Back-Tracking

This is recording the combination of a live sound with a previously recorded backing track.

Backbeat

The backbeat is a rhythmic emphasis placed on the second and fourth beats in a 4/4 measure, creating a syncopated, driving feel that is foundational in many popular music genres, including rock, pop, funk, and R&B. In most Western music, the natural accent usually falls on the first and third beats. By placing emphasis on beats two and four instead, the backbeat gives a song a sense of groove, energy, and swing.

Typically played by the snare drum in a drum kit, the backbeat acts as an anchor for other instruments, creating a steady rhythmic framework. This syncopation is crucial for genres that rely on a strong, danceable rhythm, making it an essential element for both live performance and studio recordings.

Understanding and utilizing the backbeat is a fundamental skill for drummers, as it’s often the backbone of a band’s rhythm section, supporting bass lines, guitar riffs, and vocal rhythms.

Backmasking

Backmasking is a recording technique in which sounds or messages are intentionally recorded backward on a track, creating a hidden or reversed audio effect when played normally. When the track is played in reverse, these sounds or messages become audible in their original form. Backmasking is often used for creative or artistic purposes, adding mystery, humor, or thematic depth to a song.

This technique gained popularity in the 1960s and 70s, with bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin incorporating backmasked sounds into their recordings. In some cases, these reversed sounds added an experimental element to the music, enhancing the listening experience with subtle, layered effects. However, backmasking also sparked controversy when some listeners claimed that hidden, often sinister, messages were embedded within songs, especially in rock music.

For artists and producers, backmasking offers a way to experiment with sound design, creating effects that are hard to achieve through standard recording methods. While it’s largely an artistic choice, backmasking can add unique sonic textures, enhance storytelling, or simply intrigue listeners who are curious enough to play the track backward to uncover hidden elements.

Backline

Backline refers to the essential musical equipment provided for live performances, usually including amplifiers, drum kits, keyboards, and sometimes guitars and basses. Typically supplied by the venue, promoter, or rented from specialized companies, the backline is set up on stage behind the performers, hence the name “backline.”

For touring artists, having a backline provided means they don’t need to bring all their gear with them, making travel easier and reducing setup time. The specific items included in a backline can vary depending on the genre and artist’s needs. For example, rock bands may require guitar and bass amplifiers, while an electronic artist may need additional keyboard stands and power for effects units.

Backline requirements are usually specified in a rider, a document detailing the artist’s technical and hospitality needs. Having the right backline available ensures that musicians can deliver a consistent performance, regardless of location, while also helping sound engineers maintain the desired quality of the live sound.

Back Catalog

The collective name given to previously released works (singles, EPs, albums etc) of a writer or artist. For example: the EMI Parlophone recordings of Radiohead.

Back End

Performance royalties paid by a Performance Rights Organization to creators as a result of a piece of their music being broadcast or otherwise played.

Sync Fees are paid upfront to license music for TV or film.

Performance Royalty is paid on a quarterly basis after the music has been publicly performed.

Baffle

This term is applied to any wall or enclosure used for mounting a loud speaker.

Balance

The relative signal levels of the left and right channels in a Stereo Pair.

Balanced Line

This is an electronic cable that uses twin signal cables, both isolated from the earth, that are of opposite polarity but equal potential. This kind of cabling is often used for microphone connections. A Balanced Line is commonly used to reduce noise picked up by the cabling. As the polarity of each of the signal cables is opposite, this means that they are 180 degrees out of phase. Any noise introduced to the signal during transmission is picked up equally by both wires and can then be eliminated during the re-combination of the signal using Phase Cancellation.

Ballad

A ballad is a type of song that typically tells a story or expresses deep emotions, often through a slower tempo and sentimental, reflective lyrics. Ballads are known for their strong, memorable melodies and focus on conveying a narrative or theme, often dealing with topics like love, heartbreak, longing, or personal reflection.

Originating from folk music, ballads have evolved to become a staple in many genres, including rock, pop, country, and R&B. Structurally, ballads often follow a verse-chorus pattern, sometimes featuring a bridge or instrumental break that adds emotional depth to the song’s story.

Because of their emphasis on lyrics and storytelling, ballads allow artists to connect with listeners on a more personal level. They are frequently chosen as singles due to their broad appeal and the emotional impact they can have on audiences.

Band Agreement

A band agreement is a legal document that outlines the roles, responsibilities, rights, and financial arrangements among members of a band. This contract is essential for groups working together professionally, as it sets clear guidelines on key aspects like revenue splits, decision-making processes, songwriting credits, and ownership of the band’s name.

