ARP2600 - Fundamentals of Music Technology - Cyborgstudio.com

GLOSSARY - 127CUTOFF SLOPE - The rate at which the filterattenuates harmonics.DDC COUPLING - Sounds being input are leftunchanged. (As opposed to having their offset setto zero volts as in AC coupling). This means thatan incoming saw wave which moves between 0and +10 volts would continue unchanged ratherthan being changed to -5 to +5 volts. (See AC coupling)DECIBEL (dB) - A reference for the measurementof sound energy. The minimum change involume that the human ear can perceive. Namedafter Alexander Graham Bell.dB/OCTAVEThe unit typically used to indicate the slope of afilter, or how fast thefrequency response rolls off past the cutoff frequency.Example: A 24dB/octave filter would attenuate an input signalby 24 dB one octave above the cutoff frequency,by 48 dB two octaves above the cutoff frequency,and so on.DECAY - The second stage in an ADSR type envelopegenerator. See ADSR.DEPTH - The amount of modulation. Sometimescalled Amount, Width, Intensity or ModulationIndex.DISTRIBUTION PATCH - A patch involvingthe electronic switch in which a signal input tojack C will be alternately distributed to jacks Aand B which will serve as outputs.DISTORTION - A waveform’s shape is changedwhen its amplitude becomes so great that it exceedsthe dynamic range of an electronic circuit.The tops and bottoms of the waveforms are clippedoff, thus changing or distorting the shape of thewaveform. This results in a timbral change, oftenresulting in a harsher quality.DOUBLE MODULATION - Two differentmodulators modulate a single carrier. Althoughdouble frequency modulation is the most commonform of double modulation, any case in which twomodulators modulating a single carrier is doublemodulation.DUMMY PLUG - The plug from a patch cordwithout the cord. It allows the user to break anormal and not connect anything else to that jack.DUTY CYCLE - The amount of time a pulsewave is ‘on’, and the amount of time a pulse waveis ‘off’.DUOPHONIC - The ability to play two notes atonce.DYNAMIC RANGE - The range of possibleamplitudes that a given electrical circuit canhandle.EECHO - Sound waves which have bounced offof an object and returned to a listener.ELECTRONIC SWITCH - A module which alternatesan electrical connection between eithertwo inputs and one output or two outputs and oneinput.EMPHASIS - See ResonanceENVELOPE - A voltage contour created by anenvelope generator or the envelope follower. It isalmost always used as a control signal. See ADSR,AR, and Envelope Generator.