NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Music
Performing with Technology:
Glossary
[ACCESS 3]
The Scottish Qualifications Authority regularly reviews
the arrangements for National Qualifications. Users of
all NQ support materials, whether published by
Learning and Teaching Scotland or others, are
reminded that it is their responsibility to check that the
support materials correspond to the requirements of the
current arrangements.
Acknowledgement
Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledges this contribution to the National
Qualifications support programme for Music.
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
This resource may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by educational
establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage.
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REVISED CONCEPTS GLOSSARY (ACCESS 3, MUSIC)
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Contents
Introductory note
4
Glossary
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INTRODUCTION
Introductory note
Headwords in this Access 3 glossary are shown in bold type.
The same headwords appear in the interactive glossary that
accompanies this printable version.
The explanation or definition of each headword is given in ordinary
type.
Within the explanation cross-references to other headwords are shown
in italic type.
Mandatory concepts have been underlined. Other concepts have been
included for information and support.
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GLOSSARY
Glossary
A
Acoustic – This word is often used to describe the ‘sound’ in a room or
space, or how a room affects the sound of an instrument or voice. The
acoustic of any space is determined primarily by its size and the types
of surfaces found within it. These two characteristics combine to affect
how a sound wave moves around within the space. A church, for
example, is generally a large space with hard surfaces on the walls,
ceilings and floors. In a church the sound wave will take a long time to
disperse as the hard surfaces absorb very little of the wave’s energy and
reflect it back into the room. If we compare this with your living room
at home, which is a much smaller space, the soft furnishings, such as
sofas, cushions, carpets, curtains, etc, will more easily absorb the
energy of the sound wave.
Acoustic Guitar – A six-string or twelve-string guitar that produces
sound acoustically without the aid of electronics, although some may
have pick-ups attached or built in. Acoustic guitars may have either
nylon or steel strings. In the case of classical or ‘Spanish’ guitars, the
strings are nylon and give a much softer sound than steel -strung guitars,
which tend to be used more for rock, pop, jazz and folk music. Acoustic
bass guitars have become increasingly popular in recent times. These,
by necessity, have rather large bodies and will usually have electronic
pick-ups built-in.
Acoustic Screen – A large panel of absorbent material that can be
positioned to provide separation between musicians recording (or,
sometimes, performing) with microphones within the same space. This
minimises leakage (or spillage) of sound produced by any one
instrument into microphone(s) set up for other instrument(s).
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GLOSSARY
Active – The term ‘active’ is used to describe that the instrument pickup is powered, in this case by a battery. The result is that there is much
greater electrical output (it will be louder) and will allow for much
greater control over the ‘tone’ produced. The pick-up(s) are situated
(usually) beneath the area where the musician would strum or pluck the
strings. (See also Tone.)
Amplifier – Electronic device designed to take a very small-level
electrical signal (such as may be produced from a microphone or
instrument pick-up) and increase it to an audible level.
Arrangement – The instruments used, the parts (sequence of notes)
they play and the structure of a song or piece of music. A skilful
arranger can take any piece of music and make it sound very different
by adjusting any or all of these elements.
Attenuate – To decrease (or cut) the given frequency e.g. bass or
treble, or the audible level of an instrument or microphone.
Audio – Electronically produced or reproduced sound, for example,
whilst inside the ‘system’.
B
Backing Vocals – Vocal lines in an arrangement that are secondary to,
but support and enhance, the lead vocal. Singers who support the lead
singer(s), usually by singing in harmony in the background. Compare
with lead vocals.
Bass – The lower range of audible frequencies: nominally between
about 20 Hz and 320 Hz. Compare Treble.
Bass Guitar – Originally devised as an electric double bass from which
it takes its open-string tunings (EADG), the bass guitar has become an
instrument in its own right, providing the bass parts in rock, pop and
some forms of jazz music. Whilst the standard instrument is four stringed, it is not unusual to see five-string basses with an additional
lower (C or B) string, or even six-string instruments with an additional
lower and upper string. Some bass guitars are active in that they require
battery power for a circuit that controls the tone of the instrument.