A well-drafted band agreement covers:

• Revenue Distribution: Defines how income from gigs, merchandise, streaming, and other sources will be divided among members.
• Songwriting and Publishing: Specifies how songwriting credits and publishing rights are assigned, including who owns and controls the music.
• Roles and Responsibilities: Details each member’s responsibilities, such as who handles management, promotion, or booking tasks.
• Decision-Making Process: Outlines how the band will make important decisions, such as approving tours, signing deals, or hiring managers.
• Band Name Ownership: States who owns the band name and what happens to it if a member leaves.
• Leaving or Adding Members: Covers procedures for a member exiting or a new member joining the band, including rights to past and future earnings.

A band agreement helps prevent misunderstandings and disputes by setting expectations upfront. Even for friends and family members, having this agreement in place protects everyone’s interests and allows the band to focus on making music with less risk of conflicts.

Band Call

In the days before sound checks, the “band call” gathered together the artists on the bill, before performance time, to confirm that everyone was ready and available to perform.

Band Contracts

A contract that specifies the rights of individual band members, within a band partnership. It also specifies how the members will get paid. Without a band contract, if it is not owned by individual band members, equal shares are assumed. Anything other than equal shares must be specified in the form of a contract.

Band Pass Filter (BPF)

A filter that attenuates frequencies above and below the selected center frequency. Frequencies within the band are boosted.

Bandwidth

1. The frequency range between the 3dB down-points in a frequency response.

2. The amount of information throughput in a system.

Bar

Known as a “measure” in the United States, this is the space between two barlines. It is a unit of time containing a set number of beats, as defined by the Time Signature (also known as a Meter Signature).

Baritone

Voice halfway between a Bass and Tenor with a roughly 2 octave range starting at G an octave and a half below middle C.

Barre Chord

A barre chord is a type of chord played on a guitar, or other stringed instrument. The performer uses one or more fingers to hold down two or more strings (at a single fret on a fretted instrument) on the instrument fingerboard. Imagine a bar being used to press down on the strings. The barre may make up all or part of the chord. The strings being barred do not need to be next to each other.

BASCA

The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors is a trade association acting on behalf of lyricists, composers and songwriters.

basca.org.uk

Bass

1) Lowest adult male voice ranging for 2 octaves above E almost 2 octaves below middle C.

2)Name used for the largest (normally) instrument in a family of instruments. For example Bass Guitar.

Bass Trap

In a recording environment, putting foam in the corners of the room can help to keep the recording from sounding muffled of bass heavy, these are called “Bass Traps”.

Beat

Unit of time measure in music. Time signature varies the number of beats in a bar.

Beats

Beats are the regular variations in amplitude caused when two similar sounds that are close in frequency are played simultaneously. The resulting addition of the sound waves causes a periodic pulsing in the overall sound. This is something regularly witnessed by string instrument players during the tuning process.

Bel

This is the unit used to measure the magnitudes of power. 1 Bel is equal to 10 decibels (dB).

Berne Convention

Short for “The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works”. First accepted in Berne Switzerland in 1886, it is an international agreement governing copyright.

For information on the history of Copyright, read “Almost Everything I Know About Copyright”:

Almost Everything I Know About Copyright Part 1

Almost Everything I Know About Copyright Part 2

Almost Everything I Know About Copyright Part 3

Bias Trap

This is a low-pass filter in the replay circuit of a tape machine. This removes any HF Bias. Bi-directional This is microphone with a figure-of-eight polar pattern.

Biasing

This is caused when spill from audio or control circuitry, or an external source, spills onto the audio signal. The additional signal may be at a high frequency (HF Bias), or a DC offset (DC Bias).

Big Three Record Labels

Major record labels:

• Univeersal Music Group
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Warner Music Group

These there labels control 88% of the music market place.

Bill Matter

Bill matter is now rarely used. It refers to how prominent an artist‘s name is on promotional gig posters.

Binaural

This is how sounds are perceived and the placement of the source is determined when a sound wave arrives at both ears. In Binaural Recording, this effect is captured by placing a microphone at each ear or using a simulated head that contains microphones in the position of the ears.

In the digital domain Digital Signal Processing (DSP) has been used to simulate the binaural effect by treating a mono source signal with a Head Related Transform Function (HRTF).

