Music Production Terminology

S1 Vocab Words-JA_FL Studio

ADSR

Stands for 'Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release' - these are the 4 different parts of a sound's envelope

Amplitude

The volume of a sound wave

Arpeggio

(aka arp) the notes of a chord are played separately in sequence instead of all at once

Arrangement

The structure & instrumentation of a song

Attack

(the first part of the ADSR envelope) How quickly a sound reaches its maximum amplitude

Automation

Changing selected parameters over time

Bass

The audio information at the lower end of the frequency spectrum (~30-500Hz)

BPM

Stands for 'Beats Per Minute', this measures the tempo (aka speed) of music

Build

(aka build-up) the section of a track generally with the most amount of tension that indicates a large change is going to happen (usually placed right before a drop)

Decay

(the second part of the ADSR envelope) the reduction in volume after a sound has reached its maximum amplitude

Detune

Alteration of the pitch of a sound source

Drop

The section of the track where the beat and bass is the strongest (generally speaking)

Dynamic Range

The difference between the loudest sound and quietest sound in a track

Envelope

(contains a sound's ADSR measurements) the depiction of how a sound's amplitude changes over time

Frequency

The number of cycles per second of an audio wave, typically measured in Hz (humans can hear ~20Hz - 20kHz), aka pitch

Fundamental

The primary pitch of a sound, where the frequency is loudest

Gain

Controls the amount of level of an audio signal going into a device or plugin

Harmonic

A frequency that relates to the fundamental frequency. To figure out the harmonics, take the fundamental pitch and multiply by 2x. Then multiply that number by 2x and so on.

Hook

The most memorable part of a track. In EDM this is typically the drop, although in EDM songs w/ vocals except at the drop sometimes the most repeated section of the vocals is referred to as the hook.

Intro

The first section of the song, usually a 4-bar or 8-bar phrase, and is often relatively stripped back compared to the rest of the track.

Lead

An instrument or vocal that plays an important role in the track, most likely the main melody instrument (or vocal)

Level

The volume of a sound in a specific listening environment (expressed in dB)

LFO

(Low Frequency Oscillator) an oscillator / waveform at a frequency inaudible to the human ear (usually below 20Hz) that is used to modulate other audio signals. It tends to create a rhythmic pulse within the sounds and effects that it is modulating.

Loop

A repeating selection or section of a track

Loudness

The perceived intensity of sound to a listener (this is often confused w/ level & volume BUT it is different)

Master Channel

The audio channel that all other elements of a mixer go into (though some elements may pass through a group on the way to the master channel)

Mastering

The final part of the production process where effects are applied to the master channel to adjust the mix as a whole (this often involves the process of maximizing the volume for distribution)

Melody

A sequence of single notes (sometimes the top line of a chord progression would be considered a melody but a chord progression itself cannot be considered a melody as it needs to be single notes)

MIDI

(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Data that is used by a computer to trigger sound or control parameters (you can have clips of MIDI to trigger sound or you can use a separate device - like a MIDI keyboard or other device - to also control parameters more easily)

Mixing

The process of ensuring that all elements in a track are blended together to create a well-balanced mix or overall sound

Mono

A sound w/ only one signal (the opposite of stereo essentially)

Octave

The interval between two notes that are exactly 12 semitones apart (the notes will have 2x or 1/2 the frequency of the other note)

Oscillator

The part of a synth that generates a waveform

Outro

The final section of a track (it is often a portion of the track that is used to bring down the energy but some EDM tracks skip this making the final drop the outro)

Overtone

Any tone that is heard above the fundamental frequency of a note (including but NOT limited to the harmonics)

Pad

A sustained sound generally with a long attack sound

Phase

The distance into / the part of a cycle of a waveform (think of a sine wave that goes up and down, 1x up + 1x down portion = 1x cycle for the waveform - the phase is how far along you are)

Pitch

The note of a sound (how high or low it sounds on the frequency spectrum)

Plugin

An application that is often added to (or comes with) your DAW that enables extra features to be used (like processing or a fancy synth) - they are often focused on doing one specific thing

Polyphony

The playing of multiple notes simultaneously

Quantize

Timing adjustment of audio or MIDI

Release

How long it takes for a sound to end or reduce fully to 0dB

Riser

A sustained sound (usually going up in pitch) that is used to build tension - esp. during builds - to be released in the next section of the track (usually)

Sample

A recorded sound to be played as an audio clip (can be actually recorded or can be a rendered version of a MIDI clip)

Sampler

An instrument that manipulates and plays back variations of an initial sample

Saw Wave

(aka sawtooth wave) A waveform created by an oscillator marked by sharp increases and decreases within the waveform - the sharpness of the changes within the waveform creates a buzzing-like effect within the sound produced

Sine Wave

A waveform created by an oscillator with a smoothed curve - this produces a sound with NO HARMONICS (often used for subs)

Square Wave

A waveform created by an oscillator that changes between 2 fixed values very abruptly with equal times spent at each point (aka the in-between of a sine and a saw wave)

Stems

Exported individual or grouped tracks of a full track

Stereo

A way of recording / playing back sounds so that the sound comes from 2 directions (rather than one direction in Mono)

Sub-bass

(aka sub) Sounds below 100Hz going down to the lowest sounds that the human ear can hear - ~20Hz (usually felt more than heard within a track)

Sustain

The consistent volume of a sound over time (this occurs after the decay of a sound)

Tempo

(aka BPM - Beats Per Minute) The speed at which a track or sample is played

Timbre

The character of color of a sound (different timbres can contribute to differences in pitch and volume but are not the same thing as adjusting the pitch or volume)

Transient

A high amplitude (short in duration) sound at the beginning of a waveform

Tremelo

Rapid cyclical change in volume level - generally creates a wavering effect (is often confused w/ vibrato BUT it is different)

Unison

The playing of the same note with multiple sound sources

Velocity

The speed at which a MIDI signal is triggered (it is used to control a parameter of a sound and is most commonly used on volume control)

Volume

A way of describing the sound pressure level (SPL) of a particular sound

White Noise

A signal that has an even energy distribution across all frequencies (sounds like a hissssss)