Electronic Music Production Dictionary

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Gain

Gain refers to the act of increasing the volume of an audio signal.

Gating

Gating involves lowering the volume of an audio signal. Traditionally, gating is used to remove background hum and hiss from poor audio recordings. However, gating can also be used to introduce rhythmic characteristics to non-rhythmic audio material.

Glitch

Glitch effects are characterized by small, choppy edits. They are found in many styles of electronic music, especially intelligent dance music (IDM). A pioneering artist of glitch edits is BT.


Haas Effect

The Haas Effect is the phenomenon that occurs when two copies of an audio signal reach your ears at slightly different times. Your brain interprets the delay between signals as a directional cue, creating a stereo image. (See "Mixing The Stereo Image" in Premium).


House

House music is a genre of electronic music characterized by a four-on-the-floor kick drum, funky bass lines, staccato rhythm elements, and compression. Its roots are found in disco music. This music originated in the 80's club scene and has been evolving ever since. House music is one of the most popular forms of electronic dance music.


Instruments

In terms of electronic music, instruments are sound generators. The term Instruments encompasses synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, and more. Typically, instruments are found in the form of plugins.


Keying

Keying is usually produced by a side chain gate. One audio signal is used to trigger an increase in the volume of level of a different signal. The second signal is said to be keyed by the first audio signal.


Kick

The kick drum is arguably the most important element of electronic dance music. It is crucial that the kick drum cuts through the mix.

There are many techniques to achieve kick drum clarity. One popular trick is to EQ the bass and kick drum so that they do not share many overlapping frequencies. (See "Kick Drum & Bass Mixing Techniques"). Another popular method involves using side chain compression to "duck out" the bass whenever the kick is present in the mix. (See "Side Chain Compression").