Filter
Top Products
Analog
When discussing audio, this term refers to a method of reproducing a sound wave with voltage fluctuations that are analogous to the
pressure fluctuations of the sound wave. This is different from digital recording in that these fluctuations are infinitely varying rather
than discrete changes at sample time. See also Quantization on page 354.
Attack
The attack of a sound is the initial portion of the sound. Percussive sounds (drums, piano, guitar plucks) are said to have a fast attack. This
means that the sound reaches its maximum amplitude in a very short time. Sounds that slowly swell up in volume (soft strings and wind
sounds) are said to have a slow attack.
Audio Compression Manager (ACM)
The Audio Compression Manager, from Microsoft, is a standard interface for audio compression and signal processing for Windows. The
ACM can be used by Windows programs to compress and decompress .wav files. See also Wave on page 358.
Audio Event Locator
The Audio Event Locator is similar to a scrub function. However, rather than playing the sound file at a slow speed, it loops playback
around the cursor position. This position can be selected by dragging the cursor around in the Sound Forge Overview window.
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)
An audio file format developed by Apple Computer.
ASX File
ASF Stream Redirector file. For more information, see Redirector File on page 354.
Attenuation
A decrease in the level of a signal.
Bandwidth
When discussing audio equalization, each frequency band has a width associated with it that determines the range of frequencies that
are affected by the EQ. An EQ band with a wide bandwidth will affect a wider range of frequencies than one with a narrow bandwidth.
When discussing network connections, bandwidth refers to the rate of signals transmitted or the amount of data that can be
transmitted in a fixed amount of time (stated in bits/second): a 56 Kbps network connection is capable of receiving 56,000 bits of data
per second.
Baseline
The baseline of a waveform is also referred to as the zero-amplitude axis or negative infinity. In the following image, the red line
represents the baseline.
Beats Per Minute (BPM)
The tempo of a piece of music can be written as a number of beats in one minute. If the tempo is 60 BPM, a single beat will occur once
every second.
344
| APPENDIX E