Binaural Recording

Binaural recording is a method of capturing audio that mimics human hearing to create an immersive, 3D listening experience. Using two microphones spaced roughly the distance of human ears—often mounted on a dummy head to replicate the shape of a human head—binaural recording captures sound with a sense of direction and depth.

When played back through headphones, binaural recordings produce a realistic spatial audio effect, making listeners feel as though they are physically present in the recorded environment. Sounds appear to come from all around, allowing listeners to perceive whether they are to the left, right, front, back, or even above or below.

This technique is especially popular for live recordings, virtual reality (VR) content, sound design, and ASMR, where the goal is to fully immerse the listener. While binaural recording works best with headphones, some of the spatial effect can still be experienced on regular speakers, though it won’t be as vivid.

For musicians and producers, binaural recording offers a unique way to add depth and atmosphere, transporting listeners to a more personal, “in-the-room” experience with the music or performance.

Bit

A Bit is an individual binary digit. A Byte is a collection of 8 bits.

Black Box

Royalty collection societies can’t always find all the people that they have collected royalties for. This includes members they might have lost contact with and non-members. Any collected royalties falling into these categories are held by the society as “black box” income.

Black box income is dealt with in different ways in different countries and organisations.

Publishers and record labels might also hold black box income for both untraced writers and artists or writers they have lost contact with.

In each case, the society, publisher or Label establishes a pool of licensing income. This pool is the so called “black box”.

Blank Media Levy

Some countries levy a tax on blank recording media, such as cassettes and CD-Rs, and media recorders. The tax is supposed to be a way to compensate for illegal copying, which is made possible by media recorders and blank media.

Blanket License

A license where the terms of the license are the same for everyone. Rights-owners who sign a blanket license agreement get a collection of terms that fit most cases. If you don’t want companies of a particular kind (say alcohol, or tobacco) to use your music in their advertising, a blanket license that specifies that condition, or provides you the possibility to opt out of that license (it may not always be possible), is required.

Blanket Licenses are often issued by Performing Rights Societies, where the Licensee is entitled to publicly perform any songs under the control of the Performing Rights Society, not just individually licensed songs.

Blast Beat

A blast beat is a drumming technique characterized by extremely fast, relentless hitting of the snare, bass drum, and cymbals in rapid succession, creating an intense, wall-of-sound effect. This technique is commonly used in extreme genres like death metal, black metal, grindcore, and hardcore punk, where it contributes to the high energy and aggressive feel of the music.

In a traditional blast beat, the drummer alternates between the snare and bass drum at a rapid pace, often with the hi-hat or ride cymbal providing a continuous beat. The tempo can reach well over 200 beats per minute (BPM), with some drummers achieving speeds of 300 BPM or more. This intense drumming style demands significant stamina, control, and precision, as it involves rapid, repetitive motions that can be physically demanding.

Blast beats add an intense rhythmic layer to music, giving it a sense of chaos and urgency, and are often used to heighten emotional impact or emphasize climactic moments in songs. In the world of extreme metal and punk, mastering the blast beat is a highly respected skill among drummers, known for pushing the limits of speed and endurance.

Bleed

When recording several instruments at once, if there is not enough isolation you can hear a little of another instrument on a track, this is called bleed.

Blog Marketing

Advertising a website, brand, product or service using a blog. This includes ads, posts or links that appear on blogs.

Blue Note

A blue note is a note that is sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than the standard major scale, adding an expressive, soulful quality to the music. Commonly found in blues, jazz, and related genres, blue notes create a sense of tension, emotion, and “bluesy” feel that is central to the style.

Blue notes are typically found on the third, fifth, or seventh notes of a scale. For example, in a C major scale, the E (third), G (fifth), or B (seventh) might be played slightly flat to achieve this effect. This subtle lowering is often called a “microtonal” adjustment, as the pitch change is less than a half step. The result is a distinct sound that conveys sadness, longing, or depth, even within a single note.

These notes are crucial to the blues genre but have also influenced many styles, including rock, R&B, and jazz, where they add character and color to melodies and solos. Musicians often bend or slide into blue notes to enhance their emotional impact, making them a powerful tool for musical expression.

BMI

Broadcast Music, Inc. is a PRO. BMI supports its songwriters, composers and publishers by helping them to get paid. BMI supports businesses and organisations that play music publicly by offering blanket music licenses that permit them to play nearly 12 million musical works. Both relationships save each time and money.

www.bmi.com

Booking Agent/Talent Agent

A representative of an artist/band who arranges for any public performances and other opportunities.

