| A | B |
|---|
| Analog sound | Sound that the human ear can hear. It is created when an object produces sound waves. A voice, a phonograph needle, and an amplifier all produce analog sound. |
| Waveform | The shape and frequency of analog sound waves. |
| Background noise | Various unwanted sounds that interfere with audio. Examples of background noise are static on a radio or the fuzzy noise associated with analog recordings. |
| Binary language | A computer language consisting of ones and zeros. All computers operate using binary language. Analog-to-digital converters turn analog audio into binary language, which is then converted by the computer into digital music. |
| Chord | A combination of three or more musical tones sounded together. |
| Controller | A musical instrument, keyboard, or other object used to control the sounds produced by a synthesizer. Many controllers communicate with a synthesizer through an analog-to-digital converter. |
| Cycle | A portion of an audio waveform that repeats. The volume and pitch of a sound can influence the frequency and shape of the cycle. |
| Digital sound | Sound that is created by a synthesizer using ones and zeros. Also, analog sound that has been converted into ones and zeros by an analog-to-digital converter. For digital sound to be heard by humans, it has to be translated into analog sound. |
| Harmony | The simultaneous playing of two or more musical tones. Harmonies are generally pleasing to the ear. |
| Home theater | A video and audio system designed to produce images and audio at home that are of the same quality as those produced in movie theaters. The system usually includes a large-screen TV and multiple speakers. |
| Magnetic signals | Electrical signals that produce areas of magnetization on plastic Mylar audio tape. |
| Melody | A sequence of musical tones used to produce a rhythmic song or tune. |
| Musical Instrument Digital Interface | MIDI-It is a language used by digital musical instruments to communicate with each other. MIDI also allows one synthesizer to "talk" to another, sharing information such as sequences and sounds. |
| Musical scale | A series of musical tones arranged in a sequence of rising and falling pitches. All music is written using scales. |
| Oscillator | An electronic device used to produce audio signals. An oscillator establishes and maintains oscillations, or variations between minimum and maximum values, of a certain frequency. |
| Sampling | The act or process of converting analog audio to digital audio so that it can be used with a synthesizer or sequencer. |
| Sequencer | An electronic device or software program that puts segments of digital audio into a sequence. It can be used to sequence the sounds produced by more than one synthesizer. |
| Sound effects | Sounds that are created and recorded for video or audio programs. Sound effects may be recordings of sounds such as footsteps, thunder, space battles, and alien voices. |
| Synthesizer | An electronic device that uses oscillators, filters, and amplifiers to produce synthesized sounds or to imitate musical instruments. |
| Analog-to-digital converter | A machine that translates analog sound into the digital language of ones and zeros. The converter turns music into a language that computers can understand. The term is sometimes shortened to "A/D converter." |
