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MUSICAL TERMS
• MIX: The creative process of organising and sweetening the elements together to form a cohesive piece of audio.
Also a noun for the finished product.
• MASTERING: The final audio polishing process after mixing (kind of like an audio equivalent of ‘grading’).
Involves sweetening, balancing and preparing for broadcast, but is also a vital step in defining a track’s identity as
well as consistency. Volume is typically maximised at this stage.
• STEREO: Standard two-channel system - one for the left and one for the right loudspeaker used to create the
impression of sound heard from varying degrees of the left or right.
• MONO: All sounds are mixed into one channel output which both speakers play back equally. Used largely for
most recordings prior to the mid-1960s. (Opposite of stereo)
• SURROUND SOUND: Multi-channel (commonly 5:1 or 7:1 configurations) system used to create the impression
of sound heard from 360° all around the listener.
• SOUND DESIGN: The process of creating a sonic palette for a film as well as more specific sound effects to help
convey narrative, meaning and exploit expressive possibilities. Sometimes it’s used as a looser umbrella term for
AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION to cover a wider remit, including FOLEY and even a more general management of
the sound post-production process, even as far as DIALOGUE EDITING and ADR (Automated Dialogue
Replacement).
• TRACKLAY: The process of piecing the various audio elements (sound effects, music, voiceover, dialogue etc)
together in audio post production to create a final mix.
• AUTOMATION: the process of writing changes to a part or mix (including changes in volume, panning or effects).
Traditionally called ‘riding the faders’.
• BOUNCING: The process of mixing two or more recorded tracks together and rendering these into a new file
(called a ‘bounce’).
• HEADROOM: The amount of space in your audio level below the 0dB point. Running lots of audio near to this
results in a fatiguing ‘squashed’ sound.
• OVERDUB: To add another part to a multitrack recording or to replace one of the existing parts Recording over an
already recorded section of audio.
• ANALOGUE / ANALOG: Descriptive term relating to or the use of physical equipment, such as recording to tape
machine as opposed to digital (read computer) recreation.
• SIGNAL CHAIN: The route through which sound travels from it’s source e.g instrument to it’s end point e.g
headphones
• COMPRESSION: A reduction in the dynamic of a piece of audio. Compression puts a cap on louder peaks
levelling out the variance, so the audio is more consistent in terms of volume overall. Compressors can also add
character, warmth and punch depending on which units are used.
• SIDE-CHAINING: Where one part is influenced or changed by what another part in the arrangement is doing. e.g
a bass is muted or attenuated whenever the kick drum is hit.
• PAN: A Control enabling the user to move the signal to any point in the stereo image by varying the relative
levels fed to the left and right speaker.
• MASKING: When two or more instruments occupy the same ‘space’ at the same time you often won’t be able to
hear them both, as one sound covers up or ‘masks’ the other.
• MIDI: Stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A standard way for transmitting data between electronic
devices. e.g MIDI keyboards send data to computers.
• REVERB: The ‘room’ sound. Refers to the way after an initial sound is heard, the sound wave reflects off various
surfaces in an acoustic space (e.g a room, a hall, a cathedral etc) before reaching the listener's ear. These
reflections essentially create a series of very fast echoes that merge together so that the listener interprets reverb
as a single effect. Today we can recreate this effect with electronic reverb units and plug-ins that allow us to create
the impression that a performer is actually doing so in that space.
• DELAY (or ECHO): Repeating a sound after the initial audio to create an echo-ing effect.
• EQ: The process of increasing or reducing volume from various frequencies. Also a noun for a device actually used
to perform this task.
• FILTER: A specific type of Equalizer that affects only certain frequencies. Example, a high-pass filter (HPF) allows
the high frequencies to pass untouched while lowering the low frequencies.
• PITCH SHIFT: a technique used to transpose or to make sounds sound higher or lower.
• TIME-STRETCH: A technique used to make a piece of audio shorter or longer.
• FREQUENCY: Best thought of as ‘pitch’ in relation to music. Frequency: The number of cycles per second in an
audio wave. Frequency is measured in Herz (HZ) or kHz. Also referred to as pitch, the human ear can hear
between 20Hz and 20kHz.
• SUB BASS: Frequencies below the range of typical monitor loudspeakers. Some define sub-bass as frequencies
that can be felt rather than heard. Sub Bass: Felt rather than heard. Sub bass frequencies lie below 100Hz.
• AIR: Refers to very high frequencies (above 12 kHz), that when boosted give the track a feeling of spaciousness,
brightness or sheen.
• ATTACK: How quickly a sound begins. Its impact, if you like.
• SUSTAIN: How long a sound lasts.
• BODY: The frequency range of an instrument where it produces its richest tone.
• SIBILANCE: Pronounced ’s’ sounds.
• DEPTH: Sounds that seems almost three dimensional, not flat.
• AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format): Uncompressed i.e Full resolution digital audio format, developed by Apple.
• WAV (Waveform Audio Format): The Microsoft equivalent of the AIFF. Neither is better than the other.
• MP3 (Motion Picture Experts Group Audio Layer III): Compressed low-resolution audio file format, good for
online transfer due to it’s small file size.
WIDELY UNDERSTOOD ‘DESCRIPTIVE’ TERMS