Music Production Terms
We will use many of these terms over and over again. Learning how to communicate efficiently will help us solve problems.
Automation:
having a DAW automatically perform tasks over time, particularly moving knobs, faders, and switches for you. The most popular use of automation in mixing is to adjust the volume of a track.
Audio Interface:
a piece of hardware that expands and improves the sonic capabilities of a computer by giving you the ability to connect professional microphones, instruments and other kinds of signals to a computer (and output a variety of signals as well)
Audio Track:
type of track that can be created in a DAW to record from a microphone, instrument cable, or any other audio signal source
Bounce:
combining multiple recorded tracks onto a single track
BPM (beats per minute):
unit used as measure of tempo in music, the number of times the metronome will click in one minute
Crossfade:
making one sound gradually heard (fade-in) as another disappears or becomes silent (fade-out)
Digital Audio File:
a file that stores the data of an audio track. reproduces exact sounds in high quality, big file size.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW):
a computer program that is exclusively designed for the recording, editing and playing of digital audio files
Fade-in/Fade-out:
a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal
Latency:
the delay between a user's action and a web application's response to that action, often referred to in networking terms as the total round trip time it takes for a data packet to travel.
Loop:
a repeated section of sound material
Metronome:
a device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick
Mute:
silence the track, seen often in a DAW as “M”
Multitracks:
the recorded separate, individual elements of an audio production (separated tracks)
Multitrack Recording:
method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole
Music Producer:
has a very broad role in overseeing and managing the recording and production of a band or performer's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, selecting songs or session musicians, proposing changes to the song arrangements, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and supervising the entire process through audio mixing (recorded music) and, in some cases, to the audio mastering stage
Music Technology:
the use of any device, mechanism, machine, or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to compose, notate, play back or record songs or pieces; or to analyze or edit music
Overdub:
record (additional sounds) on an existing recording.
Playhead:
a graphic line in the timeline that represents the position, or frame, of the material that is currently being accessed. In BandLab, this looks like a tiny white upside-down triangle that we can drag along the tracks.
Punch:
a technique you can use to overwrite a portion of a previously recorded track, during playback, without touching any of the recording before or after that portion. You punch in to interrupt playback and make the recording, then punch out to return to playback mode.
Sample:
a portion of a sound recording that is used as an instrument or sound recording in a different song or piece
Solo:
mute all tracks except selected track, often seen in a DAW as “S”
Split:
cutting a single region into two separate regions
Stems:
stereo recordings sourced from mixes of multiple individual tracks (ie: a drum stem can contain all the drum tracks mixed together)
Tempo:
the speed at which a passage of music is or should be played. measured in BPM (beats per minute)
Trim:
removing unimportant passages (generally silence) from the start and end of your audio files. Also used to remove portions of audio files that are not used by regions
WAV file:
Waveform Audio File Format, which is usually compressed sound files often used for CDs. This file is higher quality than mp3 files.
having a DAW automatically perform tasks over time, particularly moving knobs, faders, and switches for you. The most popular use of automation in mixing is to adjust the volume of a track.
Audio Interface:
a piece of hardware that expands and improves the sonic capabilities of a computer by giving you the ability to connect professional microphones, instruments and other kinds of signals to a computer (and output a variety of signals as well)
Audio Track:
type of track that can be created in a DAW to record from a microphone, instrument cable, or any other audio signal source
Bounce:
combining multiple recorded tracks onto a single track
BPM (beats per minute):
unit used as measure of tempo in music, the number of times the metronome will click in one minute
Crossfade:
making one sound gradually heard (fade-in) as another disappears or becomes silent (fade-out)
Digital Audio File:
a file that stores the data of an audio track. reproduces exact sounds in high quality, big file size.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW):
a computer program that is exclusively designed for the recording, editing and playing of digital audio files
Fade-in/Fade-out:
a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal
Latency:
the delay between a user's action and a web application's response to that action, often referred to in networking terms as the total round trip time it takes for a data packet to travel.
Loop:
a repeated section of sound material
Metronome:
a device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick
Mute:
silence the track, seen often in a DAW as “M”
Multitracks:
the recorded separate, individual elements of an audio production (separated tracks)
Multitrack Recording:
method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole
Music Producer:
has a very broad role in overseeing and managing the recording and production of a band or performer's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, selecting songs or session musicians, proposing changes to the song arrangements, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and supervising the entire process through audio mixing (recorded music) and, in some cases, to the audio mastering stage
Music Technology:
the use of any device, mechanism, machine, or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to compose, notate, play back or record songs or pieces; or to analyze or edit music
Overdub:
record (additional sounds) on an existing recording.
Playhead:
a graphic line in the timeline that represents the position, or frame, of the material that is currently being accessed. In BandLab, this looks like a tiny white upside-down triangle that we can drag along the tracks.
Punch:
a technique you can use to overwrite a portion of a previously recorded track, during playback, without touching any of the recording before or after that portion. You punch in to interrupt playback and make the recording, then punch out to return to playback mode.
Sample:
a portion of a sound recording that is used as an instrument or sound recording in a different song or piece
Solo:
mute all tracks except selected track, often seen in a DAW as “S”
Split:
cutting a single region into two separate regions
Stems:
stereo recordings sourced from mixes of multiple individual tracks (ie: a drum stem can contain all the drum tracks mixed together)
Tempo:
the speed at which a passage of music is or should be played. measured in BPM (beats per minute)
Trim:
removing unimportant passages (generally silence) from the start and end of your audio files. Also used to remove portions of audio files that are not used by regions
WAV file:
Waveform Audio File Format, which is usually compressed sound files often used for CDs. This file is higher quality than mp3 files.