10 Musical Terms Every Music Producer Should Know
By Andrew U.G.
Aspiring and experienced music producers, alike, need to understand the language of music to compete in the highly competitive music field. While years of music school may not be required to become successful, it’s good to know these ten musical terms that enhance your knowledge as an artist.
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Acapella
Acapella is music that completely dispenses with the participation of instruments. Some Acapella performances today involve acoustics but earlier, it was only understood as “a cappella” when the musician had no aid for his melody.
EQ
EQ (Equalizer) is a software plugin or piece of hardware that allows us to shape a sound by adjusting the gain (volume) of a sound at selected points. The range of human hearing goes from 20 Hz (Hertz) to 20,000 Hz. EQs will often display a range bigger than the range that humans can hear.
Chord
Chords are made up of at least two notes. The most common kind of chord is the three-note chord, called a triad. Triads include all the chords we call major chords, minor chords, diminished chords, and augmented chords.
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Bar
A bar corresponds to four beats and is enough for about one line in the context of Rap music. A verse is or used to be 16 bars long, today you can often find shorter verses in genres like Rap, such as 12 bars or even just 8 bars.
DAW
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is the software used for tracking, editing, mixing, and mastering audio sound in our modern world. Usually virtual, a DAW comes with Plug-ins as the instruments and a computer rather than a $100,000 recording studio.
Melody
Melody is a deliberately designed tone sequence within a song and hence an integral part of a vocal or instrumental composition. This means, a melody tells a story and produces sounds that can be easily re-sung or whistled.
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Harmony
This is the chord progression. Harmony ranges from very simple to extremely complex. In some music, it’s a byproduct of what’s going on, but often it’s the canvas onto which the melody or musical lines are painted.
Reverb
There are chances that you've been in a place and heard that the room had another sound - maybe you moved into a new house and noticed a little bit of an echo in the empty rooms before furnishings. The impression that sounds “hang” in the air is Reverb.
Tempo
Tempo simply refers to speed or pace. Even when there is no specific BPM noted, a musician always plays either fast or slow or in between.
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Genre
A music genre is usually the conventional category that groups together music that shares a set of conventions or traditions. Elements of a specific Genre can range within; Story, character, plot, or setting.
In order to become a successful music producer, you must first learn the basics. The musical terms above will help you look well-defined in your craft going forward. Being a successful artist takes consistent effort. With hard work and a great sound, it is definitely possible to become a next-level artist, but remember to continue pursuing knowledge along the way. Being an artist is an amazing career, but it will always be a never-ending journey of growth and experimentation.