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GLOSSARY
Boom Stand – A 'boom stand' is a mic stand with a 'boom' or adjustable
arm which can move from vertical to horizontal and beyond. These are
more versatile in the majority of applications .
Boost – Used to increase (boost) the given frequency, eg bass or treble.
Compare with attenuate.
C
Cardioid/uni-directional – The most commonly found pick-up pattern
for microphones. Cardioid or uni-directional microphones typically
have a heart-shaped pick-up pattern (from Greek ‘cardia’, meaning
heart) and are sensitive in only one direction. This means they are less
sensitive to instruments to the side or behind. The result is that they
pick up best the instrument they are pointing directly at and are less
sensitive to other instruments in the room. An additional benefit in a
live performance situation is that there are often loudspeakers on th e
floor pointing back toward the performers, and (usually) into the back
or least-sensitive area of the pick-up pattern. This may result in fewer
problems than other types of microphone with regard to feedback.
CD – Compact Disc. The standard optical, read-only format of
consumer digital audio devised in the 1980s by Sony and Philips. A CD
has a continuous track of digital data represented by pits burned into
the surface of the disk read by a laser. A CD can hold up to 750 MB of
information, which equates roughly to 74 minutes of stereo audio at a
sampling frequency of 44,100 Hz and a bit depth of 16. These standards
for audio reproduction via CD are called the red book standard.
Channel – On a mixing desk a channel is the series of electronic
circuits designated to a particular input source. This is then duplicated a
number of times to accommodate more inputs. The channels are
arranged in vertical columns. A 16-channel desk therefore has 16 sets
of the same circuitry to accommodate 16 different input sourc es.
Chorus (song structure) – The refrain between verses of a song. The
part of a song that is normally repeated a number of times within the
song. The chorus of a song may also contain the ‘hook’. Compare to
verse.
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GLOSSARY
Circuit Breaker – Electrical safety device that automatically cuts off
the power supply to the devices that are connected to it as soon as it
detects a fault. Modern circuit breakers feature a trip switch that can be
simply reset once the fault has been rectified. More accurately
described as a Residual Current Device. Devices such as these help
protect you from harm should an electrical fault occur whilst you are
using electrical equipment.
Click Track – Click track refers to a steady click that is set up by the
engineer to assist the musician to play in time. Following a click track
is a bit like practising an instrument along with a metronome.
Connector – The plug or ‘termination’ at either end of a lead or cable.
A number of different audio connectors are used in sound engineering ,
the most often encountered being the jack plug for general connections,
the XLR for microphone and professional connections, and the phono or
RCA plug for Hi-Fi, S/PDIF and non-professional connections. See jack
plug, phono and XLR.
Control room – In a recording studio, the room where all the
equipment and the engineer are situated.
Controls – Push-in/out, rotary or sliding switches on a device.
Count-in – The beats before the song or piece of music starts, to give
the performers the start point and tempo. Like the click track (which
may incorporate the count-in) this should be eliminated from the final
mix.
D
DI box – The name given to a small box, usually approx 120 mm × 80
mm × 30 mm, that contains an electronic circuit. This circuit will
convert one type of audio signal, such as that from an electronic
keyboard or bass guitar, into a better quality signal that can be
connected into the system.
Digital – ‘Digital’ (as opposed to ‘analogue’) denotes that the device is
using binary ‘code’ to represent the audio signal. The code is, if you
like, a binary translation of the analogue audio.
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GLOSSARY
Distortion – The rasping, grating sound generated when an incorrect
(too high) setting is used. While generally it is an undesirable effect, on
some instruments, the electric guitar and the organ for example, it has
become a standard creative effect. See also overload.
Drum kit – A drum is an instrument covered with a skin at one or both
ends which is usually hit with a stick. The group of drums and cymbals
that have been pieced together and standardised over the years to create
a drum kit includes a bass drum, a snare drum, two, three or four tomtoms, a pair of hi-hats and at least one crash and one ride cymbal. Rock
and fusion drummers have managed to take this to extrem es, however,
and it is not unusual to find kits that incorporate two bass drums, two
snares, numerous toms and cymbals, a gong and various other bits of
kitchen hardware.
