So that we talk about the same things with the same words in the course. Looking things up is allowed, asking any time too.
KickThe bass drum. The low hit, usually on the one.
SnareThe small drum with the wire carpet. The crack on two and four.
Hi-hatTwo cymbals on top of each other. The fast hits in between.
CymbalsCrash and ride. Long-ringing metal, marks transitions.
BassThe low foundation. Plays notes, while the kick only hits.
BPMBeats per minute, meaning the tempo. 120 BPM = two per second.
A barPackaging for the beats, usually four. Loops are 4, 8 or 16 bars.
LoopA recorded passage that is repeated endlessly.
OverdubRecording a further layer onto a running loop.
One-shotA single sound that plays exactly once at the press of a button.
SequencerStores moments in time, not sounds. Says when, not what.
StepOne field in the sequencer's grid. On or off.
PatternA finished pattern made of steps. The building block of a piece.
VelocityHow hard a note is struck. On many devices settable per step.
SceneA snapshot of which pattern is currently on which track. So a song section.
ChainSeveral scenes in a fixed order that the device runs through on its own.
ProbabilityHow likely a step is to sound. Below a hundred per cent, not every pass is the same.
Drum machineMachine for drum sounds, generated or played back.
GrooveboxSound generation, drums and sequencer in one box, no computer.
SampleA recording used as a building block. A short sound to play back.
SamplerDevice that loads samples, slices them and makes them playable.
SynthesizerProduces sound itself instead of playing back recordings.
OscillatorThe raw basic tone. First station in the synthesizer.
FilterTakes parts out of the sound. The knob that goes wooosh.
EnvelopeThe shape over time. Abrupt or swelling.
LFOA slow oscillation that moves something else instead of sounding.
PolyphonicSeveral notes at once. Monophonic means: only one.
EffectChanges finished sound. Sits behind the sound source.
ReverbArtificial space. Sounds like a church, a cellar or a hall.
DelayEcho. Repeats the sound delayed, often in tempo.
MIDIA language for instructions, not sound. The note slip.
AudioAudible sound. What comes out of the speakers in the end.
ControllerKeys, pads, knobs. Sends MIDI, makes no sound itself.
InterfaceTranslator between analogue and digital, in both directions.
LevelHow loud a signal is. Too quiet hisses, too loud distorts.
HeadroomThe distance to the ceiling before it clips.
LatencyDelay between the strike and the sound. The enemy when playing.
BufferHow big the chunks are in which a computer calculates sound. Small means little delay and more load.
sample rateHow often per second a measurement is taken, usually 44,100 or 48,000 times. Every device in a chain should be on the same number.
QuantisationPulls input onto the grid. Too much of it sounds stiff.
SyncA shared clock. All devices at the same tempo.
MonitoringHearing yourself, usually over headphones.
StemA single track of a piece. Just the bass, just the drums.
DAWMusic program on a computer. Dawless means: without a computer.
PluginAn instrument or effect that runs inside another program.
PresetA stored setting you can recall immediately.
ComponentsNovation's software in the browser. It lets you edit the Circuit Tracks' sounds, samples and projects on a computer.