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Vocabulary and Concepts

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Term
Definition
16 MIDI Channels   The number of channels available to you in a MIDI connection. Provides the use of multiple MIDI controllers  
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Active Speaker   Loudspeaker with an internal amplifier  
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Amplifier   An electric device that boots sound to a level strong enough to move a speaker at the desires sound level  
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Analog   A continuous signal, could be a wave form or steady electronic voltage variation  
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Audio File Editor   Where you trim and edit audio wave information  
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Audio Interface   Generally, a device which converts analog electrical signals to digital data that a computer can understand, and vice versa; often connected via USB cable  
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Automation   A technique that is used to make a process such as volume, pan, echo, reverb, or tempo change automatically over a set period of time  
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Bouncing Tracks   The process of turning the product created in a DAW to a mixed down mp3 or WAV file  
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BPM   Beats per minute, how a metronome measures steady beat  
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Cardioid Pattern   Heart shaped microphone pick-up pattern that rejects sound from behind  
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Condenser Microphone   A high-quality, more expensive, sensitive microphone for critical sound pickup of the entire frequency spectrum. Microphone which uses either a battery or phantom power to supply electricity to a capacitor with a metal diaphragm  
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CPU   Central processing unit of a computer. The brain where most calculations take place  
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DAW   Digital audio workstation, a computer software program used for recording, editing, and producing audio files, GarageBand, Logic  
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Digital   Discrete steps, the measurement of a parameter in equal steps to be stored in computer language  
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Dynamic Microphone   Microphone which uses a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet. Known for being cheap, rugged, and affordable. It does not cover the complete frequency spectrum  
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Equalizer   The tool used in order to boost or attenuate (cut) specific frequencies within a sound  
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Equalizer   A device for adjusting the relative strengths of different audio frequencies. Used to boost or cut specific frequencies within a sound  
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Form   Organization of large musical ideas  
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General MIDI Standard   A subset of the MIDI spec that standardizes instrument names, patch locations, MIDI channel assignments, and drum kit note assignments between various synthesizer manufacturers  
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Hammond B3 Organ   Electric organ first manufactured in 1935. It utilized organ keyboards and a Leslie Rotating Speaker to produce sounds. Sound is manipulated by sliding draw bars. Famous in churches and baseball fields.  
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Harmony   The combination of multiple notes used to support the melodic line. Creates fullness, texture, color, or emotion  
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Layered Music   The process of starting with a single musical idea or loop and gradually adding additional sounds or tracks one at a time  
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Les Paul   Popular guitarist/songwriter who created the solid body electric guitar and pioneered the multitrack recording process  
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Loop Library   Where loops are installed and indexed for use in composition  
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Marquee Tool   A plus symbol shaped tool used for highlighting audio wave file information  
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Melody   The main idea of a song, created using one note at a time  
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Metronome   A tool used in music to mark time as a consistent steady click  
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MIDI   Musical Instrument Digital Interface  
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MIDI   Musical Instrument Digital Interface, the language computers and hardware use to transfer musical information  
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MIDI Clock   A timing code that is used to synchronize sequencers and drum machines  
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MIDI Controller Messages   The use of tools and such as MIDI volume, modulation wheel, and sustain pedal  
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MIDI Instrument Controller   The MIDI woodwind, percussion, and violin controller.  
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MIDI Interface   A device that adds a MIDI in, out, and sometimes thru port to a desktop computer. Commonly used between the MIDI instrument and the computer to translate the MIDI signal for the computer  
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MIDI Port   A MIDI software connection representing a MIDI in, out, or thru  
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MIDI Thru Box   Device which splits the MIDI out signal of a master instrument or sequencer to avoid lengthy daisy chaining  
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Mixing Board   An electronic board that can connect 4 to 72 different signals. It is used for combining and changing levels of various instruments and voices to create a desired sound  
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Monophonic   An instrument that can produce only one sound at a time. Used to create a melodic line  
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Moog Synthesizer   It was the first synthesizer to use a piano-style keyboard  
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Musique Concrete   French classical music in which the composer works directly with sounds recorded on magnetic tape, not with musical notation and performers  
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Mute Button   Disables the audio output of the track  
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Pan   The separation of an audio signal between left or right audio channels  
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Passive Speaker   A loud speaker that requires an external amplifier to work  
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Patch   A specific sound on a synthesizer. The collection of processes required to generate a single sound from a synthesizer  
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Pencil Tool   Allows for the entry of MIDI data using the computer mouse  
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Phantom Power   Often seen on audio equipment as +48V. Provides the fixed charge for a condenser microphone  
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Piano Roll   The screen which allows you to edit the time, location, length, and velocity of an entered MIDI note  
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Playhead   Marks your project's current position in the timeline or the browser. It appears as a gray vertical line with a triangle at the top that is fixed in place unless you move it or the song is playing  
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Polyphonic   An instrument that can produce many sounds at the same time. Used to create a harmonic line  
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Pre-amp   A device used to provide amplification to the microphone so that the mixing board or audio interface can manipulate/sample the signal efficiently  
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RCA Mark I Synthesizer   The first attempt by Columbia-Princeton Studios to create a synthesizer in 1959. It employed paper tape with specific holes punched in it in order to trigger sounds.  
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Rhythm   How music moves in relation to time. Beat, pulse, or groove  
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Robert Moog   Developed the keyboard based analog synthesizer in the early 1960's  
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Sampling   Creating a MIDI controlled instrument from live recorded sounds  
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Sequencer   A device that enables a person to assemble a sound file track by track. Allows for the recording and arranging of MIDI data  
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Sequencer Arrange Window   The piano roll. This allows for the arrangement of individual MIDI notes within the timing grid  
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Solo Button   Click to play only that track. Mutes all of the other tracks  
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Sound Library   Where you select individual patches or instruments  
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Standard MIDI File (SMF)   The standardized file format that allows different sequencers or computer programs to share MIDI data with each other  
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Teleharmonium   Invented by Thaddeus Cahill. It weighed 200 tons and cost $200,000 to make in 1987. It was the first use of the term "synthesizing" to create musical sound  
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Theremin   An early electronic instrument named after its inventor that creates sound from the motion (in the air) of the players hands  
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Track   Separate layers of audio used to record sources individually  
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Transport Panel   Contains the buttons for navigating through the song (rewind, play, fast forward)  
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TR Cable   Two pin cable that is used for guitars and other instruments. Good for 20'  
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TRS Cable   Three pin cable commonly used to connect balanced equipment, speakers, and headphones. Good for 100'  
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Wendy Carlos   Late 20th and 21st century American composer, technician, and arranger using Moog synthesizers for film soundtracks and the albums The Well-Tempered Synthesizer and Switched-On Bach  
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XLR Cable   The cable used for microphones or high quality balanced equipment such as audio mixers. Good for 200'  
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Yamaha DX7 Synthesizer   The first affordable and portable synthesizer which used modern circuitry  
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