Introduction to Music Technology
GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT TERMS


UNIT 1-TERMS

Recording:



ips -- "inches per second," measurement of tape speed (1-7/8, 3-3/4, 7-1/2, 15)

vu -- "volume unit," the measurement of audio input being transfered to tape as indicated on the vu meter.

Tape formats -- the width and track layout of a particular recorder, i.e. 1/2 in. 4 track would be 1/2 in wide tape with 4 separate tracks.

Tape loop -- a loop of tape with recorded material on it that is played back continuously.

Take up/Supply reels -- the two reels on the recorder (respectively right and left side).

Source/Tape -- switch that changes the output of the recorder from the input signal to the recorded signal respectively.

Capstan -- small roller that spins and pulls tape over heads.

Pinch Roller -- larger roller, usually rubber, that forces tape agains capstan to pull tape over heads.

Transport -- mechanical portion of tape recorder including the heads, reel motors, capstan, pinch roller, play, record, fast forward, rewind controls, etc.

Mixer:



Pan -- control that changes which stereo output a channel signal is sent to.

Gain/Trim -- control that adjusts the initial input level of the signal entering a channel.

Hz -- "herz" a measurement of the frequency of a signal. 1Hz=1cycle/second-1KHz (Kiloherz)= 1 thousand cycles/second).

EQ -- "equalization," controls that adjust the frequency content of a signal in a channel.

Channel fader -- adjusts the amount of signal from a channel that is received by a master output bus.

Master fader -- adjusts the amount of signal that is sent out of the master outputs from the mixer into an amplifier.

Send/Return -- a separate bus for adding effects to a channel signal.

Mute/Solo -- switch for turning off the output signal of a single channel or turning off all channels except one respectively.

Db -- "decibel," is a unit of volume used in audio components.

Amplifier/Pre-amp/Speakers:



Tape monitor -- a switch that allows one to listen to either the selected Pre-amp input source signal or a signal from a tape recorder.

Power Amp -- large audio amplifier, usually has few controls, only inputs and speaker outputs and boosts the level of the audio signal to drive the speakers.

Pre-Amp -- has all the controls for inputs, tape monitors, treble, bass, balance, etc. Mostly controls the inputs and frequency content of signal then passes it to Power Amp.

High frequency driver/Tweeter -- small speaker made for reproducing high frequencies (i.e. 5-15KHz)

Low frequency driver/woofer -- large speaker made for reproducing lower frequencies (i.e. 40-1000Hz)

Crossover network -- electronic circuit that divides the frequencies of a signal and sends them to separate speakers.

Phase -- positiveness or negativeness of signal wave cycle. Wave cycles can be flipped upside down (180 degrees out of phase) causing the portion of the wave that was positive to now be negative. Out of phase signals will tend to cancel each other out.

Microphones:



Dynamic mic -- a microphone that uses a simple wire coil, a fixed magnet and diaphram for its sound production.

Condenser mic -- a microphone that uses thin diaphrams charged with electric current for its sound production (requires some sort of power source).

Balanced input/output -- split signal from microphone or other audio output that inverts one of the signals, then reinverts and recombines signals at the input of mixer thereby virtually eliminating hum and noise.

High impedance/Low impedance -- relative level of output of microphone. Low impedance is better.

Phantom power -- an external power source for a condenser mic. Usually from a mixer.

Pick up pattern -- the directions around the microphone that it picks up.

UNIT 2-Synthesis/Multi-track recording TERMS


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Analog Synthesis:



VCO/DCO-(voltage controlled oscillator/digitally controlled oscillator)-both are sound generators that output waveforms to be modified by filters, envelopes, other oscillators, etc.

LFO-(low frequency oscillator)-generates low frequency waveforms usually for modulating other signals. LFOs are used to produce vibrato.

VCA/DCA-(voltage controlled amplifier/digitally controlled amplifier)-both control the amplitude or loudness of a signal from a filter or oscillator. With an envelope generator, the VCA is used to create an amplitude envelope or shape.

VCF/DCF-(voltage controlled filter/digitally controlled filter)-filters out certain frequencies from audio signal (like treble and bass control on stereo) but is controllable so that the cutoff frequency (frequency at which filter is active) can be changed.

SINE WAVE-simplest waveform, all other waveforms can be broken down into sine waves of different frequencies (harmonics). The sine wave can only be created electronically, it is not found naturally.

