chops |
Ability to play an instrument. To have great chops is to be technically or stylistically profient on a musical instrument. |
|
| Chorale |
a hymn tune |
|
| Chord |
simultaneous combination of at least three different pitches |
|
| Chord |
A group of three or more notes played simultaneously. |
|
| Chord Chart |
A diagram which shows a chord progression. |
|
| Chord Progression |
A sequence of chords played one after another. |
|
| Chorus |
A special effect in which a single sound source is made to sound like several, through the use of time delay and detuning. Delaying the input by a slowly varying time between 15 and35 milliseconds and mixing the dry input signal back in, a wavy, multiple-voice effect is achieved. It's also possible to feed a portion of the signal back into the input. |
|
| Classical Music |
art music of any culture; distinguished from folk, jazz or popular music |
|
| Classical Music |
European music of the Classical Period; 1750 - 1825 |
|
| Clean |
Free of noise, distortion, overhang, leakage. Not muddy sounding. |
|
| Clear |
Easy to hear or differentiate; not distorted. Reproduced with sufficient high freqencies. |
|
| Clef |
the symbol indicating pitch designations for the lines and spaces of the staff |
|
| Click |
A component of a bass drum sound, the attack of the beater on the head of the drum. |
|
| Click Track |
Audio 'clicks' recorded on one track of a multitrack recorder, to indicate the tempo of the music on the tape. Clicks can be translated by certain devices into MIDI sync to control a sequencer, or can simply be used to keep musicians in time when overdubbing. |
|
| Clinical |
A track or mix which is too clean, lacking both warmth and an edge. |
|
| Close Miking |
A recording or sound reinforcement technique whereby the mikes are placed close to vocalists and to instruments or amplifier speakers. Close miking yields a great deal of presence and detail for the nearby sound source, while avoiding leakage from more distant sound sources. Most of today's popular music recordings use close miking techniques. |
|
| Coda |
tail; a concluding section of a musical composition |
|
| Coincident Pair |
Two separate mikes placed so that the microphone diaphragms occupy approximately the same point in space. The are mounted one directly above the other, and angled apart. |
|
| Coloration |
Non-uniform frequency response resulting in distortion of the tonal quality of the source. |
|
| Colored |
A sound that is not true to life, perhaps due to an unnatural use of external processors. A mix that has a not-flat response with peaks and dips. |
|
| Comb-Filter Effect |
The frequency response caused by combining a sound with its delayed duplicate. The frequency response displays a series of peaks and dips caused by phase interference. The peaks and dips look like the teeth of a comb, with very narrow, deep notches where signals are attenuated. |
|
| Combining Amplifier |
An amplifier in which the outputs of two or more signal paths are mixed together, to feed a single track of tape or hard-disk recorder. |
|
| Complete Cadence |
a cadence which ends on the tonic |
|
| Complex Wave |
A sound wave with more than one frequency component. |
|
| Composer |
a person who creates musical works |
|
| Composition |
a musical work or the craft of making a musical work |
|
| Compressed |
A sound, recorded track, or mix where the dynamics are restricted or narrowed. |
|
| Compression |
The intentional reduction in dynamic range to increase sustain and/or add punchiness, caused by a the use of a compressor/limiter. |
|
| Compression Ratio |
Also known as 'slope', in a compressor/limiter, the ratio of change in input level (in dB) to the change in output level (in dB). For example, a 4:1 ratio means that for every 4dB change in input level, the output level changes 1dB. |
|
| Compressor |
A signal processor that reduces dynamic range by using automatic volume control. Also, an amplifier whose gain decreases as the input signal level increases above a pre-set point. |
|
| Concerto |
a multimovement composition (usually three movements) for solo instrument or instruments and orchestra |
|
| Condenser Microphone |
Also known as 'Cardioid microphone, a mike that works on the principle of variable capacitance to generate an electrical signal. |
|
| Conductor |
the director or leader of a musical group |
|
| Configure |
To prepare a program, modem, keyboard, or other electronic device to operate with specific characteristics. |
|
| Conjunct |
stepwise movement in the melody |
|
| Connector |
