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DICTIONARY
TECHNICAL TERMS
SAMPLING
The digitizing of sound “sampling” is a process where
analog sounds (live instruments, vocals, etc.) are captured digitally. The digital
recordings (a.k.a. samples) can then be edited and performed on an electronic
keyboard or control device.
SAMPLE CD
A sample CD is a disc that houses digitized sounds (from
instruments, phrases, effects, and so on) for use in creating music. Many sample
CDs are delivered in a standard Audio format that can be played on conventional
CD players.
SAMPLE CD-ROM
A disc containing files that can only be read by a computer
and/or sampling instrument. These discs cannot be played on a standard CD player.
KEYWORD SEARCH
LOOP
This constitutes a sound that includes a musical performance,
be it a drum-loop, instrumental or vocal phrase, lick or riff, or any type of
musical sound or phrase that has a tempo.
ONE-SHOT
A single sound is commonly referred to as a one-shot event.
The file containing the sound is referred to as a sample. A recording of a single
snare drum hit is an example of a “one-shot” sound.
MULTI-SAMPLE
A multi-sampled instrument is comprised of more than one
sample. To reproduce a realistic grand piano digitally, for example, many notes
of an acoustic piano must be sampled and key-mapped, resulting in a “multi-sample.”
Multi-samples can be formatted specifically for software or hardware sample-playback
devices such as Kontakt, Battery, MachFive, etc.
SOUND-EFFECTS (SE)
Sound Effects are typically non-musical events. They can
be used in audio, video, and cinematic production. Sound design refers to sounds
that are created using manipulated audio recordings or synthetically generated
by electronic equipment or software.
TYPE
This indicates the category of the sound file. The type
can be classified as One-shot, Loop, Multi-sample, Sound Effects.
BPM
This indicates the number of beats per minute, or tempo.
The bigger the number the faster the tempo. (e.g. 80 BPM is relatively slow,
and 200 BPM is fast.)
FILE FORMAT
AUDIO
AUDIO is the most common format read by standard music CD
players.
WAV
WAV is the standard sound format for Windows. It is also
supported by Apple's QuickTime Player for Macs.
ACID
A WAV format created for use with Sony Media Software's
audio editing software series Acid. Acidized files allow you to adjust a sample's
tempo and pitch data.
The other compatible software:
REX2
A file format created by Propellerhead Software for use
with their software ReCycle! 2.0. With REX2 it is possible to change the tempo
without affecting the pitch (and visa versa) of loops. REX2 files can also be
used with software such as Propellerhead’s Reason and many others.
The other compatible software:
KONTAKT
This format is optimized for Native Instrument's software
sampler Kontakt.
The other compatible software:
BATTERY
This format is optimized for Native Instrument's drum software
sampler Battery.
The other compatible software:
EXS24
This format is optimized for Apple’s Logic Audio software sampler EXS24, and for software sample players compatible with VST2.0 EXS24.
The other compatible software:
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