Songstuff: Music Glossary

You are one step away from taking part in the most inspiring community of musicians and songwriters.

It won't cost you a single cent.

Click NOW to get instant access!

Sign Up

or

Log In

Modules

New Articles

3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Singing Range

Vocal coach Ken Taylor discusses three simple and effective ways to improve your singing range while at the same time addressing some common vocal issues. By Ken Taylor

Songwriters - Learn How the Position of Your Lyrics Can Change What You're Saying

Position lyrical phrases within your music so that the message you are trying to get through to your audience is the message they get. By Anthony Ceseri

Visualization

When writing lyrics why is visualization important? The use of effective imagery can be the difference between listeners connecting to your lyrics or not. This article is for lyricists who are looking to improve the use of imagery within their lyrics. By Jon Hanover

Why Do The Lyrics of John Mayer’s Daughters Work So Well?

A lyrics analysis of the song Daughters by John Mayer, looking at how he evolves the meaning of the chorus by adding extra information to successive verses. By Anthony Ceseri

How To Survive In Today's Music Business Recession

Jazz and blues singer, and HMMA nominee Cheryl Hodge shares 3 secrets of her ongoing success within the music industry. By Cheryl Hodge

Glossary Navigation

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

L

LFO
Acronym for Low Frequency Oscillator. This is an oscillator, normally oscillating below 20Hz, acting as a modulation source applied to another signal. The waveshape of the LFO can often be selected as a sine, square, triangular or sawtooth waveform.

Limiter
This is a variation on a Compressor that uses a compression ratio of 10:1 or larger. Limiters are used to stop a signal exceeding a certain preset level. See our article Compression by following the link below.

Songstuff Compression Article

Line Input
This is an input that is designed to operate at Line Level.

Line Level
This is the nominal or operating level of an audio system. This level normally corresponds with a '0 VU' meter reading. Standard Line levels are:

+8 dBm (1.95 volts RMS), Broadcast

+4 dBm (1.23 volts RMS), Pro Recording

-10 dBv (310 millivolts RMS), Alternative Pro Recording

Line Output
This is an ouput designed to operate at the nominal Line Level.

Loss
This is completely the opposite of gain in a circuit, i.e. attenuation.

Low Pass Filter
This is a type of filter that attenuates frequencies above a cutoff frequency. i.e. it allows low frequencies to pass through unchanged.