FM-(frequency modulation)-changing the frequency of a VCO with the output of another module i.e. a VCO or VCA. By using FM in the audio range, synthesizers can produce many very complex waveforms with lots of harmonic content. The Yamaha DX-7 uses FM synthesis to create its different sounds.

AM-(amplitude modulation)-changing the amplitude of a VCA with some other module, i.e. an envelope generator or a VCO. By using AM in the audio range, synthesizers can create many very complex waveforms.

RING MODULATION-a specific type of AM that results in overtones and undertones (side bands) that are exact sums and differences of the two modulating frequencies.

NOISE GENERATOR-a signal generating module that outputs random frequencies and therefore sounds like noise or static. Noise can also be used for control purposes to create random voltages.

RESONANCE/Q-an adjustable feedback circuit that boosts the output of frequencies around the cutoff frequency of a filter.

HIGH PASS/LOW PASS/BAND PASS/NOTCH-different types of filtering that describe the relative range of frequencies being filtered. High pass filters pass frequencies above the cutoff frequency, low pass filters pass frequencies below the cut off frequency, band pass filters pass a band of frequencies centering around the cut off frequency and notch filters reject frequencies in a band centering around the cut off frequency (thereby creating a notch in the spectrum).

ENVELOPE GENERATOR/ADSR(Attack, delay, sustain, release)-a control voltage module that outputs a voltage that can be adjusted to change over time. Used for creating amplitude envelopes and filter envelopes. The different parameters of the envelope (attack, delay, sustain, release) control what the voltage of the envelope generator will be at different times within the soundÕs occurrence.

SUBTRACTIVE SYNTHESIS-the name given to analog synthesis that uses filtering as a means for varying the timbre of a sound.

ADDITIVE SYNTHESIS-the name given to the method of synthesis where the timbre of the sound is created by adding sine waves to get different harmonics, usually done digitally.

KEYBOARD CONTROL VOLTAGE-the voltage output of an analog keyboard that controls the frequency of an oscillator/oscillators and therefore the pitch.

PORTAMENTO-gliding effect on a keyboard that allows for the gradual increase or decrease of the voltage output of the keyboard.

Multi-Track Recording:


DOLBY/DBX-noise reduction systems that compress/decompress the signals that are recorded and played back on tape. This is an essential process for analog multi-track tape recording (and stereo analog) for keeping the hiss levels low.

SYNC-system for switching the function of the record head to playback during recording on other tracks so that the recorded signal and the playback signals are syncronized.

BOUNCING-the act of mixing down several tracks into one track so that more tracks can be made available.

MIXING DOWN-combining the signals of several tracks into one or two tracks usually by using a mixer.

Terms: Unit 3



MIDI and Sequencing and Computer Terms



ASCII Abbreviation for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Known as ÒText FilesÓ because the code represents alpha-numeric keys.

Bit Binary number place, either 1 or 0 (abbreviation of Binary Digit)

Byte Eight bit digital number. kilobyte(KB)=1024 bytes, megabyte(MB)=1024 kilobytes and a gigabyte(GB)=1024 megabytes

CPU Central Processing Unit that actually does all the computations in the computer. The cpu is a single IC chip that determines the type of system software and speed of your computer (i.e. Pentium II, or G4)

Floppy Disk A soft, flat disk of plastic with metal oxide coating that is used to magnetically store digital data. Maximum storage capacity is about 1-2 megabytes.

Hard Disk A solid, flat piece of metal with metal oxide coating that is used to store digital data on. Because of their higher density and their fast spinning, hard disks can store more data and retrieve it faster than floppy disks. Hard disks range in storage capacity from 1 to 12 GB.

Removable Hard Disk Cartridge type hard disk unit that can store up to 2 GB of data. Jazz and Zip drives are types of removable hard disk devices.

CD Rom Compact Disc storage medium (read only) for video, graphics, data, sound etc.

CD/RW CD recorder and player able to write and rewrite CDs as well as play them.

DVD Digital Video Disk is a format for storing video and audio data on CD format.

IC chip Integrated Circuit that is a miniaturized circuit board with anywhere from hundreds to millions of components on them. Chips are made from layering slices of silicon that are etched with lasers to create the desired circuit configuration.

LCD Liquid Crystal Display, used for monitors on laptop computers.

Main frame computer Large computer that has many individual stations that can access it. These are not very common anymore (i.e. IBM 360).

