Audio Basics Terminology List
Worship: Love expressed, in any way, to God
A1: Front of House Mix Engineer
A2: Assists the A1 – An audio team member who manages a sound system for meetings that do not require a band
A3: An audio team member with little or no audio or musical background – duties include changing batteries and being an attentive set of eyes focused on the stage
FOH: Front of House – mix position – where the main audio console is located
PCO: (Planning Center Online) An internet-based application that provides one central place to schedule and organize all aspects of your worship services
Infuse/Development: Team development process for Worship, Audio and Production at Church of the Highlands
Console: Any audio mixer (analog or digital)
RF: Radio Frequency
Battery Indicator: Shows battery power status of a device
IEM: In Ear Monitor
SPL: Sound Pressure Level
dB: Decibel (audio level measurement)
Playlist: Collection of songs in any audio playback software
Pre-service: Collection of songs (playlist) to be used before and after services
Crossfade: Causes songs within a playlist to overlap the end of a song with the beginning of the next song resulting in a smoother transition
Dropbox: Storage application for shared files
Acoustic Amplification: The process of a signal or source naturally getting louder within an environment without electronic amplification (i.e. acoustic guitar, cathedral or amphitheater)
Public Address System “PA”: Refers to the speaker system portion of a sound system; also refers to an environment that requires a sound system for a source to be heard
Sound Reinforcement: Refers to a sound system which reinforcements sources that can be somewhat heard in a given environment, but still require amplification for the desired result
Reflective Surface: Refers to a boundary surface that highly “reflects” sound waves rather than absorbing them
Absorptive Surface: Refers to a boundary surface that is prone to “absorb” sound waves rather than reflecting them
Transferred Sound: Sound waves that pass through a boundary surface
Audio Isolation: The practice of creating a method of stopping or reducing audio transferred between two or more mediums or environments
Audio Pollution: Can be any unwanted or undesirable audio source being introduced into an environment
High Volume Air Flow: A high amount of moving air
High Velocity Air Flow: Rapidly moving air
Source: Refers to the originating point of a sound (may be a vocal, instrument or playback device)
DSP: Digital Signal Processor – A digital device that provides multiple audio tools for adjusting or managing an audio signal
Audio Mixer: Any device designed to combine two of more audio sources or signals
Analog Audio: An audio signal which has been converted from acoustic energy to an electronic waveform
Digital Audio: A digital representation of an audio signal which has been converted from an electronic waveform to a digital format
Audio Transducer: A device which converts mechanical energy into an electrical signal or vise-versa (speaker or microphone)
“DI” Direct Insertion Box: interface used to convert impedance from hi to low or vise-versa
Aviom: Manufacturer of IEM personal mixers
Audio Mixer: Any device designed to combine two of more audio sources or signals
Analog Audio: An audio signal which has been converted from acoustic energy to an electronic waveform
Digital Audio: A digital representation of an audio signal which has been converted from an electronic waveform to a digital format
Audio Transducer: A device which converts mechanical energy into an electrical signal or vise-versa (speaker or microphone)
Signal Flow: The path an audio signal takes from one device to another
Signal Chain: A series of connected electronic components
Gain Stage: Any point within a signal chain where the engineer can make adjustments to levels
Gain Staging: The process of managing the relative levels in a series of gain stages to prevent the introduction of noise and/or distortion
Analog Snake: Multi-conductor cable that run from stage to an audio mixer, many times referred to as “copper”
Dynamic Microphone: Mics that create sound with a voice coil attached to the back of a diaphragm
Condenser Microphone: Mics that create sound with a metalized diaphragm which is one plate of a capacitor
Polar Pattern: The sensitivity to sound relative to the direction or angle from which the sound arrives; how well the microphone “hears“ a signal from different directions
Shotgun Microphone: Has a very narrow off-axis pickup pattern and an extended out-front pickup
Parabolic Reflector: Utilizes a regular cardioid pattern microphone mounted inside of a half-sphere such that it focuses all incoming signal to the microphone
Phantom Power: DC electric power transmitted through microphone cables to operate microphones that contain active electronic circuitry. (I.e. condenser mics)
Proximity Effect: The change of frequency response of a microphone, having a directional pick-up pattern that produces and emphasizes the lower frequencies
Audio Signal Processing: The intentional alteration or manipulation of audio signals or through an audio effect or effects unit
Equalization: The process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal