Glossary

In the world of music production, understanding key genres, sound qualities, instruments, and techniques is essential for shaping creative ideas and communicating effectively with artists, producers, and engineers. From atmospheric Ambient textures to high-energy EDM, each genre brings its own mood, rhythm, and cultural roots. Sound design relies on descriptors like warm, glitchy, or saturated, while musical arrangement uses elements like build-ups, drops, and hooks to structure energy. A vast array of acoustic and electronic instruments, synth types, and percussive elements serve as the sonic palette, shaped by production effects like reverb, sidechain, or bitcrushing. Finally, core music theory concepts like chords, scales, and modulation guide melody, harmony, and form, bringing technical precision to expressive sound.

GENRES / STYLES

Ambient
Chillout
Downtempo
Disco
Dub
EDM
Electronica
Experimental
Funk
Hip Hop
House
Industrial
Jazz
Lofi
Pop
Rock
Synthwave
Techno
Trap
Trance
World

SOUND / TEXTURE QUALITIES

Analog
Digital
Warm
Cold
Crunchy
Grainy
Glitchy
Saturated
Clean
Modulated
Layered
Looped
One-shot
Granular
Stereo Field
Mid-Side
Dry
Wet

ARRANGEMENT ELEMENTS

Intro
Outro
Breakdown
Build-up
Drop
Bridge
Verse
Chorus
Pre-Chorus
Hook
Solo
Fill
Stab
Loop
Stem

INSTRUMENTS (ACOUSTIC / ELECTRONIC)

Guitar (Acoustic, Electric, Nylon, Steel)
Bass (Electric, Upright, Synth, Fretless, Slap)
Drums (Acoustic, Electronic)
Piano (Grand, Upright, Electric, Toy)
Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Ensemble)
Winds (Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon)
Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Horn)
World Instruments (Sitar, Duduk, Erhu, Kalimba, Shamisen, Ney, Hang)
Synthesizers (Modular, Subtractive, FM, Wavetable, Granular, Additive)

SYNTH TYPES

303
Arp
Chord
Lead
Pad
Pluck
Stab
String Pad
Vocoder

DRUM ELEMENTS

808
909
Brushes
Cymbals
Drum Fill
Drum Kit
Kick
Rim Shot
Snare
Tom
Top

EFFECTS

Ambience
Atmosphere
Boom
Downshifter
Drone
Foley
Found Sound
Gate
Glitched
Impact
Material
Mechanical
Nature
Noise
Reverse
Riser
Sci-fi
Scratch
Siren
Sweep
Transition
Vinyl
Woosh

KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

Accordion
Clavichord
Clavinet
Electric Piano
Harpsichord
Melodica
Organ
Piano
Thumb Piano
Wurlitzer

GUITARS & WORLD STRING INSTRUMENTS

Acoustic Guitar
Banjo
Bouzouki
Cumbus
Cura
Electric Guitar
Harp
Kopuz
Koto
Mandolin
Oud
Qanun
Saz
Sitar
Sitouki
Swarmandal
Tamboura
Tar
Ukulele
Zither

MALLET INSTRUMENTS

Glockenspiel
Marimba
Vibraphone
Xylophone

MIXED / ORCHESTRAL / MELODIC ELEMENTS

Combi
Melodic
Orchestral

PERCUSSION

Agogo
Bata
Bell
Berimbau
Bongo
Cabasa
Cajon
Caxixi
Chimes
Clap
Clave
Click
Conga
Cowbell
Cuica
Darbuka
Dholak
Djembe
Finger Cymbal
Frame Drum
Glass
Gong
Guiro
Hang Drum
Kalimba
Metal
Mixed Percussion
Pot
Rainstick
Rattle
Shaker
Snap
Surdo
Sweet Bell
Tabla
Taiko
Talking Drum
Tambourine
Tank Drum
Timbale
Timpani
Triangle
Udu
Urumi
Whistle
Wood
Woodblock

VOCALS

Acapella
Adlib
Backing Vocals
Beatbox
Choir
Chopped Vocals
Chorus
Female Vocal
Hook
MC
Male Vocal
Rap
Robot
Shout
Spoken Word
Verse

WIND & BRASS

Bassoon
Brass
Clarinet
Didgeridoo
Flute
Harmonica
Horn
Oboe
Panpipe
Saxophone
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Wind

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Layering
Sidechain
EQ
Compression
Limiting
Saturation
Reverb
Delay
Chorus
Distortion
Automation
Quantization
Time-Stretching
Pitch Shifting
Chopping
Sampling
Resampling
Granulation
Bitcrushing
Glitch Processing

MUSIC THEORY CONCEPTS

Intervals
Chords
Triads
Sevenths
Chord Inversions
Cadences
Chord Progressions
Timbre
Dynamics
Articulation
Counterpoint
Modulation
Form
Tempo
Meter
Key Signature
Clef
Modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian)
Pentatonic
Blues Scale
Harmonic Minor
Melodic Minor
Chromatic Scale
Phrygian Dominant