Dry – A signal that has had no effect (e.g. reverb) added to it.
E
Earthed – The simplest thing for you to remember is: always ensure
that you use the correct mains power connection or transformer for a
device. If you experience any mains hum then you MAY try to ensure
that all the devices being used for your system are coming from th e
same electrical circuit. You must NEVER disconnect the earth wire
from within a mains wall plug – earthing is for your safety should a
fault develop. It is advisable for you to use a mains-supply checking
device, available for a very small sum of money (a few pounds) from
DIY stores. This is a plug with three lights/LEDs that informs you
whether or not the supply to the wall socket is safe. Other safety
devices also exist, such as anti-surge sockets and residual current
devices. Ideally these should all be used in combination.
Echo – A repetition of a sound at a quieter level, giving the effect of
distance. The physical reflection of a sound wave from a reflective
surface, which diminishes gradually in energy, thus getting quieter.
Sound travels at roughly 340 metres per second (mps), so for a
naturally occurring echo to be 1 second, the surface off which the
original sound wave was reflected would have to be 170 metres away
(170 m there and 170 m back).
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GLOSSARY
Electric Guitar – A version of the acoustic guitar that derives its
signal entirely electronically from a series of pick-ups positioned close
to the metal strings. Electric guitars and bass guitars require to be
amplified in some way as their output level is very low, more like that
of a microphone, therefore when recording there are three preferred
techniques:
1.
2.
3.
Position a microphone in front of the amplifier speaker
Plug the guitar into a DI box
Use a guitar pod/processor, which fulfils the roles of both the
amplifier and the DI box.
Equalisation – This refers to the tone controls. They have simple ‘+’
and ‘–’ movement used to increase or decrease the amount of respective
tone. See also attenuate and boost.
F
Fade in – When a track or piece of music increases in volume gradually
from silence.
Fade out – The opposite of a fade in, when a track or piece of music
decreases in volume gradually to silence. This has become a widespread
practice in the mixdown technique as a tidy way of ending a song.
Fader – the fader is one of the many controls on a mixing desk. Usually
they will be positioned at the lower end of the channel strip, nearest to
the engineer, as they are amongst the most important controls. Either
they will be rotary faders (which will increase the signal level when
turned clockwise or decrease the signal level when they are turned
anticlockwise) or they will be sliding controls (where the higher their
position, the greater the signal level). Usually rotary faders are found
on smaller, less-expensive mixers and they can be a bit awkward.
Sliding faders are usually easier to use and show more clearly the
respective volume levels for each channel.
Final Mix – The ‘mix’ from the multitrack session(s) that will be used
for a mastering or duplication.
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GLOSSARY
Frequency Response – Used to describe how a microphone or
loudspeaker will react to a given frequency. Some microphones and
loudspeakers function best with high frequencies, others with low
frequencies.
G
Gain – Amplification. Gain is the amount of amplification applied in an
electronic circuit to the input signal. The gain control on any device is
therefore most important. Setting the gain too low will mean the
engineer has to compensate for low-level signals by increasing output
volumes. This results in increased electrical noise levels (see hiss/white
noise). Too much gain, and the signal will overload the input circuitry
and result in distortion. All recording devices have a gain control as
part of the pre-amplifier. It makes sure the signals from all the different
sources are at a suitable level for the following electronics. Mic-level
sources generally have a much lower output signal than line-level
sources. The gain control evens them out.
H
Headphones – A small stereo loudspeaker system that can be worn on
the head or in the ears to allow isolated monitoring of signals.
Hiss/white noise – Electronically generated high-frequency noise. All
audio devices will generate a small amount of hiss. It is the sound
engineer’s job, through correct operation, to minimise this at all times.
Hum – Electronically generated low-frequency noise. Hum is usually
the result of interference from mains cables or poorly earthed or
grounded equipment. It is worth noting that only faulty or incorrectly
wired equipment will generate hum. See earthed.
