Songstuff: Music Glossary

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The Process Of Writing A Song

A song writing process is used to enhance the quality of your work and the speed that each work is created. This article provides tips on creating and using a song writing process, plus observations and suggestions about writing key aspects of a song.

This article is ideal for songwriters who either don't use a formal song writing process, or the song writing process that they are using is not quite working for them. By Songstuff

A Guide To Song Forms - Song Form Overview

Song forms are generally made up of a number of sections that may or may not be repeated within the same song. Popular music is generally based on the use of traditional sectional song forms, or structures that are derived from those traditional song forms.

This article gives an overview of the different fundamental song forms, and it provides a basic understanding of common modern song forms. By Songstuff

A Guide To Song Forms - Extended Common Song Forms And More

Add some new tools to your song writing toolbox by learning about common song forms. This article describes how common song forms can be extended, and looks at some of the less common song forms, such as through composed songs.

This article builds upon the AAA, AABA, AB, ABC and AAB song forms, and upon compound song forms, explained in our other articles in this series. By Songstuff

A Guide To Song Forms - Compound Song Forms

Have you ever used a compound song form? As a songwriter, I bet you have. Compound song forms are far more common than you might at first think.

Building upon the AAA, AABA, AB, ABC and AAB song form articles from our series on song forms, this article explains common compound popular song forms that you can add to your song writing toolbox. By Songstuff

Keeping A Song Interesting

Keeping a song interesting is not as easy as it might at first seem. For example, how do you stop listeners getting bored and switching off? What can you do to help hold the attention of listeners until the very end of a song? Will varying song structure help? Would changing song arrangement and instrumentation be enough? What effect can be introduced during song performance? Will the song lyrics make a difference? This article helps to explain the variety of things that you can do, during song writing, song arrangement, song performance, song recording, song production and song mastering, to help you too keep your song interesting. By Songstuff

Glossary Navigation

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C

Cadence
This is the concluding phrase either at the end of a section of melody, or the end of the complete melody.

There are some standard cadence formulae:

Perfect - dominant to tonic
Imperfect - tonic to dominant
Plagal - subdominant to tonic
Interrupted - dominant to something other than tonic

Cans
'Cans' is just another name for headphones.

Capacitor
A capacitor is an electronic component that is capable of storing electric charge. Amongst the many uses for these components are there use in analogue filter circuits and the Capacitor Microphone.

Capacitor Microphone
The Capacitor microphone is also called a Condenser or Electrostatic microphone. The audio signal is generated by the variations in the capacitance between one or two diaphragms and a fixed plate. Normally this kind of microphone will require either a battery or external power source to provide a polarizing voltage. This kind of mike is commonly used for high quality audio applications.

Capstan
The Capstan is the drive spindle on a tape machine.

Cardioid Microphone
This is a unidirectional microphone. The name is derived from the distinctive polar (microphone directional response) pattern, which resembles a heart shape.

Chase Lock Sync
The slave "chases" the master by rewinding and fast forwarding till it gets to the right location. Used with SMPTE.

Chord
3 or more different notes played at the same time. If only 2 notes are played the third note is implied.

Chorus (Singers)
Another name for a group of singers where there are more than 1 singer performing each part.

Chorus (Song)
The chorus is intended to be the most memorable part of the song. It is repeated several times so that it sticks in your mind. Several other tricks are used to help it stick.

Commonly a chorus:

Contrasts with the verse, rhythmically, melodically, lyrically, harmonically and / or dynamically.
A chorus is repeated at least once, both musically and lyrically. Usually several times.
It is more intense, has more energy
A chorus is almost always of a greater musical and emotional intensity than the verse.

Lyrically:

The main message and /or concept is expressed in the chorus.
The title / main hook of the song is usually included in the chorus.
The chorus is often a conclusion about the main theme, or a comment about it.

The hook is often at it's best when it is a good tag line or slogan representing the song. The chorus is the best place to showcase the tag line. The chorus is repeated for good reason. Repeating anything makes it more memorable. That is why you want your tag line here. It is also why you want the Song Title to be the main hook, and why you are wise to put some effoirt into finding the right hook / title... because it ends up being used so often in the song, and anything worth devoting that much song real estate had better be good.

Take a look at our article "Creating A Song Title" for more in-depth details about choosing a suitable title.

Most songs start with an introduction and then the verse. Some songs will start with the chorus, or with an introduction based upon the chorus theme, or with the full chorus.

Chromatic
In essence the use of "accidental" notes.

Chromatic Scale
A musical scale where the consecutive notes are separated by a semi-tone interval.

Click Track
This is an audio track that contains a metronome beat at the tempo of the music. This allows musicians to synchronise acurately to a film or parts recorded during another performance.

Clipping
Distortion due to overloading of an audio signal. In the Analogue domain this is normally caused by the peak signal voltage being limited by the audio circuits' power supply voltage.

CODA
Coda is an Italian word for "tail". These are the closing lines of a song which brings it to a close. It is not uncommon for the Coda to include aspects of both Ad Lib and collision sections. The coda is an optional addition to a song.

Collision
A collision is a song section where different parts of music overlap with each other. Collisions do not tend to last very long, and usually they occur towards the end of the song. It creates tension and drama which makes it ideal to use during one of the later chorus sections. A common source of collision themes to collide with the chorus theme are the middle eight and the pre-chorus melodies.

Coloration (Colouration)
Coloration is the change in frequency response caused by resonance.

Comping
This is the process of creating a single, composite recording from a number of 'takes'. This can be done in both the analogue and digital domains.

Compressor
A compressor is a device for automatically controlling the level of an audio signal. This has the overall effect of reducing the dynamic range of the source signal. See our guide to Compression below.
Songstuff Compression Article

Condenser
Another name for a Capacitor Microphone.

Crossfade
Fading one element or track of a mix out, as you fade another one in.

Crosstalk
When one signal "spills" or "leaks" onto another signal during the transmission process. For example when two audio cables are routed adjacent to each other and signal leaks from one onto the other.

This most commonly happens with poorly shielded cables carrying signals with sharp transient spikes. This is due to unwanted conductive, inductive or capacative coupling between the two cables (or anywhere on the cirtcuit).

Crosstalk is also applied to unwanted spill (bleed, leakage) from an unwanted acoustic sound source into a microphone, for example bleed from a singer's headphones onto a vocal recording, or hi-hat hits onto the snare microphone. This is effectively acoustic coupling.

Cymbal
A piece of circular metal with a bell shape in the center used as part of a drum kit to create crashing or other glass like sounds. Cymbals can be created by using a hand hammering process or by using a lathe. Different types of cymbals include Crash, Ride, Splash, Hi-Hat, Bells, and Chinas.