How to Understand the Jargon

Keyboard Terminology

AUTO ACCOMPANIMENT: on board accompaniments activated by the playing of chords with the left hand

BANK: a selection

CD-R: the sort of CD which cannot be erased or re-used (often used for recording music)

COOL VOICE: the sound and nuances of electric instruments

DIGITAL: electronic system which records data with codes using 1s and 0s

DRAWBAR ORGAN: the display allows you to adjust and set organ voices as if with sliders

DSP (Digital Signal Processing): the enhancement of sound quality with sophisticated digital effects, e.g. reverb

DUAL VOICE/LAYER: making two voices play at once

DUBBING (or Overdubbing): adding further material to an existing recording

ENDING: a few bars provided by the instrument to round off a piece

EQ (Equalizer): sound processor affecting frequencies of the tone (e.g. boost high frequencies where acoustics are ‘dead')

EXPRESSION PEDAL: foot pedal for volume control, leaving the hands free

FDD (floppy disk drive): lets you transfer Standard MIDI file data to disk and load it back into the keyboard when wished

FILL (Fill-in): a variation in the rhythmic pattern used to mark new phrases

FINGERED CHORDS: all the notes of a chord are played in the left hand

FLASH MEMORY: by connecting the instrument to a computer, downloading data from the Internet directly to the keyboard for recall

FORMATTING: preparing a memory card or floppy disc so that it is usable in your particular keyboard

GM Format: General Midi format, ensuring that the music made for one module can be played on another

HARMONY: an effect adding harmonies to the RH melody according to the chords used in the left hand (duet, trio, block, octave etc)

INITIALIZE: to automatically restore to the factory default settings

INTERFACE: the device allowing two or more pieces of electronic equipment to communicate

INTRO: 2-5 bars of on-board introduction

IDC: Internet Direct Connection

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): a digital display screen for choosing voices, styles, etc, sometimes including the printed music

LIVE VOICE: sampled in stereo; rich and full of ambience

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface): lets musical instruments work together

LOOP: set to play again and again

MIDI IN: receives MIDI messages from an external MIDI device

MIDI OUT: transmits MIDI messages generated by the instrument

MIDI VOICES (Voice Allocation Format): with MIDI, voices are assigned to specific numbers, called ‘program numbers'; another compatible device will play them back as recorded

MIXER: device for combining two or more audio signals

ONE TOUCH SETTING (OTS)/REGISTRATION MEMORY: the voices and styles used for a song are stored and recalled at a touch

PAN: the relative levels of the right and left stereo outputs.

PARAMETERS: adjustable settings for features e.g. volume, harmony, split point etc.

PATCH: a single sound within a synthesizer which can be called up using Program Change commands

PITCH BEND: an alteration in pitch using a pitch bend wheel or lever

POLYPHONY: the ability of an instrument to play 2 or more notes at a time

PORTABLE GRAND: a quick setting to bring back the sound of a piano on all the keys

PORTAMENTO: the pitch glides gradually to the next note, not abruptly

PRESETS: internal memory; effects or patches which cannot be altered by the user

QUANTIZE: to ‘tidy up' a notated real time recording so that notes align with beats

REALTIME RECORDING: recording tracks live as you play them

ROM (Read Only Memory): a kind of memory which is permanent, containing data which can't be changed, as on CD Rom

SAMPLE: a digitised sound appropriated in a synthesizer

SEQUENCER: a device for recording and replaying multitrack MIDI data

SINGLE FINGERED CHORDS/CASIO CHORD: minimal fingering shortcuts

SMARTMEDIA/ MULTIMEDIA/ COMPACT FLASH/SD (Secure Digital) memory cards: allow storage of MIDI song files and style data for recall on that instrument or others; similar to a Memory Stick

SMF (Standard MIDI File): data saved in electronic form for sharing

SPLIT POINT: separates the chord section for style playback from the section for playing voices

STEP RECORDING: inputting notes one by one

STYLE/RHYTHM: type of auto accompaniment, such as waltz, march, rock, reggae or samba

SWEET VOICE: a finely detailed, natural sound

SYNC INTELLIGENCE: the instrument will wait while you find the next chord etc

SYNC START: the auto accompaniment will begin as soon as you play a chord

SYNTHESIS: creating a new sound by altering the raw waveform

SYNTHESISER: instrument designed to create a wide range of sounds, both imitative and abstract

TOUCH SENSITIVE: the keys respond to weight and velocity as on an acoustic piano

TUNING: fine tuning the keyboard to match the tuning of another instrument

USB (Universal Serial Bus): high speed serial communicator for connecting to your computer or USB storage device

VARIATION: a different rhythmic pattern and/or fuller harmonic pattern

XG, XF(Yamaha)/GS (Roland): a specially developed expansion of the standard MIDI format