Acoustic?
A sound that’s produced naturally with no additional amplification.
ADSR?
Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release - the controls on an envelope generator that used to shape a sound.
Ambience?
The amount of reverb that sound contains either naturally from a room or artificially added by an effect.
Amplifier?
A piece of equipment used to boost a signal.
Analogue?
When a signal or equipment uses a continuously variable physical quantity.
Attack (dynamics)?
The length of time it takes once the threshold is crossed for the process to apply its process.
Attack (synthesis)?
The length of time it take between a note being started and the point at which it reaches its peak.
Audio interface?
A device that connects a computer to audio peripherals such as microphones, speakers and musical instruments.
Automation?
Programming adjustable parameters enters to operate automatically during playback and mixing.
Auto-tune?
The trade name for famous piece of software that automatically changed the pitch to the nearest absolute pitch.
Aux/Bus?
An additional output channel for routing to effects, monitors or as an alternative output.
Bandwidth (1)?
A range of frequencies.
Bandwidth (2)?
The amount of data that can be transferred at one time.
Balanced?
A connection that has two signals in inversion to one another to reduce noise when put back into phase.
Bit depth?
The number of bits used in each sample in analogue to digital conversion.
Cardioid?
The pattern by which some microphones capture sound.
Capsule?
The element of a microphone that responds to the sound vibrations.
Channels?
The individual tracks of music.
Clipping?
Overloading a signal so that the top of the waveform becomes squared and causes distortion.
Coincident pair?
A pattern for using two directional microphones simultaneously to capture the stereo image of a sound with the capsules 90° apart placed as close together as possible.
Compression (dynamics)?
A process for controlling the dynamic range of a sound, reducing the volume of peaks above a threshold by a predetermined ratio.
Compression (data)?
The process of encoding a digital audio file to take up less space.
Condenser microphone?
A microphone that captures sound by measuring the changes in capacitance as the diaphragm moves.
Convolution reverb?
A reverb that adds ambience by applying sampling the reverb tail of a room and calculating the response of sounds within those spaces.
Crossfade?
A crossfade creates a smooth transition between audio files by fading one out whilst the other fades in.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstations)?
A piece of software for recording, editing and mixing audio and MIDI files.
Decay?
The amount of time that it takes from the peak to drop down to the “Sustain” level.
Decibels (dB)?
The unit used to measure sound pressure level.
DeEsser?
The process of removing overly emphasised sibilant sounds.
Delay?
The process of delaying a sound electronically.
Diaphragm?
A small flexible piece of material in a microphone that responds to physical vibrations, converting them into electrical signals.
Direct injection (DI)?
A unit that converts high-impedance unbalanced signals into low.
Distortion?
The unwanted sound created when an audio signal overloads and clips.
Dynamic microphone?
A microphone that has a moving coil attached to the diaphragm within a magnetic field that generates a small electric signal.
Dynamic processing?
The control of dynamics either manually or with automated devices.
Equalisation (EQ)?
The balancing of the amplitude of different frequencies within a sound to alter the treble, mid and bass.
Figure of 8?
A polar pattern found on ribbon microphones and some condenser microphones.
Flanger?
A modulation based effect created by altering the phase relationship between two signals by modulating a short delay.
Frequency?
The pitch of a sound or the number of times a wave repeats in a second, measured in Hertz - Hz or KiloHertz - KHz.
FM (synthesis)?
A type of synthesis where one waveform is used to modulate another.
Gate?
A process for controlling the dynamics of a sound, reducing volume of a signal once it drops below a threshold.
High pass filter (HPF)?
A type of filter that removes only bass frequencies below a set point.
Hyper-cardioid?
The pattern by which some microphones capture sound.
Jack leads?
A common connector used for audio.
Knee control?
The control on a compressor that allows the compression to begin gradually before the threshold or more harshly as the amplitude crosses the threshold depending on whether it’s set to soft/hard knee.
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO)?
A signal that oscillates below audible frequencies.
Line level?
An audio signal that has a higher level than microphone or instrument level, requiring less amplification at the preamp stage.
Low pass filter (LPF)?
A type of filter that removes only treble frequencies above a set point.
Mastering?
The final stage of production before music is released.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)?
A universal language used by music technology equipment used to send instrument and controller information.
Mid-side pair?
A stereo microphone pattern that uses a cardioid and a figure of 8 microphone simultaneously to capture the stereo image of a sound.
Mixing desk?
A device for changing the relative levels, affecting the EQ and changing the dynamics.
Modulation?
Meaning “to change”.
Monitoring?
The equipment used to listen to audio during recording or mixing.
