Chapter 7

a succession of simultaneously sounding harmonics stemming from a fundamental pitch.

the base frequency or lowest-sounding tone resulting from a sound wave, which is also the first harmonic in the overtone series.

also known as overtones, these are frequencies heard along with a fundamental that are multiples of the fundamental pitch’s frequency.

a tuning system that divides each octave into twelve equal semitones, which is slightly out of tune with some of the harmonics present in the overtone series.

divisions of a semitone in equal temperament, of which there are 100.

tone color that is generated by the sound’s amplitude envelope and the array of excited harmonics that are created above each sounding fundamental.

a way of describing how a sound unfolds over time from its first transient to the point at which it fades out. Amplitude envelope is described according to four stages, abbreviated as ADSR: attack, decay, sustain, and release.

the four stages of an amplitude envelope: attack, decay, sustain, and release.

a DAW plugin that shows the exact frequencies that are excited during playback, along with the decibel levels for each frequency within the spectrum.

the lowest useful register for a given harmonic interval.

to increase the intensity of a certain range within the frequency spectrum during equalization.

to decrease the intensity of a certain range within the frequency spectrum during equalization.

the act of shaping a signal by attenuating and/or boosting specific frequencies.

a basic equalizer that typically features three knobs adjusting high, mid, and low frequencies, with the high and low ranges controlled by low-pass and high-pass shelving EQs, respectively.

frequency range, typically adjusted by the Q factor within an equalizer.

an equalizer that does not affect any frequencies above a designated cutoff point, instead boosting/cutting frequencies below the threshold.

an equalizer that does not affect any frequencies below a designated cutoff point, instead boosting/cutting frequencies above the threshold.

an equalizer that boosts or attenuates a band of frequencies unevenly in a bell curve pattern around a single peak frequency.

an equalizer displaying several sliders that control the boosting or attenuation of specific frequency bands, arranged from lowest to highest in frequency in a left-to-right format.

a flexible equalizer that features several customizable bands whose Q factor can be adjusted by the user.

the ratio of the core frequency to bandwidth. By lowering the Q factor, a producer expands the bandwidth of affected frequencies during equalization. Raising the Q factor does the opposite.