1. Genres & Styles

Electronic music spans countless moods and movements. Here are some of the most common genres and styles you’ll encounter:

Ambient • Atmospheric, textural music focused on mood rather than rhythm.
Chillout / Downtempo • Laid-back, slow-to-midtempo grooves ideal for relaxing environments.
Disco / Funk • Dance-floor roots with strong basslines, four-on-the-floor beats, and rhythmic guitars.
EDM / Electronica • Broad umbrella terms for mainstream dance music (EDM) or more experimental electronic styles (Electronica).
House / Techno / Trance • Three pillars of club music:
- House emphasizes soulful vocals and bouncy rhythms.
- Techno focuses on repetitive, industrial-flavored grooves.
- Trance builds long, melodic “uplifts” and euphoric drops.
Hip Hop / Trap • Beat-driven genres that blend sampled loops, 808 drums, and pitched vocal chops.
Experimental / Industrial • Pushing sonic boundaries with unconventional textures, noise, and found sounds.
Synthwave / Lofi • Nostalgic, retro-inspired sounds—Synthwave nods to ’80s neon; Lofi favors dusty, vinyl-style imperfections.
World • Electronic productions incorporating traditional instruments and scales from across the globe.

2. Sound & Texture Qualities

Describing a sound’s character helps you communicate what you want from a synth patch, drum loop, or effect chain:

Analog / Digital • Warmth and slight imperfections (analog) vs. precision and clarity (digital).
Warm / Cold • Rich, harmonic-heavy (warm) vs. thin, clinical (cold).
Crunchy / Grainy • Distorted, bit-reduced textures (crunchy) vs. subtle noise layers (grainy).
Glitchy / Saturated • Stuttering, chopped artifacts (glitchy) vs. overdriven, thick coloration (saturated).
Clean / Dry / Wet • Unprocessed (clean), no reverb or delay (dry), with effects applied (wet).
Layered / Looped / One-Shot • Multiple sounds stacked (layered), repeated patterns (looped), single hits (one-shot).
Stereo Field / Mid-Side • How a sound is panned or processed to widen/narrow its stereo image.

3. Arrangement Elements

Understanding song structure is crucial for building tension, energy, and release:

Intro / Outro • Section for DJs to mix in and out; sets the mood.
Build-Up / Breakdown • Rising intensity before the drop (build-up), then a sparse, tension-filled pause (breakdown).
Drop • The climactic moment when drums, bass, or main melody return in full force.
Verse / Chorus / Pre-Chorus / Bridge • Traditional songwriting sections adapted to electronic contexts.
Hook / Fill / Solo • Memorable motifs (hook), short transitional phrases (fill), featured instrumental passages (solo).
Stab / Loop / Stem • Short, percussive hits (stab), repeating clips (loop), individual sub-mix exports (stems).

4. Instruments & Synth Types

Acoustic & Electronic

Guitar / Bass / Drums / Piano / Strings / Winds / Brass • Classic instruments recorded or sampled.
World Instruments • Sitar, kalimba, duduk, shamisen—adding unique cultural flavors.
Synthesizers
- Modular / Subtractive / FM / Wavetable / Granular • Different synthesis engines for sculpting sound.
- Synth Types – 303 basslines, arpeggiators, chord pads, leads, plucks, stabs, vocoders.

5. Drum & Percussion Elements

Electronic drum programming often references legendary machines:

808 / 909 • Iconic Roland drum machines; 808 delivers deep bass kicks, 909 the classic snare & hi-hat.
Brushes / Cymbals / Rim Shot / Snare / Kick / Tom • Vintage acoustic techniques translated into samples and plugins.
Top / Drum Kit / Drum Fill • Full kit sounds vs. single-hit layers or short fills for variation.

6. Effects & Production Techniques

Effects are where creativity and polish meet:

Reverb / Delay • Space and echo for depth.
Compression / EQ / Limiting / Saturation • Control dynamics and shape tone.
Chorus / Flanger / Phaser / Distortion / Gate • Time-based and modulation effects for movement.
Sidechain / Automation / Quantization / Time-Stretching / Pitch Shifting • Essential production tools for groove, dynamics, and creative edits.
Glitch Processing / Bitcrushing / Granulation / Sampling • Digital manipulation for experimental textures.

7. Music Theory Concepts

Bridging technical skill with musical expression:

Tempo / Meter / Form / Modulation • Governing rhythm, structure, and key changes.

Intervals / Chords / Progressions / Inversions / Cadences • Building blocks of harmony.

Scales & Modes • Major (Ionian), minor (Aeolian), pentatonic, blues, Phrygian dominant, and more—key for melody and mood.

Timbre / Dynamics / Articulation / Counterpoint • How notes are played, layered, and interact.