Monitor CRT display or video monitor.

Nanosecond One billionth of a second. The measurement of speed used in CPUs and hard disk access times.

RAM Random access memory, is the memory where all current operations and data are stored in the computer. RAM is volatile meaning that all memory will be lost when the power to them is turned off.

ROM Read only memory, is memory that is permanent and cannot be erased.

SCSI Small computer system interface standard for connecting CD-Roms, hard disks, etc. This is not the fastest or most current type of interface.

USBUniversal Serial Bus is the newest and fastest interface standard for small computers. USB has certain advantages over SCSI (i.e. many devices can be connected together at once.

PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect-the slots inside a computer where certain cards and interfaces can be placed.

Firewire A high speed interface connection for computer and other devices (such as video devices).

SIMM/DIMM Single in-line Memory Module and Double in-line Memory Module are actually little cards with numerous memory chips on them.

System software The software that actually runs the cpu in a computer and is booted up, or loaded when turning the computer on. Examples are Windows 98 and Mac OS 8.

VLSI Very large scale integration, IC chips that incorporate millions of components per unit.

MIDI



MIDI-"Musical Instrument Digital Interface" the standard digital format for connecting all electronic instruments and computers.

DIN connector-5 pin connector used for all MIDI connections.

Status Byte-binary MIDI number that calls for an action (i.e. a "note on" or "note off" byte).

Data Byte-binary MIDI number that indicates a quantity such as a note number, a velocity number, etc.

System Exclusive (SysEx)-binary MIDI messages of information regarding the internal set up of a particular brand of instrument that can only be understood by another like instrument. "Bulk dumps" and or "Bulk loads" transfer System Exclusive data.

MIDI channel-one of 16 different channels that MIDI data can be sent or received on.

MIDI Thru-a separate MIDI jack for allowing the data that appears at the MIDI input to be also sent out of the thru. Thru jacks are used to hook up several MIDI devices in a chain.

MIDI interface-a device that translates the MIDI code into binary data that the computer can use and visa-versa.

Velocity-data that indicates the relative dynamic of a given MIDI note.

Aftertouch-also called "pressure sensitivity" is the data that indicates the amount of pressure exerted on a key after it is depressed. Not all instruments have this.

MIDI note number-the assigned number for each note on a MIDI keyboard. 0-127.

Real time-when a sequencer records what you play as you play it.

Step time-when a sequencer records one note or chord at a time.

Quantize-when a sequencer adjusts rhythmic attacks or durations to specified values.

Event list editor-a list of all MIDI data for each note such as note numbers, clock positions, durations, velocity, etc.

Graphic editor-graphically displays sequencer tracks in a "piano roll" type format.

Notation editor-displays sequencer tracks in musical notation format.

Thru patch-sends MIDI input back out of computer to specified channels. Usually for hearing MIDI sounds as you record them on sound modules with no keyboard.

MIDI input filter-filters out specified MIDI data.

Program change-sends a patch or program change message to synthesizer on a specified MIDI channel. For changing the patch of a synthesizer with MIDI.

Sync-the tempo clock that runs a sequencer. The clock can be an internal or external.

Merge-like bouncing on Multi-track recorders. This mixes MIDI data down to one track.

Looping-repeats track, tracks or parts of tracks at selected spots for specified number of times.

Song mode-combines several sequences for playback in specified order.

MIDI file format-(smf)-standard MIDI file format for sequencers, and other MIDI devices.

Conductor track-a sequencer track for storing all the tempo, meter and key information for a particular sequence.

Unit 4 Terms: Sampling technology



Sampling rate number of times per second that a sampling device samples or analyzes an analog signal. The higher the number, the more accurate the sample is. Typical sampling rates are 32 K, 41 K and 44 K (which is the standard for Audio CDs).

Nyquist frequency The highest frequency that can be accurately reproduced by a sampling instrument. 1/2 the sampling rate. that is, if the sampling rate of an instrument is 32K then the highest frequency that can be reproduced is half that or 16Khz.

ADC Analog to Digital Convertor, or the circuitry that changes an analog signal into digital numbers for a sampler to process.

DAC Digital to Analog Convertor, or the circuitry that changes a digital representation of a wave into an analog output to be amplified.

16 bit resolution a sampling device that uses digital numbers with 16 binary digits to process and store the information of a sound. The higher the resolution, the higher the sound quality of a sample.

Loop point The point in a sampled wave at which the sampler repeats through the wave over and over to create a continuous sound.

Cross fade When a sampler fades from one sampled sound into another to create a special effect or a more realistic sound.

Velocity switching When a sampler switches from one sampled sound to another sampled sound most often used to create changes in dynamics between different dynamics and techniques on certain instruments (i.e. the difference between a soft trumpet sound and loud trumpet sound).

Fixed formant The fixed resonant frequencies of an acoustic instrument that give it itÕs particular character and the reason it is so difficult to effectively recreate an instrumentÕs sound with a sampler.

Multi-sampling Sampling several notes per octave on a sampler to more accurately recreate the sound of an instrument over a wide range.

Stereo sampling Sampling in two channels. This takes twice as much memory as mono sampling.

Re-sampling Sampling an already sampled and processed sound.

Mellotron An early analog type of performance sampler that used loops of tape with instrument sounds recorded on them for each note the keyboard.

Copyright The right of an individual or corporation to receive credit and/or royalties for the use of a creative work. In terms of sampling technology, copyright laws have had to be re-examined to guard against unlawful use of someone elseÕs creative work, whether it is a song, part of a song, or just a short phrase.

Unit 5 Terms: Notation software



Real time note entry (Transcription)- Entering notes via a MIDI keyboard in tempo. Usually the software sends a click tempo for you to follow while it records and transcribes your performance. In Finale this is called Hyperscribe.

MIDI note entry-Entering notes via a MIDI keyboard without regard to the rhythm. You must indicate the duration/rhythm with numeric keypad. In Finale this is Speedy Note Entry

MIDI playback-Playing back notated music by assigning voices/staves to MIDI channels.

Allotment/spacing-The actual spacing of the notes in each measure. This determines how the music will look overall and varies between proportional (notes take up their respective durations in each measure) to different engraver spacings where longer notes get less space and shorter notes get more.

Lyric text- The text entered under the notes in vocal music. Usually this is automatically centered around the note that it is entered under.

Headers/footers-Text that is entered at the top or bottom of each page, i.e. page numbers, title, composer.

Title page- The first page of a piece where the title, composer, arranger, etc. appear.

Block text- Text that is added anywhere other than lyrics, headers/footers, or title.

Chord symbols- Text in the form of chord symbols entered above notes in staff.

Scalable fonts- Printer fonts, or characters that can be reduced or enlarged to different sizes without any distortion.

Postscript fonts-(EPS)- Scalable printer fonts by Adobe. A standard type font that most all laser printers can understand.

Cross-staff beaming/Cross-bar beaming- Respectively the ability to beam notes from one staff up to or down to another different staff or the ability to beam notes from one measure into the next.

Part extraction- The ability to extract, transpose and print separate parts from a score.

Tiling pages- Printing pages of large scores in sections or parts that can be later taped together and copied.

Scrolling/page view- Scrolling allows you to only see one system at a time whereas page view lets you see the whole score. Scrolling takes much less time for screen redraws.

Tuplet tool- The device for creating and adjusting triplets, quintuplets, etc.

Optimized staves- The ability to show only staves that have notes in them. This saves tons of space on score pages.

Cut-away scores- The ability to have systems that change in number of staves within a system.

Templates- The basic layout of a score page that one starts with. like a blank sheet of manuscript paper.

Standard MIDI file (SMF) The standard file format that sequencers and notation software can share.

Unit 6 Terms: HyperCard



HyperCard-An interactive programming environment (Hyper... implies a non-linear, user-defined style of application) that can include text, graphics, sound, pictures, animation, Quicktime movies, MIDI, and other types of media.

HyperCard v2.2-The latest version of HyperCard by Apple. New features include limited color graphics, compatibility with AppleTalk and other open scripting environments, newer button styles, and stand-alone application building option to name a few. A HyperCard player comes standard with all Macintosh computers, but to create or modify stacks you need the HyperCard application and manuals. The HyperCard application used to come with all Macintosh computers until about 1993.

Stack-A stack is the largest most inclusive object in HyperCard. A stack would include several cards and could be a complete application in itself. Sometimes, several stacks are linked together to create a larger application (i.e. Myst)

Card-A card is generally what you would see on one screen of the computer and several to many cards would make up a stack. A card can have graphics, buttons, text fields, pictures, or Quicktime movies. You can treat cards like pages of a book that can be ordered in any way you want.

