Music Technology Quiz 1

Front 1

Alternate Controller

Back 1

A midi controller not based on a normal musical instrument

Front 2

Mixer

Back 2

A mixer is a tool that holds many recordings on different tracks and allows the user to change the overall sound by using the mixer's interface (faders, etc.)

Front 3

SMPTE

Back 3

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers - It is used when talking about synchronization time codes.

Front 4

MB

Back 4

One million bytes

Front 5

KB

Back 5

One thousand bytes

Front 6

GB

Back 6

One billion bytes

Front 7

RAM

Back 7

Random Access Memory - RAM is used as a storage for information that is being used.

Front 8

ROM

Back 8

Read Only Memory - ROM is used to store applications and operating necessities.

Front 9

MIDI timecode

Back 9

MIDI timecode is a way to convert SMPTE timecode into MIDI messages.

Front 10

Bus

Back 10

A bus acts as a sub-mixer for multiple tracks and can change the volume of multiple tracks.

Front 11

byte

Back 11

the basic unit of measurement of information storage in computer science.

Front 12

Aux inputs

Back 12

The aux input is used to create the option of an Effects Loop.

Front 13

Sound Cards

Back 13

allow computers to produce sound like music and voice.

Front 14

CPU

Back 14

Central Processing Unit - CPU is a processor designed to run computer programs

Front 15

BIOS

Back 15

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. The BIOS setup program above is used to setup a computer's hardware. Without any disks, or even a hard drive, the BIOS program is always available, written permanently on the BIOS chip.

Front 16

Analog to digital converter

Back 16

This is part of the soundcard that allows for analog signals to be converted to digital messages for the computer

Front 17

DSP chip

Back 17

Digital signal processor, works algorithms for synth, sampler uses dsp for pitch shift

Front 18

Audio interface

Back 18

8-16 track input/output module

Front 19

Channel Messages

Back 19

anything transmitted bya channel (program change, note on, sustain pedal)

Front 20

Channel

Back 20

physical input/output which transmits what is on tracks

Front 21

MIDI port

Back 21

the input, output and thru capabilities of MIDI. transmit and receive midi messages

Front 22

Event list

Back 22

the alphanumeric listing of the recorded MIDI data

Front 23

General MIDI

Back 23

Musical instrument digital interface - MIDI is a universal code for the recording of digital event messages

Front 24

Groove System

Back 24

hybrid of analog and digital synth - digital control over analog synth - allows editing sequencing and storing of patches

Front 25

In/Out/Thru

Back 25

These are midi ports that allow for information to come in, go out, and pass through unchanged.

Front 26

Multitimbral

Back 26

multiple sounds at once

Front 27

Multiport interface

Back 27

a module that contains many in out and thru ports to allow for an increased nubmer of channels

Front 28

Note on

Back 28

a midi message indicating that a key has been pressed and must be activated. a status byte will indicate the channel. 2 dat bytes will indicate note # and velocity.

Front 29

Multi-track

Back 29

using multiple tracks for recording

Front 30

patch

Back 30

a programmable algorithm that will be used to synthesize a sound

Front 31

Continuous Controller Messages

Back 31

messages that are sent continuously indicating a constantly developing change. Pitch Bend wheels transmit continuous controller messages

Front 32

Program Change

Back 32

A channel midi message indicating that the "patch" or synthesis algorithm should is to be changed.

Front 33

Project studio

Back 33

the set of hardware and software necessary to have a home studio

Front 34

Quantize

Back 34

aligning a set of musical notes to a precise setting

Front 35

UART chip

Back 35

unpacks midi

Front 36

MIDI interface

Back 36

the module containing the in out and thru ports and UART chip

Front 37

MIDI patchbay

Back 37

allows a signal to be mapped to multiple destinations.

Front 38

polyphony

Back 38

describes how many notes it can sound at one time

Front 39

Tone (sound) module

Back 39

creates sound after receiving info from controller

Front 40

Synthesis algorithm

Back 40

the algorithm designed to produce a desired sound

Front 41

Start bit

Back 41

the bit at the beginning of a status or data byte

Front 42

Stop bit

Back 42

the bit indicating the end of a status or data byte

Front 43

SMF

Back 43

SMF is the acronym for a standard midi file. it contains a header and 1 or more tracks

Front 44

Sequencer

Back 44

A sequencer is a type of recording and playback system with a programmable memory. It records the control data needed to regenerate a series of musical events.

Front 45

Sampler

Back 45

A sampler contains a pre-recorded sound that can be triggered at the compression of a button

Front 46

Synthesizer

Back 46

creates synthetic sounds from algorithms

Front 47

System Messages

Back 47

message not designated to a specific channel (song position pointer)

Front 48

SysEx Messages

Back 48

allows for communication between a computer and a device from a specific manufacturer

Front 49

MIDI Message

Back 49

MIDI message is a message sent from a controller indicating that an event is to take place

Front 50

Streaming audio

Back 50

Streaming audio is the way in which audio can begin playing while before it is downloaded entirely.

Front 51

Velocity

Back 51

velocity is the speed at which the key is pressed on a controller

Front 52

WAVE file

Back 52

WAVE files is a non compressed high quality file format for PC

Front 53

Voltage-controlled Synthesizer

Back 53

voltage controlled synthesizers crate sound by varying the voltage being passed through oscillators, filters, and amplifiers to create sine waves for sound

Front 54

OS (O/S)

Back 54

the software component of a computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer.

Front 55

Digital audio

Back 55

digital signals for sound reproduction. This includes analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, storage, and transmission.

Front 56

Analog synthesizer

Back 56

an analog synthesizer uses varying amounts of voltage through oscillators, filters, and amplifiers to create sounds

Front 57

Envelope

Back 57

an envelops is a time-varying function that changes sound