The objective of this glossary is to identify different terms related to the music production and comprehend them.
A capella
Adverb or adjective
without instrumental accompaniment
Example: The choir sang the chants a cappella
en: A capela
AC (Alternating Current)
Adjective
An analogue electrical current used to power hardware. The default power you’ll find from a standard electrical outlet. ‘Alternating’ refers to the sine wave shape of the current.
Example: We need to turn on the alternating current, there’s not enough energy.
en: Corriente Alterna
Acoustic Instrument
Adjective
An instrument that produces sound in the physical world without digital or analogue technology. Can refer to a guitar, piano, drums etc.
Example: The guitar is considered one of the most commun acustic instruments
en: Instrumento acústico
Acoustics
Noun
The sonic properties of any space that alter the qualities of a sound being played. Can refer to natural reverb, phase cancellation and/or background noise etc.
Example: Symphony Hall has perfect acoustics
en: Acústica
audio
Adjective
of or relating to acoustic, mechanical, or electrical frequencies corresponding to normally audible sound waves which are of frequencies approximately from 15 to 20,000 hertz
Example: They listened to an audio recording of the speech.
en: Audio
Bass
Adjective
The lower frequencies in a sound – typically from 20Hz to 400Hz. Usually ‘dropped’ at some point in a track, if you know what I mean.
Example: I could really felt the bass of that song
en: Bajo
Beat
Verb
The consistent timing and rhythm of the music. Also can refer to a track, especially in hip-hop.
Example: The beat of that song is so contagious.
en: Beat
Bootleg
Adjective
When you remix a song without permission – normally done without a full set of stems and only with the audio from the original track or just an acapella.
Example: That song is a bootleg of the original song called “she’s my girlfriend”.
en: Pirata
BPM- Beats per minutes
Adjective
Beats Per Minute. Refers to the tempo, measured in the number of beats per minute. For example, a lot of house music is 128bpm.
Example: That song it’s on 120 BPM’s
en: Beats por minuto
Cable
Noun
Connects devices together by transmitting audio or some form of digital/analogue data.
Example: We need a 2 inches cable for that speaker
en: Cable
Chord Progression
adjective
A series of chords over time serves as the harmonic foundation of a track or song.
Example: that beatle´s song has a chord progression in D minor
en: progresión de cuerdas
Chorus (Audio Effect)
Noun
A time-based effect that adds multiple delays
Example: If you add chorus to that sound it might feels different
en: Coro
Clip
Noun
A section of audio or MIDI on a channel in a DAW.
Example: Can you play that clip for me?
en: Clip
Compression
Noun
A dynamic range effect that reduces the level of a signal when it exceeds a certain volume. Used to even out the volume of dynamic sounds.
Example: To cut that frecuencys we neee some compression in that sound.
en: Compresión
Controller
Noun
A MIDI hardware device that controls the parameters of a piece of software or another device (e.g. a MIDI Keyboard.)
Example: You can create that sound with a different controller
en: Controlador
Crash
Adjective
A percussion element from a traditional drum kit – a metallic noise sound with a long tail, good for signalling the beginning of a new section.
Example: That drum has a nice crash
en: Crash
Decibel (dB)
Noun
The standard measurement for loudness. Note that dB is a ratio measurement, always requiring a reference point from which to measure.
Example: If you have higher decibels you have a louder sound
en: Decibeles
Delay
Noun
A time-based audio effect that creates a series of echoes occurring at intervals one after the other, gradually decaying to nothing.
Example: That sound has a delay effect.
en: Efecto delay
DJ
Adjective
Stands for Disc Jockey – someone who plays recorded music in a live scenario by mixing tracks together. Most producers
Example: That DJ has nice mixes
en: DJ
Drum(s)
Noun
A percussive instrument and sound that usually drives the rhythm of a track.
Example: I love the drums of that song.
en: Batería
Echo
Noun
A time-based effect introduced by delay, however, echo usually refers to an analogue delay as opposed to a digital-sounding one.
Example: The bigger and closed places have more echo
en: Eco
Fade
Adjective
The process of adjusting the volume over time, usually to bring a sound in from silence, or from max volume to silence.
Example: If we level up the fade it might sounds louder.
en: Fundido
Frequency
Noun
A tone measured in hertz that is reproduced by a speaker or audio source.
Example: We need to cut some frequencies from that sound so that we can hear it more clearly
en: Frecuencia
Gain
Adjective
An increase or decrease in the amplitude of a signal, similar to volume change but boosts/cuts all aspects of a signal, regardless of content (so it will turn up/down noise too if it is present in a sound).
Example: Electric guitar has more gain than a normal one
en: Intensidad
Groove
Adjective
A timing offset from a quantized sound that adds a human feel to a track.
Example: That groove really makes me dance!
en: Movimiento
Guitar
Noun
A popular instrument featuring 6 (or more) strings that can be played and recorded.
Example: I love to play the guitar
en: Guitarra
Harmony
Adjective
When two or more notes are played together, mostly in a pleasing manner. Chords usually form harmony throughout a track.
Example: That song has a nice harmony
en: Armonía
Hertz (Hz)
Adjective
A measurement of a frequency in cycles per second. For example, 50Hz is 50 cycles per second of a sine wave.
Example: 432 HZ it’s the frequency they used to play back to Mozart’s period
en: Hercios
Input
Adverb
A broad term used to describe any audio signal that is fed into a channel or effect.
Example: We need another input for that controller
en: Entrada
Instrument
Adjective
Any physical or virtual device that produces sound.