Chapter 8

a piece of software that emulates the sound of an instrument and can be accessed as a plugin within a DAW.

shorthand for Digital Signal Processor, a plugin that requires the use of a separate outboard interface for processing.

a plugin that uses the processor within a host computer.

shorthand for Time Division Multiplexing, a DSP plugin in Pro Tools software that requires a separate, dedicated processor.

shorthand for Real Time Audio Suite, this is the native version of Pro Tools’ Time Division Multiplexing format.

shorthand for Avid Audio eXtension, this is a more recent plugin type used by Pro Tools software that is available in native and DSP formats.

shorthand for Audio Units, this is a popular native plugin format created by Apple.

shorthand for Virtual Studio Technology, this is a popular native plugin format created by Steinberg.

a virtual instrument that plays back recordings of actual sounds.

a piece of hardware or software that generates one of four types of sound waves using oscillators: sine waves, square waves, saw-tooth waves, and triangle waves.

a device used to graphically represent the frequency of an electronic signal over time.

a sound wave generator within a synthesizer.

a term used when referring to a specific sound within a synthesizer, as oscillators were traditionally connected via quarter-inch patch cables to create new sounds during modular synthesis.

a type of sound design wherein multiple sound modules (oscillators) are connected to create patches.

shorthand for low frequency oscillator, which is a device or plugin used to rhythmically modify a sound’s low frequencies in order to generate unique tremolo or vibrato effects.

a timbral adjustment setting on a synthesizer that allows for some frequencies to be attenuated, while others to pass through unaffected.

a sonic adjustment setting on a synthesizer that creates a glissando—a smooth, sliding effect that passes through all of the notes between the specified starting and ending pitches.

a MIDI editing process that allows the user to trigger articulation changes by pressing specified keys on a keyboard controller that correspond to pitches outside of an instrument’s playing range.

a MIDI editing process that allows the user to trigger articulation changes by assigning sample layers to specified velocity ranges.

a manner of recording modifications to a musical parameter over time by means of fader or knob movements that are generated from a mouse or control surface, either during live playback or via asynchronous manipulations of a graphic display.

a piece of hardware that connects to a computer—usually by MIDI or USB cable—to control various software functions.

a destructive automation mode that records override-able parameter adjustments in real time.

an automation playback mode that simply follows any previously recorded automation without creating new parameter adjustments.

an automation editing mode that overrides automation data in the areas that are changed during playback. Once the user lets go of the fader during playback, the adjusted parameter will “latch on” to the most recent value and remain at that level for the rest of the passage.

an automation editing mode that overrides automation data in the areas that are changed during playback. Once the fader is released, the parameter will jump back to its previously recorded value(s), as opposed to “latching” onto the final value and remaining at that level (as in latch mode).

a commonly automated CC message that controls the overall maximum volume of a track that may or may not include any expression control.

a commonly automated CC message that works as a sub-volume, allowing for volume adjustments to be made within the boundaries set by CC7 (volume controller) at any given moment.

a Voltage Controlled Amplifier or Attenuator; in other words, a module or part of a synthesizer that allows for the control of volume and articulation of an incoming signal (which is to be further shaped by an ADSR module).

a synthesizer that is only capable of producing one envelope at a time, as it includes signal flow moving through a single filter, amplifier, and ADSR module.

a synthesizer that allows for one note to be performed and held while a second note is played simultaneously. Both notes will share the same envelope, though the second note joins the envelope generated by the initial note. 

a synthesizer that allows up to four notes to be performed simultaneously, though they still only follow one architectural path; that is, they all follow the same signal flow through a single filter, amplifier, and ADSR module.

a function of a polyphonic synthesizer in which the last note played remains while the first note will stop sounding; in a sense, the last note “steals” the first note’s place within the held sonority.

a functionality built into a polyphonic synthesizer that stops the first voice from sounding once the polyphony threshold—the maximum number of simultaneously-sounding voices—is exceeded. In this situation, the most recent voice entering the texture gains priority over the least recent voice. Put differently, the last note priority scheme results in voice stealing once the polyphony threshold is crossed.