Terminology

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Terminology

Postby Spark » 22 Mar 2012 04:54

This thread is about the terms and their meanings in the realm of music.

Ex. DAW - Digital Audio Workshop. It's where you make music in the computer.
Cadence - a set of notes/chords that gives a sense of ending or pausing.

Something like that.

This thread might be a good reference guide for newbies who don't know anything about music.
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Re: Terminology

Postby PrincessAddictia » 22 Mar 2012 08:52

Mixing: Volume levels, equalization, compression of individual intruments/elements of your track.
Mastering: Adjustments on the finished MP3/Wav of your track.
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Re: Terminology

Postby Freewave » 22 Mar 2012 10:56

I do a lot of remixing so that terminaology often comes up and is new to some.

Stems - The individual wav or mp3 tracks that make up your completed track (ie drums, vocal, bass, synth 1, pad 1). When compiled together they form the completed track.

Midi File - when requested along with stems it indicates a small file which attaches all the different instruments and their midi notes. Sometimes it may not plug in easily to the other person's DAW but it allows them to import and assign any synths to reproduce and remix the track project in question.

FLP - Fruit Loops Studio project. Similar to a midi but this is a saved project which can be opened up in a compatible version of Fruity Loops (FL9 has issues with FL10 FLP's fyi).
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Re: Terminology

Postby Navron » 22 Mar 2012 11:42

Automation: Describes a change over time. Typically shown as a line on a track, and assigned to 1 or more effects. Depending on line position, the effects are changed. An example would be volume. You can have a fade in automation by setting the volume at zero, and then drawing a diagonal line to the volume you want at a certain time.

Patch: Term used when describing a sound you made, unlike, "Preset," which describes a patch somebody else made. Ex. I have a collection of patches I made for Massive.

LFO (Low-Frequency Oscillator): An LFO shouldn't be looked at as an oscillator that has sound, because there is no sound produced by an LFO. Instead, an LFO is an oscillator that effects another signal. Ex. Attaching a sine LFO at 1/4 speed to a volume automation means that the LFO will automatically sweep the volume 4 beats per measure, in which you can set the low (trough) and high (crest) point of the volume. LFOs are most audibly used in Dubstep, in which an LFO is assigned to sweep a low pass filter over a bass signal, letting the sound go from a low frequency cutoff, to a sound where most of the frequencies are let through. The end result is the audibly heard, "Wub," effect.
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Re: Terminology

Postby the4thImpulse » 22 Mar 2012 12:30

The op should update the top post with what has been written,

Bussing - The path the audio takes going from the main source (ie: a synth or a sample) to the master channel. The audio will go through the various effects you've placed on this path and if you chose you can have multiple sources going through the same path (these are called send tracks).

Muddy Mix - When you have a muddy mix that means you have multiple sounds fighting for the same frequencies at the same time which makes the song sound unclear or muffled. This can be fixed with careful EQ adjustment.
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Re: Terminology

Postby Versilaryan » 22 Mar 2012 14:20

Transient - The attack of a sound, louder and more filled with higher frequencies than the main sound itself. This term is often used to make people sound more knowledgeable than they really are.
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Re: Terminology

Postby Spark » 22 Mar 2012 23:51

Random111223 wrote:Sample: An audio file
Preset: A set of settings in a synth/plugin/whatever, implying that the settings are made by someone else than you
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Re: Terminology

Postby Sugarholik » 23 Mar 2012 07:47

Here we go!

VST = Virtual Studio Technology. Most popular format for effects by Steinberg.

VSTi = VST instrument. Same format but these are instruments. duh!

ASIO = Audio Stream Input/Output. A driver for Windows which reduces delay in sound and improves quality

ReWire = A gadget that allows you to use two DAWs simultaneously using one as a mixer and other(s) as a synthesizer/ instrument.

Side chaining = You use one sound to change another. Usually side chain compression or 'ducking': when normal compressor has gain detector and gain reductor on the same track, a side chained compressor has gain detector on one and reductor on other track. This means that when there's sound on the other track the other track becomes quieter.

Envelope = In an instrument it often refers to amplitude envelope and usually consists of 'Attack', 'Decay', 'Sustain', and 'Release'. This determines the way the volume of sound changes over time.
-Attack time means how long it takes from the moment a note is received in to sound reaching maximum volume.
-Decay time tells how long it takes for the sound to fade out completely while the note is on.
-Sustain means how long the sound stays on max volume while the note is on.
-Release time tells how long it takes to fade out completely after the note is released.
Automation envelope then again means the curve NavyBrony talked about:
NavyBrony wrote:Automation: Describes a change over time. Typically shown as a line on a track, and assigned to 1 or more effects. Depending on line position, the effects are changed...


Harmonics = Frequencies that sound consists of. For example when you play the A4 note (440Hz) using a saw wave there are also other frequencies above the 440 Hz. Depending on what frequencies are there and how many of them will give the sound that certain nature.

FFT = Fast Fourier Transform. It's a mathematical operation which has some applications in music. For example FFT display tells you what frequencies are present at current time and can be very useful when equalizing.

Bit depth = This is more of computer science but basically it means how accurately is the sound's amplitude handled. With low bit depths a sine wave starts to sound like a square wave. Bit depth reduction or amplitude quantisation is quite common and funny effect.
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Re: Terminology

Postby Spark » 27 Mar 2012 05:37

Reverb = it's like an echo of the note. There's an example in its wiki page.
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Re: Terminology

Postby EnnervateIndustries » 18 Aug 2012 10:44

I may as well resurrect this thread, it's useful, plus it's linked in the Getting Started With Music Guide.


Delay- Sort of like reverb, but the "echo" comes much later and is more distinct

Flanger- The audio track is doubled and the two tracks are played very slightly slightly in and out of time with each other, makes a "shimmer" effect

Chorus- The track is duplicated a number of times and played slightly out of time, makes it sound like more instruments

Filtering- This lets through (or blocks) certain frequencies, such as low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and band-notch/band-gap. A filter that reduces or boosts frequencies instead of cutting them is called an equalizer, or EQ. Fun fact: The "Spectrum" audio visualizer in VLC shows the EQ of a sound (I think)

Overdrive- This takes the audio track and makes it distorted by various methods such as intentional clipping

Compression- This reduces the sound range of a track by reducing the volume of loud sounds (downward compression) or by boosting quieter sounds (upward compression) The opposite effect is called an expander
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Re: Terminology

Postby Freewave » 18 Aug 2012 12:00

Might as well link my http://rateyourmusic.com/list/TheScient ... ic_effects which goes over music effects (mostly from a guitar pedal pov but still applicable).
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Re: Terminology

Postby Sonarch » 29 Jul 2013 20:54

Where has this been all my life.

Sorry to necro this thing, but some of these terms were completely alien to me, so it's nice to find this guide to some of them.
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