Mono?
A single sound source.
Multiband compressor?
A number of channels of compression that affect different bands of the frequency spectrum.
Multisampling?
Several samples of a single sound source, usually at different pitches and velocities.
Multitracking?
Recording multiple audio tracks separately and blending them after rather than mixing the channels prior to recording.
Nodes (1)?
When data points cross.
Nodes (2)?
The zero crossing of a wave, the point with the minimum displacement.
Normalising?
The boosting of audio by the same amount so that the relative volumes remain the same.
Off-axis?
A microphone not positioned directly in front of a sound source commonly at an angle of less than 90°.
Omnidirectional microphone?
The pattern by which some microphones capture sound.
On-axis?
A microphone positioned directly in front of a sound source.
One-shot sample?
A sample that plays without the end being truncated no matter how long the key is pressed for.
Oscillators?
A device found in a synthesiser that generates waveforms used for sound generation and modulation.
Overdubbing?
The process of recording additional parts into a recording.
Peak meter?
A device for measuring the loudest moments of audio at a specific moment.
Phantom power?
48V provided by a mixing desk or an audio interface to provide power for condenser microphones and DI boxes.
Phase cancellation?
When two audio signals are out of phase with each other resulting in a reduction in the level of the combined signal.
Phase difference?
When two waves aren’t in sync with one another.
Phase inversion?
A control to invert a waveform to counteract the effects of phase cancellation.
Phaser?
Effect that modulates an audio signal in-and-out of phase to create an aurally pleasing effect of certain frequencies being amplified and reduced.
Pitch-mapping?
Samples that have been mapped across the MIDI keyboard by changing the pitch and length of a sample so that it can be played as a musical instrument.
Pitch bend?
A control on synthesisers to bend the pitch of a note up and down by a predetermined amount.
Pitch-centre key (1)?
The root note of a sample.
Pitch-centre key (2)?
The key-note in a piece of music (tonic).
Plosive?
A sound results from letters like “P”, “D” or “B”.
Polar (pickup) pattern?
The direction which a microphone can capture sound.
Pop shield?
A device for reducing plosive sounds when recording with a microphone.
Preamp?
An amplifier for boosting signal to a level suitable for processing and further amplification.
Proximity effect?
The change in Bass response captured by a directional microphone.
Quantise?
The rounding of data.
Ratio?
One value in relation to another.
Reflection filter?
A device placed behind a microphone to reduce the amount of room noise.
Release (synthesis)?
The length of time that the note continues after it has stopped being played.
Release (dynamics)?
The amount of time it takes once the signal falls below the threshold for the processor to stop functioning.
Reverb?
The ambience found within a sound.
Ribbon microphone?
A microphone that has a ribbon that moves within a magnetic field and generates a small electrical signal.
Sample rate?
The frequency with which a sample of analogue information is taken for conversion into a digital signal.
Sampling (1)?
The conversion of analogue information into digital data.
Sampling (2)?
Using pre-recorded audio as the stimulus for new musical ideas.
Sequencing?
Programming note and velocity information to control an electronic instrument.
Side-chain?
An input that allows the processing to be triggered by an external source.
Signal chain?
The order in which processing occurs.
Signal-to-noise ratio?
The difference between the audio that is being captured and the noise captured simultaneously.
Sound pressure level (SPL)?
A measurement of the sound level against a reference level.
Spaced pair?
A pattern for using two microphones simultaneously to capture the stereo image of a sound with microphones separated from one another.
Stereo field?
Placing audio in a mix so they are perceived by the listener as either being central, left or right.
Stuttering?
When audio is triggered repeatedly and quickly.
Subtractive synthesis?
A form of synthesis that uses filters and envelope generators to remove elements of a signal and shape the sound.
Sustain?
Most commonly the volume at which the note is held until the key is released.
Syncopation?
Rhythms that cross the beats of the bar.
Synthesis?
Electronically creating musical sounds using oscillators and filters.
Threshold?
The volume at which dynamic processors begin to operate.
Transducer?
A device that converts between different types of energy.
Transients?
The peaks in a waveform of an audio recording.
Transistors?
An electrical semiconductor that’s used for switching or amplification.
Unbalanced?
A cable that only has the signal cable and the connection to ground.
Velocity?
How hard a note has been struck.
Velocity layering?
The process of triggering a different sample for different note velocities to represent the timbal change when a key is played harder on a piano.
Wah-wah?
An effect created by the modulation of a band pass filter to adjust the amount of treble/bass within a sound.
XLR?
A connector commonly found on microphones and other balanced signals.