Also known as a 'plug', the physical interface on cabling or equipment used to connect or hold together a cable and an electronic component that permits a sound signal or data to flow into an external destination, such as a mixing board or a computer. |
|
| Console |
Also known as 'mixing console' or 'board', a large unit having additional functions such as tone control, equalization, pan pots, channel assigns, monitoring sends, and control of signals sent to external signal processors. |
|
| Consonance |
absence of tension or discord in music |
|
| Constricted |
A sound or track with poor reproduction of dynamics; overly compressed or pinched, with distortion at high levels. |
|
| Contact Pickup |
A transducer that contacts a guitar or other musical instrument and converts its vibrations into an electrical signal. |
|
| Contemporary |
music or art that is current |
|
| Continuous Controller |
A type of MIDI message intended to control dynamics (volume, modulation, etc.) or continually changing aspects of a performance. Continuous controllers allow enhanced musical expression for keyboardists and previously sequenced tracks, and also can be used to modulate effects device parameters such as reverb time or chorus depth, |
|
| Contour |
the shape of a melody or its rise and fall |
|
| Contralto |
low female voice; same as alto |
|
| Contrapuntal |
the combining of melodic lines |
|
| Control Room |
The room in which the producer and engineer monitor and control the recording. |
|
| Control Voltage |
An electrical signal used to adjust the values of settings in analog circuits. If you send a specific electrical voltage to a module of a synthesizer (such as an ASDR envelope, you can specify what you want the module to do (perhaps lengthen the decay time). |
|
| Count In |
A count at the start of a piece of music to show when to start and how fast to play (usually the top number on the time signature). |
|
| Counterpoint |
the technique of combining melodic lines to create a polyphonic texture |
|
| Crack |
A snare drum sound in which the sharp attack of the stick on the head of the snare has been boosted for emphasis at around 5 to 10 kHz. |
|
| Creative License |
the liberty artists take when interpreting another artist's work |
|
| Crescendo |
gradually get louder |
|
| Crisp |
A sound or track with an extended high-frequency response. A cymbal sound with sizzle and presence. |
|
| Crossover |
An electronic network that divides an incoming signal into two or more frequency bands. Crossovers can be active (with amplifying components) or passive (non-amplifying). |
|
| Crossover Frequency |
The single frequency at which both filters of a crossover network are down 3dB. |
|
| CSA |
An acronym for the Canadian Standards Organization, that regulates and controls Canadian data communications standards. |
|
| Cue |
Also known as 'Cue send', in mixer input module, a control that adjusts the amount of signal feeding the cue mixer which, in turn, feeds a signal to headphones in the studio. Also, a section of music or sound effects used in film or video production. The points in the film where the cues are played to sync with elements of the picture are called hits or cue points. |
|
| Cue Mixer |
A submixer in a mixer input module that takes signals from cue sends as inputs and mixes them into a composite signal that can be used to drive headphones in the studio. |
|
| Cue Sheet |
Typically used during the mixdown stage, a chronological list of mixer control adjustments and fader movements needed at various points in the recorded tracks. The list may have tape-counter or elapsed-time readings to indicate exactly when the adjustments should be made. |
|
| Cue System |
A monitor system that allows musicians to hear themselves and previously recorded tracks through headphones. |
|
| Culture |
the customs, ideas, tastes, and beliefs acquired from a person's background; the sum total of one's lifestyle |
|
| Cutoff Frequency |
The designated frequency of a filter after which the sound is not allowed to pass. In a high-pass filter, a high cutoff frequency will be excessively trebly and bright, as no low frequencies will be present. In a low-pass filter, a low cutoff frequency may be too muted and dark, as no high frequencies or overtones will be present. |
|
| Daisy Chain |
A term used when a group of modules (such as music modules or SCSI hard drives) are interconnected as follows: Module A's output is connected to module B's input; module B's output is connected to module C's input; module C's output is connected to module D's input, etc. |
|
| Dark |