Booking Agents have the authority to secure employment and other engagements, entering into a limited set of contracts, on behalf of an artist/band.

In some territories, you need a special license in order to legally act as a Booking Agent.

A Booking Agent is hired by a band manager to book gigs and set up tours on behalf of a band. They receive approximately 15% of the gross take, each night, for gigs they have arranged. The gross take is normally a set fee, paid by each venue to the band, and commonly an additional amount that is a negotiated “share of the door”, i.e. a percentage of the ticket sales. As it is paid from the gross figure, this is before the deduction of any tour costs such as transportation or accommodation.

Booking Agents also plan the route of any tour they arrange and they assess the suitability of venues, including if each gig is profitable enough. Profitability takes into account transport costs and all other tour expenditure should that gig be included in the itinerary.

Booking Agents book gigs using local music promoters.

Boolean Algebra

This is a branch of mathematics concerned with logic analysis and manipulation of binary numbers. As such Boolean Algebra is one of the main cornerstones of Digital Electronics.

Bootleg

Unlicensed releases. Normally, though not always, live or demo recordings, or unapproved remixes, using unlicensed source music.

Box Office Gross

Box Office Gross refers to the total revenue generated from ticket sales for a live music event, tour, or concert series before any expenses are deducted. It represents the full amount of income from ticket purchases made by the audience, and is a primary metric for measuring the commercial success of an event or tour.

Box office gross is influenced by factors like ticket prices, venue capacity, and the number of shows. For large tours or high-demand artists, the box office gross can reach millions of dollars, demonstrating both the popularity of the artist and the financial viability of the event. However, it’s important to note that this figure doesn’t reflect the final profit, as expenses for production, venue rental, marketing, and staff must still be deducted.

In the music industry, box office gross is used as a benchmark for comparing the success of various artists, tours, or venues. It’s often reported in industry publications like Billboard or Pollstar, providing insights into audience demand, touring trends, and the overall financial health of the live music sector.

BPI

The British Phonographic Industry is the UK record industry trade body representing major record labels and large independent record labels.

www.bpi.co.uk

BPM

Beats Per Minute. BPM is used to measure the tempo of music.

Break Beat

Break Beat (as two words) more specifically describes a drum break or section of a song where other instruments drop out, leaving the drums isolated. This “break” section became especially popular with hip-hop DJs in the 1970s, who would loop these isolated beats to keep dancers energized and to provide a rhythmic base for MCs. Over time, these break beats were sampled, looped, and manipulated to become integral parts of many genres beyond hip-hop, influencing funk, R&B, and electronic music.

The sampling of a drum break as a drum loop. Originally taken from Soul tracks these drum loops are used to create the rhythm tracks for Rap and Hip-hop music.

Break Jack

A jack plug that, when inserted into a jack socket, breaks the normal circuit connection. Most commonly used in recording studio patch bays.

Breakbeat

Breakbeat (as one word) typically refers to a genre or style of music that incorporates complex, syncopated drum patterns, often created by sampling and looping drum breaks from other songs. This genre includes various styles like jungle, drum and bass, UK garage, and breakbeat hardcore, where chopped-up, fast-paced beats are central to the sound. Breakbeat as a genre has roots in early hip-hop and electronic dance music, evolving to become a foundational style for rhythm-focused electronic genres. Commercially, a post digital sampling music genre.

A breakbeat rhythm is a style of drumming that emphasizes syncopated rhythms and irregular patterns, often created by sampling and looping the drum “breaks” from funk, soul, and hip-hop records. These drum breaks—short sections where the beat is isolated—are then used as the rhythmic foundation in genres like hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, and breakbeat itself.

Breakbeats are characterized by their dynamic, choppy feel, giving tracks a driving, energetic quality. In production, they’re often sped up, slowed down, or manipulated with effects to create unique, punchy rhythms that stand out from the more regular beats typically heard in pop and rock music.

Popularized in the early days of hip-hop when DJs began isolating and looping drum breaks to keep dancers engaged, breakbeats have since become central to electronic music genres that rely heavily on rhythm and groove. Classic breakbeats, such as the “Amen Break” from The Winstons’ song “Amen, Brother,” remain iconic and are still widely used and remixed today.

For producers, breakbeats provide a versatile way to add rhythmical interest and intensity, helping to create everything from high-energy dance tracks to gritty, atmospheric beats in various musical styles.

