Glossary of Music Production Terms

The aim of this glossary is to give you a basic understanding of the terms and their definitions relative to music production and multimedia development. The list will be added to periodically.

• Audio Editing
  Audio editing is the process of manipulating audio to alter length, speed, and volume or to create additional versions such as loops. Audio editing is almost always done...more
  
  

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• Background Music
  Background music is a term used for music that is intended as a background to an event, production or venue. It aims to be unobtrusive so not to distract or divert the...more
  
  

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• Copyright Free Music
  The term copyright free music is commonly used to refer to music that is royalty free, however, technically and legally there is a difference. In its true sense, copyright...more
  
  

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• Cue Sheets
  Cue sheets are used by TV and Radio broadcasters to report usage of music to the numerous performance royalty collecting societies around the world. The information is...more
  
  

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• Demo Reel / Show Reel
  Both a demo reel and show reel are aimed at demonstrating the talent of the composer / performer. It seems that the old term of ‘Demo Tape’ has been updated to...more
  
  

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• Foley Track
  The Foley artist is responsible for recreating the soundtrack of natural everyday sounds for a film. Additional natural, incidental and ambient sounds are added to the...more
  
  

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• Ident / Audio Logo
  An ident or audio logo is a short piece of music that can be combined with voice-over, sound effects or used on its own to identify a particular product, service, television...more
  
  

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• Instrumental
  Instrumental refers to a piece of music that is produced using instruments only and does not have any vocal or lyrical content. It also refers to a rendition of a song where...more
  
  

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• Jingle
  A jingle is a slogan or vocal line set to an engaging melody mainly used as an advertisement or to open or close a show. Jingles are designed to be memorable and stick in the...more
  
  

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• Music Cue
  The term Music Cue originates from theatrical productions and relates to the insertion of music as a prompt for a performer or stage hand to carry out an action or deliver a...more
  
  

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• Music Loop
  A music loop is a section of a piece of music cut in such a way that it can be seamlessly repeated indefinitely by technical means. Loops can range from a few seconds to many...more
  
  

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• Royalty Free Music
  The term royalty free music or RF music just describes a method of licensing that has become popular due to its simplicity and ease of use. The term can be rather confusing...more
  
  

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• Sound Design
  A sound designer is responsible for creating / sourcing the sound effects and music for a film or theatrical production. This may include working with the composer and...more
  
  

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• Stinger / Bumper
  A stinger or bumper is a short clip of music that can be used to introduce, end or link various sections of an audio or audiovisual production. Sometimes they are also called...more
  
  

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• Temp Music
  Temp music is short for temporary music and is used during the development of products or during developing pilot shows / films. Temp music can be a good way of avoiding full...more
  
  

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• Underscore / Bed
  Removing the vocal / melody part of a song or piece of music creates what is known as an underscore or bed. However, if you are going to replace the vocals / melody with an...more
  
  

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