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Musical Terminology: Music Tech Terms in Studios
Curious about the terms used in music technologies? For example; features of sound, one of the basic elements of music.
ADSR
Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. ADSR, on the other hand, consists of the initials of these words. These are some properties of sound. These settings will appear on sound producing devices. I said some features of sound, but do not think about the sounds we hear in nature. We are talking about electronically produced sound. Let’s call it a signal.
By using these features, it is possible to produce various sounds artificially. E.g; you can produce a sound that mimics a violin.
reverb
It means reverberation. When you talk in an empty room or an empty gym, voices resonate, right? This is called reverb in music technology. In studios or sound recordings, some mechanical or electronic devices are used to give the sound a reverb effect.
You may have heard of the term spring reverb. Some guitar amps use this technique to achieve reverb. The reverb effect is created by vibrating the springs inside the amp.
As you can see, digital reverb is achieved through electronic devices and software.
Chorus
An important type of effect for guitar players. In this effect, various detonations are created by making some manipulations on the electronic signals. Guitar players use the pedal version of this effect.
Offensive Record
A musical act in which band members or several musicians play at the same time and sound recordings are made. E.g; You met 3 friends, played and sang songs and recorded them on the phone. Here’s the attack record for you.
Channel Recording
Unlike the offensive recording, the sound of each instrument and vocal is recorded separately. Channel recording can be at the same time or at different times. In other words, the guitarist plays, the next day the vocalist comes, sings his song and so on. Since the sounds are recorded one by one, it is possible to process them later.
DAW
Digital Audio Workstation. The name of the system that allows audio recordings to be recorded digitally, stored and then processed. Today, we use our computers and software produced for this job. There are many DAW software, but professionals prefer software such as Cubase, Logic Pro, Pro Tools.
Sound card
A device that is externally attached to a computer and is used to process sounds. Today, every computer has a sound chip on it, but it wasn’t like this a long time ago. The sound card was installed separately inside the computer to perform an action such as listening to music. Today, there are external sound cards installed in the computer, but for more professional work.
Currently, USB sound cards are the most preferred method for professional/semi-professional and home studios. There are many brands and models available. You can choose according to the size of your work.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Namely, digital interface for musical devices. A protocol developed in the 80s for digital music devices to communicate with each other. In the past, this interface would have its own cable. If you look now, you probably won’t find it. Nowadays, usb interface is used for midi. In the meantime, the midi cable may have disappeared, but midi is still a standard.
MIDI Keyboard
A music device with keys working in midi standard. I didn’t say musical instrument because it’s not a sound generating device, it’s a device that manages existing sounds from the midi interface. Don’t confuse it with digital organs.
ASIO
Audio Stream Input/Output. When you plug your guitar into a guitar amp and connect it to play, you hear the sound directly, there is no delay. When you connect your guitar to the computer and try to get sound through the DAW software, there is a delay. You will hear the sound almost 1 second after playing. The ASIO protocol prevents this.
Professional sound cards have settings for ASIO. If you do not have a professional sound card, you can solve the software lag problem by installing the ASIO4All software on your computer.