Field (text field)-A text field is a block of a card that holds text (literally holds ASCI data). A text field can be used to present information, or to hold data or to do operations. Text fields can be visible or invisible.

Button-Buttons are used to navigate in the Hyper-environment. They can be any shape, and can basically do anything from take you to a new card to start a CD-ROM to playing a Quicktime movie, etc.

Graphics-Graphics can be created in the HyperCard application (like in MacDraw) or imported as PICT files. Graphics in HyperCard are one of the easiest and most powerful tools available.

Background-Every stack has one or more background layers. These would include objects that would be common to many cards such as fields, buttons or graphics. You save lots of time by using background layers.

Scripting-This is the act of programming an object (such as a button or a card) in HyperCard. All of the objects in HyperCard are scriptable, meaning that their functions and properties can be fully defined. This is a lot like programming a computer in a very high level language.

HyperTalk-This is the language that is used in scripting an object in HyperCard. To use this, you would need the manuals or a book on scripting in HyperCard.

Handler-A handler is a action that can occur to an object. All objects have certain handlers that can act upon them, such as "OnMouseUp" for buttons, or "OnCardOpen" for cards, etc. These are used in scripting to accomplish the operations that you desire of an object.

XCMD/XFCN-These are the External Commands and External Functions that allow HyperCard to communicate with the numerous other devices and files that your computer has to offer such as CD-ROMs, MIDI, Scanners, Printers, sound files, etc. Unless you were a serious HyperCard programmer, you would probably never use or create any of these.

Unit 7 Terms: Multi media/Internet



Scanner: a device that digitizes visual objects in a way similar to a copier. The digitized visual objects can be displayed, stored, printed or transfered via the internet.

Pict/GIF/JPEG: different formats for graphics files on computers. Pict files generally are only for dispaying on a screen (sometimes called screen files). GIF (graphics interchange format) and JPEG (joint photographic experts group) are used in transfering graphics from one machine to another via recordable media or the internet. GIF files are used mostly for simple graphics (256 colors) whereas JPEG is used for more photo quality graphics .

Compression: a technique by which large graphic (and sound) files can be reduced to a smaller size. Often times when compressing an image or graphics file, there is some loss of clarity or color.

Quicktime: a softeware extension that allows for different types of media (Movies, audio or MIDI) to be played on a computer. Quicktime was developed by Apple but has become somewhat standard in other computer platforms.

Aiff/WAV: audio formats used on computers. Aiff is used on Apple computers and WAV is used on IBM.

Storyboard editing: the format for laying out video and audio in a linear time based setting. This style of editing is used in most production type video software packages (i.e. Videoshop).

Modem: a device that takes serial messages from a computer and translates them for transmission or reception over phone lines. Some modems are built into computers and some are external boxes that have connectors to the computer and to the phone line.

Baud rate: the rate at which data is transmitted over a phone line via modem. This can range from 2,400 up to 56,000 baud.

FTP: file transfer protocol. This is a standard method for uploading (sending) or downloading (receiving) messages on a computer via modem or TCIP connection (dedicated digital connection).

Internet/WorldWideWeb: digital infrastructure set up 40-50 years ago during cold war so that different elements of the government could remain connected in the event of phone and broadcast media outages.

Http: Hypertext transfer protocol is the format for information on the internet/WWW.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language is the actual coded computer langauge that is used on the internet/WWW. HTML was developed as a scientific computer language for storage and retrieval of large amounts of information accessable in a non-linear format.

Browser: software on a computer that allows the user to retrieve and display HTML coded files from the internet/WWW. Examples are Netscape, Explorer and Mosaic.

Email: software that allows users to send text messages (with attachments) across the interenet. Many internet browsers come with email built in.

Website: These are the HTML files associated with a particular person or institution that are available on the internet

URL: Universal resource Location. This is the internet ÒaddressÓ that each specific internet site or location has and is the code that enables a browser to find and connect to an internet site.

Web server: is the location where files for a particular internet website reside. Most colleges and universities provide space for websites for departments, faculty, students, etc. There are commercial internet website providers that maintain servers connected to the internet and charge money for people to have websites on there server.

Homepage: is the main HTML file that a URL will take you to at a website. Each Homepage can have "Links" or connections to other page, files, sites, etc.

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