Music Industry

Audio file formats are different ways of storing digital audio data on computers. Audio files take the sound waves from a recording and turn them into numbers so a computer can work with them. There are many different audio file formats, each with their own qualities. The format tells the computer how to understand and…

Attenuation means making something weaker or having less of it. In audio, attenuation is when you reduce the strength of a sound signal. This makes the sound quieter. You could say the volume goes down. It’s kind of like slowly turning down the knob on your stereo. How does audio attenuation work? Sound is made…

An Analog to Digital Converter, or ADC for short, is a device that changes analog signals into digital data. Analog signals are like the sound waves that come out of a guitar or a voice. Digital data is the kind of information that computers and other electronic devices can understand and work with. You can…

Allegro is a word used in music. It’s Italian, which means the music should be played quickly and lively. When a piece of music or song says “allegro” at the top, the musician knows to play it at a fast and cheerful tempo. What exactly does allegro mean? The word allegro is pronounced “uh-LEG-grow” in…

When we talk about 32-bit in audio and music production, you should know it means the musical data has 32 bits to describe each sample. This 32-bit business is all about the resolution – the detail with which the audio is captured and represented digitally. Understanding Bit Depth Bit depth tells you how many bits…

12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in blues music. You’ll also hear it in rock and roll, jazz, R&B, country, folk, and other styles that have roots in the blues. It’s been around since the early 1900s and is the basis for thousands of songs. Characteristics A 12-bar blues has a…

A tribute album, also called a “cover album,” is when a music group or musician records songs that were first done by a different artist. The new versions are meant to honor or “pay tribute to” the original artist. The original artist is usually very famous or important, and the artist making the tribute album…

A solo album is an album made by just one musician. The word “solo” means “alone”. So when a musician makes a solo album, they do it without help from other people in their band. Why do musicians make solo albums? There are a few main reasons a musician might decide to make a solo…

A “greatest hits” album is a compilation of an artist’s or band’s most popular or commercially successful songs. These albums collect tracks from several albums released previously during their career into a single release. “Greatest hits” albums go by many names including “best of”, “singles collection”, “the definitive collection”, or “the essential”. Why Release a…

A debut album is the first studio album recorded and released by a musician or band. It marks the beginning of their career in the music industry. The debut album is super important because it introduces the artist’s music to the public for the first time. It gives us our first impression of what they’re…