A sound or track with weak high frequencies; opposite of bright. |
|
| DAT |
An acronym for Digital Audio Tape, a proprietary tape format used in DAT recorders. Similar to VHS VCR machines, DAT recorders use a helical scanning process to encode the digital audio. The digital audio is represented by streams of ones and zeros that are encoded onto the digital tape. |
|
| Data |
Information that is processed or stored by a computer. |
|
| DAW |
An acronym for Digital Audio Workstation, a stand-alone system of hardware and software which will allow the recording, playback, editing, and storage of digital audio. |
|
| dB |
Abbreviation for decibel, a unit of measurement of audio level. dB is a logarithmic expression of a ratio comparing two sounds, such as how much louder one sound is than another, or how much quieter the level is at the output of a compressor than at the input. |
|
| De-Esser |
A signal processor that removes musically excessive sibilant sounds ("sh" and "s" sounds) by compressing the high frequencies around 5-10kHz. |
|
| Dead |
Having very little or no reverberation; dry. |
|
| Decay |
The segment of the envelope of a note in which the envelope goes from maximum to some mid-range level. Also, the decline in level of reverberation over time. |
|
| Decay Time |
Also known as 'Reverberation time' or 'RT', the time it takes for reverberation to decay to 60dB below the original sustained level. |
|
| Decibel |
The unit of measurement of audio level. Ten times the logarithm of the ratio of two power levels. Twenty times the logarithm of the ratio of two voltages. Standard abbreviations using decibels include: dBV (decibels relative to 1 volt), dBu (decibels relative to 0.775 volt), dBm (decibels relative to 1 milliwatt) and dBA (decibels, A weighted). |
|
| Decoded Tape |
A tape that is expanded after having been compressed/coded by a noise reduction system, such as Dolby. The tape will have normal dynamic range. |
|
| Decrescendo |
gradually get softer |
|
| Delay |
The time interval between a signal and its repetition. Processors that can delay a signal for anywhere from 10 milliseconds to 10 seconds are called digital delays or delay lines. |
|
| Delicate |
A sound with high frequencies up to 15 to 20 kHz, without peaks. Delicate sounds are also described as airy, sweet and open. |
|
| Demagnetizer |
Also known as a 'Degausser', an electromagnet with a probe tip that can eliminate residual magnetism by touching it to elements of the tape path (such as tape heads and tape guides). |
|
| Depth |
The audible sense of nearness and farness of recorded instruments or elements of a mix. We perceive close instruments to be those with a high ratio of direct-to-reverberant sound, and distant instruments to be those with a low ratio of direct-to-reverberant sound. |
|
| Design Center |
The portion of fader travel (usually marked), about 10-15dB from the top, where console gain is distributed for optimum headroom and signal-to-noise ratio. As a starting point in gain staging, each fader being used should be placed at, or close to, design center. |
|
| Designation Strip |
A strip of paper taped near console faders to indicate the instrument that each that each fader controls. |
|
| Desk |
An alternate (England, Ireland) word for mixing console or board. |
|
| Detailed |
A mix or track in which it is easy to hear tiny details in the music; also described as 'articulate'. Characterized by sharp transient response and good high-frequency response. |
|
| Development |
the section of sonata form in which thematic reworkings and modifications occur |
|
| Diatonic |
the tones of a major or minor scale |
|
| Diffusion |
An even distribution of sound in a room. |
|
| Digital |
A circuit, processor, or other device using a binary numeric (1 or 0) system to represent and process information. A digital tape recorder converts the incoming analog audio signal into a stream of ones and zeros that are stored onto the tape. Upon playback, the series of numbers are converted back to a analog signal. |
|
| Digital Audio |
Audio signals converted into binary digits (ones and zeros) onto digital tape, CD-R or a hard drive, readable by a computer. |
|
| Digital Recording |
A recording system in which the audio signal is stored in the form of binary digits. |
|
| Digital-To-Analog Converter |
A circuit or chip that converts a digital audio signal into an analog audio signal. |
|
| Dim |
To temporarily reduce the monitor volume by a preset amount. |
|
| Diminuendo |
gradually get softer |
|
| Direct Box |