Breakdown

A breakdown in music is a section where the arrangement is stripped back, often reducing the instrumentation to create a sense of tension or anticipation. Typically, the drums or bass line may remain, while other elements like vocals, guitars, or synths drop out. This minimalist segment allows the audience to focus on specific rhythmic or melodic elements, building excitement before the full arrangement returns.

Breakdowns are common in genres like rock, metal, electronic dance music (EDM), and hip-hop, though they are used across various styles to add dynamic contrast. In EDM, for example, a breakdown often serves as a transition between high-energy sections, letting the tension build before a “drop.” In rock or metal, a breakdown might isolate heavy, rhythmic guitar riffs and drums to create a powerful, head-banging moment in the song.

For both live and recorded music, breakdowns provide a strategic pause, allowing listeners to engage with the groove or beat, and often become a memorable, impactful moment in a performance.

Bridge

1. Instrument
On a stringed instrument, the bridge is mounted on the instrument body. The strings, held by the tail piece, pass over the bridge and are suspended over the neck until they pass over the nut.

2. Musical Section
Connecting passage of contrasting music between two important themes in a composition and commonly in popular music, a musical bridge is used to prepare for the return of the original theme.

In thirty-two bar form (AABA) the bridge (B) is also known as the middle-eight or release. In verse-chorus form the bridge is less constrained.

Music contrast in the bridge is achieved by rhythm and / or tempo change, and often by a change in the key of music.

Bridge is sometimes used to describe a section between a verse and chorus, commonly called a pre-chorus. In the classical music sonata form the transition between the two themes is also called a bridge, although it is more formally called a “transition theme”.

Regarding lyrics, the bridge is often used as a mechanism to reflect on the previous lyrics and to set up the listener for the pay off or climax of the song.

Broadcast Quality

Broadcast Quality is a term used to refer to recordings where the overall sound is a suitable quality for broadcast, as distinguished from a demo recording where the quality of the recording as a whole is not quite there. It is a purely subjective measure of recording or audio quality, but more than that, it includes the quality of the song and even the musical performance. Exactly what makes the cut as broadcast quality, is dependent on the music genre.

Budget Record

A record, sold by a distributor, normally at between 1/2 and 2/3 of the price of top-line records of a similar format.

Build 

A section of a song, known as the “Build” because it builds intensity. See Pre-Chorus.

Bump

This is a common phrase for mixing a number of tracks together, and recording the result onto a new track, as a means of freeing up tracks on a multi-track recorder. For example mixing 5 tracks together into a stereo pair. The original 5 tracks can then be wiped clean. This also sometimes called ‘jumping’ or ‘bouncing’.

Bus Bar

A common earth.

Business Manager

Business managers are often an accountant, who deals with the artist’s finances. This includes managing both business and personal bills, investing, overseeing investments, and preparing tax returns. Typically, a business manager charges artists in the region of 2% to 5% of their income.

Buss

An audio signal path that a number of inputs may be connected. The Buss signal can then be used to feed one or more outputs. In a Mixing Desk the Buss is essentially a wire to which individual channels can be connected, using a switch. The wire is normally fed into a combining or summing amplifier to allow the signal to be mixed with others.

Button Ending

A mix-arrangement term, where the entire band stops at once, generally with a naturay decay. No big cymbal crashes and no mix fade out..

Buzz

Excitement or hype surrounding a new release, artist, or upcoming event.

Buzz Marketing

Low-cost, viral marketing technique, relying on word-of-mouth. It relies upon taste makers, trend setters and group leaders to spread information to a selected individuals. Rumour, innuendo and leaks are used within an informal or social group setting. It is very effective with a target audience who do not trust advertising messages.

Buzz Track

A buzz track is a song released strategically to generate excitement and anticipation for an upcoming album, EP, or artist project, without being designated as an official single. Buzz tracks are often shared on streaming platforms, social media, or music blogs to build early interest and test audience reactions before the main promotional push begins.

Unlike lead singles, which are typically accompanied by full marketing campaigns, buzz tracks are low-pressure releases. They allow artists and labels to gauge fan response and identify standout songs that might become singles later. Buzz tracks can create “buzz” among listeners, industry insiders, and press, helping to establish a vibe for the upcoming release and giving fans a sneak peek at the new material.

For emerging artists, a buzz track is also a way to attract attention from potential fans and industry professionals, creating early momentum and setting the stage for a successful launch.

Bypass

A Bypass is an alternative signal path that avoids a particular circuit or system in the audio chain.