I
Input – The connection to send a signal into a device. See connector.
Introduction – The first or opening part of a song. Often abbreviated
to intro.
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GLOSSARY
J
Jack Plug – The term ‘jack’ has its roots in very old telephone
switchboards. You may have seen an old black and white film in which
a character makes a phone call. The call is directed firstly to an
exchange, where an operator makes the connection by ‘patching’ or
connecting one socket (an output with the caller) to another (the input
to the person at the other end). We still use the term ‘patching’ today in
both live and studio systems where some devices are connected to a
‘patchbay’, which can allow for a range of different options for routing
an audio signal within the system.
L
Lead/cable – The plastic/rubber-coated wire that joins two connectors.
In sound engineering it is standard to refer to the leads and cables by
their termination connectors, for example an XLR to XLR cable would
be referred to as either an XLR cable or a microphone (mic) lead. There
are essentially three types of cable in sound engineering:
1.
‘Screened’, unbalanced: Normally used to connect between guitars
or keyboards with amplifiers, or hi-fi and other non-professional
devices. Usually these terminate in either jack or phono plugs. The
‘screening’ is usually a braided cable that surrounds an inner core
cable. The screen is connected to earth and the core carries the
signal. This screening eliminates interference and hum.
2.
Screened, balanced: Normally used for microphone leads and to
interconnect professional and semi-professional equipment. These
normally terminate in either XLR or TRS jack plugs. In a balanced
connection, the audio signal travels along one ‘core’, with a
mirror-image or inverted signal on the second core. The screen is
then dedicated to protecting the combined signals from
interference.
With explanation 1 and 2, it is important to note that it is not the
cables or the connectors that are themselves ‘unbalanced’ or
‘balanced’. Rather, it is the audio connections between devices
that produce a signal that is, or requires a signal to be,
‘unbalanced’ or ‘balanced’. The cable/connector combination
simply allows such a signal to transfer from one to the other.
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GLOSSARY
3.
Speaker cable used for connecting the output of amplifiers to
loudspeakers or PA systems. Speaker cable must be unscreened.
Using speaker cables for audio connections other than speakers
will result in hum and possibly radiofrequency interference.
Lead vocals – The main singers in a group. The main vocal part or
track in a song. Compare backing vocals.
Level – The degree of intensity of an audio signal.
Live Room - This is the room in the studio where the recording
performance takes place. Performances tend not to be done in the same
room as the studio engineer (the control room) in situations either
where microphones are to be used (eg for drum it or vocals), or where
the sound levels will be high (eg for electric guitars or bass guitars
which are amplified).
Loudspeaker – A transducer that converts the electronic audio signal
back into a sound wave. Due to physical constraints, it is difficult for
one loudspeaker to convert accurately the entire audio spectrum so
manufacturers use a number of loudspeakers in a single cabinet to
properly reproduce the full frequency range. Each frequency-range
speaker is given its own name. High-frequency units are called
tweeters, mid-frequency units are squawkers and low-frequency units
are woofers. It is not uncommon to also get very low-frequency units
called sub-woofers. It has become a common practice for manufacturers
to incorporate amplifiers within the speaker cabinets. Such
loudspeakers are known as active loudspeakers.
M
Mains Multiblock – A mains adapter that splits a single outlet socket
into up to four or more outlets. These days many come with built-in
circuit breakers for added protection and even antisurge protectors,
which protect against sudden surges in voltage that could potentially
damage equipment or cause computing devices to crash.
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GLOSSARY
Meter – A meter allows the sound engineer to visually check the signal
levels. The meter shows the fluctuating or constantly varying electrical
flow through a mixer channel. Probably the most commonly found
nowadays are sets of small LED bulbs arranged in a vert ical row. This
row of lights will have some green at the lower end, some red at the
upper end, and some yellow toward the middle.
Mic stand – The heavy-based stand that holds a microphone. See also
boom stand.