A device used for connecting an amplified instrument directly to a mixer mike input. The function of the direct box is to convert a high-impedance unbalanced audio signal to a low-impedance balanced audio signal. |
|
| Direct Injection |
Also known as 'DI', the process of recording with a direct box. |
|
| Direct Output |
Also known as 'Direct out', an output connector used to feed the signal of an instrument to one track of a tape recorder. |
|
| Direct Sound |
Sound traveling directly from the sound source to the microphone (or to the listener) without early or late reflections. |
|
| Directional Microphone |
A microphone that has sensitivty in specific directions. Examples include unidirectional or bidirectional microphones. |
|
| Directivity Factor |
For a loudspeaker, a measurement of how much the speaker focuses sound in a given direction. Directivity is measured by taking the ratio of the average sound level in a circle around the speaker to the maximum sound level in front of the speaker (at a given distance and frequency). |
|
| Disjunct |
melody formed by leaps rather than by steps |
|
| Dissonance |
discord in music, suggesting tension |
|
| Distant |
A quiet or reverberant sound; opposite of forward. |
|
| Distant Miking |
Also known as ambient miking, a microphone placement technique where one or more mikes are located at a distance of at least several feet from the speakers or performers. Distant miking allows a greater area to be covered using fewer microphones than close miking. Distant miking will not generally provide the presence and detail possible with close mike placement. |
|
| Distortion |
An intentional desired, or unintentional unwanted, change in the audio waveform, causing a raspy or edgy sound quality. |
|
| Dolby Tone |
A reference tone recorded at the start of a Dolby-encoded tape, mainly for alignment purposes. |
|
| Doo-Wop |
A style of music popularized in the 1950s with words and nonsense syllables sung in harmony by small groups. |
|
| Double Bar Line |
Two vertical lines which show the end of a section or piece of music. |
|
| Doubling |
An effect in which an audio signal is combined with its 15-35 millisecond delayed replica. It can sound as if there are two identical voices or instruments playing in almost-perfect unison. |
|
| Down Stroke |
Right hand movement from top to bottom. |
|
| Downbeat |
the accented first beat in a measure |
|
| Drone |
a long sustained note; usually in the lower part |
|
| Drop Frame |
In video production, a mode of SMPTE timecode which causes the timecode to match a regular clock. Once every minute, except for the tenth minute, frame numbers 00 and 01 are dropped. |
|
| Drop In/Out |
Alos known as 'punch in/out', a feature of a tape or hard-disk recorder that permits insertion of a corrected musical part into a previously recorded track by going into and out of record mode at designated time. |
|
| Dropout |
During playback of an analog tape recording, a momentary loss of high frequencies caused by loss of contact of the tape from the playback head due to dust, tape-oxide deterioration, etc. |
|
| Drum Machine |
A device (stand-alone or within a synthesizer) capable of producing drum-like sounds or digital recordings of real drum sounds. |
|
| Dry |
A sound or track having little or no audible reverberation or other effects. Lacking spaciousness. Also, a close-sounding signal that has not been processed by a reverb or delay effect. A sound with an overdamped transient response. |
|
| Dsp Board |
An acronym for Digital Signal Processing Board, which may encompass both audio and video processing, that manipulates signals internally within a custom chip in the digital domain. |
|
| Dubbing |
putting all the elements of sound; dialogue, sound effects, and music onto one soundtrack |
|
| Duet |
composition for two performers |
|
| Dull |
A sound or track with weak high frequencies; opposite of bright. |
|
| Duple |
beats grouped into sets of two (strong-weak) |
|
| Dynamic Microphone |
A type of mike generating electricity when sound waves cause a conductor to vibrate in a stationary magnetic field. Ribbon mikes and moving-coil mikes are two examples of dynamic microphones. |
|
| Dynamic Range |
The difference (usually measured in dB) between the loudest and the softest sounds in a song or track. |
|
| Dynamics |
the loudness or softness of a musical passage |
|
| Earth Ground |
A connection to the physical ground or 'earth'. This connection can be made either to a cold water pipe or a special copper rod driven into the soil. |
|
| Echo |
A delayed repetition of a sound or signal, usually at least 50 milliseconds after the original sound. |
|
