Glossary

Contents > Glossary

Accent - a strong note, usually played on the first beat of the bar

Arpeggio - a chord played as a sequence of notes, rather than all at once

Authorisation - a procedure for upgrading JUMP from the demo version to the full version

Bar (Measure) - a length of time, typically divided into 3 or 4 beats

Beat - a division of time - there are usually 3 or 4 beats to the bar

BPM - Beats Per Minute

CC - MIDI Control Change

Circle of Fifths - a circular visualisation of keys arranged clockwise to ascend by an interval of a perfect fifth

Chord - 3 or more different notes played together

Chordal - using the notes of a chord

Degree - the position of a note (or a chord's root note) in the scale [I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII]

Diatonic Harmony - a type of harmony using only those notes that belong to the scale

Dominant - the fifth degree of the scale [V]

EM (Energy Modulation) - using the changing energy level to vary parameters such as strength

Energy - a concept used to automate things like changes in tempo and strength

GM (General MIDI) - a standard for drum sounds, instrument patches etc

Humanise - the subtle variation of note strengths and timings to simulate human performance

Interval - a distance, or difference in pitch, between two notes

Key - the name of a particular scale of notes

Key Modulation - changing key during a song

LSB (Least Significant Byte) - a MIDI Bank Switch [CC32] used to extend the number of patches available beyond 128

MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface

MIDI Clock Sync - a method for synchronising the timing of MIDI "slave" devices to a "master" such as JUMP

Monophonic - one note at a time

Motif - a single bar of either monophonic, polyphonic or rhythmic musical information

MSB (Most Significant Byte) - a MIDI Bank Switch [CC0] used to extend the number of patches available beyond 128

Octave - an interval (e.g. C3 to C4) sometimes called the "perfect" 8th because of the simple 2 : 1 frequency ratio

Pan - a mixing term (short for "panoramic") - controls the left-right position of a track in the stereo field

Perfect Fifth - an interval (e.g. C to G) called "perfect" because of the simple 3 : 2 frequency ratio

Perfect Fourth - an interval (e.g. C to F) called "perfect" because of the simple 4 : 3 frequency ratio

Polyphonic - several notes at a time

Port - a MIDI device such as a built-in synthesizer on a soundcard or a MIDI interface (each port can support up to 16 channels)

Root - the note in a chord that has the same name as the chord (e.g. C is the root of Cmaj7)

Scale - a series of pitches arranged according to a particular pattern of intervals

Seventh Note - an extra note added to a triad to form a 4 note chord

Subdominant - the fourth degree of the scale [IV]

Swing - uneven timing between pairs of notes (usually the first note is twice the length of the second)

Tonic - the first degree of the scale [I]

Triad - a 3 note chord made up of root, third and fifth

Tying (Tied Together) - the joining together of two notes to produce one long one

Velocity - the MIDI term for strength (based on how fast a keyboard note is pressed)

Virtual MIDI Cable - software that can route the output of one MIDI program to the input of another

Voicing - the octave distribution of a chord's notes

 

 

 

 

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A Guide to Using JUMP - Copyright © 2003 - 2008 Hard Note Software Ltd