Microphone – A transducer designed to convert a sound wave into an
electrical current. Microphones are one of the most important elements
of any signal path as they are the initial conversion point for any
acoustic sound source to be recorded. It is therefore important that
high-quality microphones are used in recording studio situations. All
microphones have their own ‘sound’ due to tiny variations in their
frequency response, and many microphones are manufactured for a
particular purpose or even specific instrument type.
Minidisc (MD) – A digital, optical, record-and-read storage medium.
Similar to CDs in operation, minidiscs use compression software to
limit the material recorded in order to get all the information onto a
very compact format. While minidisc recorders/players are generally
two-track devices, some multitrack versions exist.
Mix(down) – The process and art of creating a blend of all the recorded
tracks, processing where appropriate or necessary, and creating a twotrack, stereo-mixed version of the music.
Mixing desk – The large console that has many ‘strips’ or channels of
controls. See channel and controls.
Mono(phonic) – A single channel of audio.
Monitoring – A term used for checking what is happening within the
devices in the sound system. In this case, with headphones or wit h
loudspeakers, the checking is done with the ears. In other circumstances
it may be done visually, using meters. Usually a combination of the two
is used.
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GLOSSARY
Multitrack – Multitrack suggests more than two tracks, but is usually a
minimum of four. Increasingly it will be 8 or 16, 32, or more tracks of
audio. Compare to channels.
N
Noise – Any unwanted signal. See also hiss/white noise and hum.
O
Output – The connection in an audio device from which its signal
comes. Outputs should always be connected to inputs.
Overload – This is too much signal being sent to a device, such as a
channel on a mixing console.
P
PA system – A PA (public address) system is a large-scale loudspeaker
system designed to help musicians be heard clearly in a large space. A
PA system is similar to a recording studio, but without the necessity for
multitrack recorders as the mixed down sound goes straight to
amplifiers and loudspeakers. A sound engineer using a PA system will
employ largely the same microphone, processing and mixing techniques
that would be used in a studio.
Phono Plug – A two-terminal connector predominantly found in
domestic hi-fi systems and non-professional equipment. Due to their
normally being used in stereo systems, phono plugs tend to come in
pairs coloured red and white. Generally the red connector will be used
for the right-hand signal and the white for the left. See connector, jack
plug and XLR. Sometimes referred to as an RCA plug
Pick-up Pattern – This refers to the shape of the sensitivity field of a
microphone, more often called the ‘polar response’. It simply serves to
describe to the user where around the microphone is most or least
sensitive, which assists in the selection of a microphone for a particular
purpose.
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GLOSSARY
Pre-amplifier – The very first circuit that the audio signal meets on its
route through a device.
R
RecordTo store a performance onto a medium so it can be played back
or edited.
Recorder – The recorder is the device which allows audio to be stored
in some way. Most commonly today this will be done digitally, and
usually (in professional situations, at least) on to a hard disk recorder of
some sort. The recorder allows, for example, music to be recorded and
at a later stage be:



added to (eg more instruments recorded alongside those recorded
already)
edited (eg changed in some way, such as removing mistakes and
replacing)
listened to (eg for mixing)
Riff – A repeated rhythmic chord sequence within a song or around
which a song may be based.
S
Sampling Frequency – This describes the number of audio
‘photographs’ that are taken per second. The greater the number, the
more accurate the image and the better the reproduced sound will be.
For example, CDs play over 40,000 images every second. CDs have
been around for some time and so the technology has allowed
improvements in quality. Current technologies commonly allow up to
192 kHz (192 thousand pictures per second).
Screen – Part of a lead or cable that helps to protect the signal from
interference. See connector and leads/cable.
Session – Time spent in a studio creating a recording.
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GLOSSARY
Session log – A note, usually formalised, of the activities carried out
and completed within a session. Session logs are a great way of keeping
on top of a recording project. Keeping a note of settings, microphone
placements and even problems you have encountered in a session means
you can always come back to the log in the future to reproduce the
settings or overcome a similar problem.
Signal – An electrical representation of an acoustic sound.
Signal Path – The route taken by the audio signal through the system.
Stereo – A two-channel audio system with the channels designated left
and right. Devised primarily because we have two ears, stereo
reproduction of recorded sound has been the norm for man y decades as
it offers an excellent representation of what we hear acoustically. Any
multitrack recording has to be mixed down to stereo in order for it to be
played on a standard domestic hi-fi system.
Studio – The room in which the performers play in a recording session.
Ideally, a studio will be soundproofed so noise cannot penetrate
inwards or outwards, and also will have an element of adjustment to its
acoustic, perhaps a live sound at one end and a dead sound at the other
(known as lede design). Only instruments that require microphones
need be played in the studio. Instruments that can be DI’d can perform
just as well in the control room.
Synthesiser – Electronic instrument, usually keyboard based, that uses
electronically generated waveforms through filters and processors to
emulate (or synthesise) acoustic sounds. While most of these
emulations of real instruments are at best approximate, synthesisers are
capable of generating a wide range of sounds that no acoustic
instrument ever could. They have therefore become an important
element of modern sound production as an instrument in their own
right.
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GLOSSARY
T
Take – The recorded performance of a part or track of a song. Standard
studio practice has the performer produce a series of takes and the best
take, or a combination to make up the best take, will be used in the final
mix.
Tape – A linear magnetic storage medium. As tapes are a magnetic
storage format, they are susceptible to strong magnetic fields. Care
should be taken therefore to ensure tapes with information recorded on
them are not placed in the vicinity of strong magnetic fields, such as
loudspeakers or power supplies, in case the information is wiped from
them. Tapes are becoming increasingly rare as the recording industry
moves towards digital hard-disk recording. It is from the days of tape
use for recording that the term ‘track’ dates. On a given width of tape,
eg 2 inch, some professional recording machines could produce 24
tracks, each running side-by-side along the entire tape length. The term
is still used today with digital hard-disk recording even though the data
is arranged and stored differently.
Tone – Describes how a given instrument or voice sounds.
Tone Control – A basic form of equalisation on basic devices. The
tone control will not have the sophistication of studio equalisers and
will in general have only three controls – bass, mid and treble – to
boost or attenuate a range of pre-assigned frequencies. For example,
most bass guitars with ‘active’ electronics will have three ‘tone’
controls: one each for bass (varies the bassi-ness (or ‘warmth’), mid
(varies the ‘punch’ or definition and treble (varies the higher
frequencies or ‘brightness’)
Track – A single channel of recorded audio. Can also be the final
finished product, eg the completed song or piece of music.
Track Sheets – Useful forms for keeping a note of which instruments
have been recorded on a particular track. Can be an essential part of a
session log.
Transducer – Converts one form of energy to another: acoustical to
electrical, eg a microphone, or electrical to acoustical, eg a
loudspeaker.
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Treble – The upper range of audible frequencies, usually from around
5000 Hz to around 20,000 Hz. This is often described as 5 kHz–20 kHz.
Compare to bass.
Trim – Also known as the gain control, the trim control adjusts the
level of a signal coming in to the pre-amplifier of a mixing desk.
Two-track recorder (2-track) – A recording device that records on
only two tracks, such as a cassette recorder, a minidisc recorder , CD
recording device or an MP3 recorder.
V
Verse – The parts of a song which are different from the chorus.
Compare to chorus.
Vocals – Vocals refers to the use of the voice as an instrument in a
performance, particularly in contemporary genres. The vocals are
further described as either ‘lead’ (the main or primary voice) or
‘backing’ (supporting or harmony).
W
Wet – A signal that has had an effects process applied to it. See also
dry.
X
XLR – A connector commonly used for connecting microphones to
another device. There are ‘male’ and ‘female’ versions of XLR s. In
audio systems, usually a signal will exit from a ‘male’ and enter by a
‘female’. For example, microphones have a male connector built -in to
the end; this will be connected to the female connector on the XLR
lead. At the opposite end of this lead will be a male connector that will
allow the lead to connect to a second device (eg a channel on a sound
mixing desk). See connector, jack plug and phono plug.
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