Music Producer’s Guide

This guide provides information that allows you, the project producer/director, to speak a common language with the
composer. In it you’ll find help with the qualities of music, music vocabulary, period definitions, and more.

General Qualities
The following is a list of some opposing qualities. When choosing a quality, think of the breadth of possibilities between
the opposites to help nail down the quality you are looking for. It is most helpful for the composer to choose a clear mood
or quality, and not try to combine opposites.

• Thick/Thin
• Dark/Light
• Somber/Humorous
• Snappy/Languid
• Tense/Loose
• Excited/Relaxed
• Repetitive/Linear
• Spacey/Grounded
• Folksy/Artsy
• Joyous/Macabre
• Goofy/Serious
• Staccato/Legato
• Static/Developing
• Celestial/Earthy
• Fiery/Watery

Macro Qualities
Macro Qualities are the basic building blocks of music. Use the general qualities to describe a macro quality. The basic
elements of music are:

Melody A single line of notes that go up and down: Homophonic, Polyphonic, Monophonic
Harmony Scales, chords and related pitches 16th (Renaissance), 17th (Baroque), 18th (Classical), 19th (Romantic)
Century, Impressionist (whole tone), 12 tone
Rhythm How the time is designed
Rhythmic Metrical: 4/4,6/8, 5/4, 7/8, etc.
Non-metrical: Oceanic (Rise & Fall), random
Texture The Quality of sound: sharp, soft, metallic
Dynamics The loud and soft of the music: Forte, Piano, Crescendo, Diminuendo
Style The genre, if it’s jazz, is it: Bebop, Swing, Free, Cool, or Hot?
Instruments Also known as timbre
Ensemble The collection of instruments
Form The structure that holds the music together
Purpose Is this a march, a birthday, a funeral, worship, dance?
Tempo How fast or slow, the rate of speed

www.vspiegel.com
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

Instrumental Qualities
Combined with General & Macro Qualities, you can specify more exactly the total sound with the instruments you wish to
use, e.g. Celestial Baroque Brass; Thin 5/4 Percussion; Goofy polyphonic strings.

Woodwind (Air): Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, English Horn, Bass flute, Bass Clarinet
Brass (Fire): Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Baritone, Tuba
Strings (Water): Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass (Arco, pizz, spiccato)
Voice: Solo, Choir, Antiphonal, Soprano, Alto Tenor, Bass
Percussion (Earth): Pitched/Non-pitched (Bells, Timpani/Snare, Triangle, Cymbal)
Organ: Pipe/Electric
Percussive Strings: Harp, Guitar, Lute, Oud, Dulcimer, Harpsichord, Autoharp, Piano: Grand, Electric, Upright
Found: (e.g. Cats, Rocks, Hiccups)
Synthesizer: (see gen. qual.)
Ethnic (specify country): Chordophones, Aerophones, Metallophones, Membranophones
Symphonic/Ensemble/Solo
Saxophones: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone

Tools & Elements of Music

Music, like any art form, is built from many parts. To become an active participant in this world of sound, let’s explore and
become familiar with the tools and elements that make up Music.

Rhythm
Rhythm is how the time in music organized. It is the design in time. We recognize music most often through patterns.
Rhythm is the basic pattern with a pulse or beat. Rhythm is a pattern we know intimately because our life depends on it.
Your heartbeat is the rhythm of life: baBOOM, baBOOM. This pattern is a simple rhythm without which you would not be
reading this. This beating of your heart creates a Pulse. The pattern that the rhythm makes can be Constant, Changing,
Simple or Complex.

Tempo
The pulse is the basic unit around which rhythm develops. Another name for pulse is Beat. In music, the pulse holds the
music together, as a heartbeat holds your life together. When the beat disintegrates, the music dies. We call the rate of
speed of the beat Tempo. The choices are Very Fast, Fast, Moderate (Walking Tempo), Slow (turtle walk), and Very Slow

Meter
Meter is the grouping of beats. Back to your heartbeat – the meter is 2, because it repeats the pattern baBOOM. The
word Chocolate creates a meter of 3: Cho-co-late Cho-co-late, with the emphasis being on the first sound. A meter of 4
might be a phrase like Little Baby, bigger brother, with the emphasis being on the Li.

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 2
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

Melody
A single line of pitches that go up and/or down is a Melody. You already know hundreds of melodies. They are the ones
you can sing, whistle or hum. When one melody enters on top of itself, we call that a Round or Canon. Frére Jacques and
Row Row Your Boat are examples of Canons. When several different melodies occur at the same time we call this
Counterpoint.

Texture
For the next minute, close your eyes and feel the things around you. How would you describe the texture of the material
you are sitting on, or the texture of your shirt, skin, hair, paper… whatever you have on and around your desk. I’ll wait
right here until you’re done. Now how would you describe the texture of your hair – soft, flowing, or is your hair short and
springy? How the instruments play – the articulation –creates the texture of the composition.

Harmony
Can be defined in two different ways: 1) A system of how notes work together; 2) Notes piled up on top of each other to
create a sequence of chords. Many cultures do not use chords, but rather a coherent tuning modal system. For us, a
mode will mean a scale neither major nor minor.

Purpose
Every piece of music you hear has a purpose. It may be the expression of a particular artist/composer, but it can also be
for worship, to sell a product, to enhance a scene in a movie, to communicate a message, or to celebrate a wedding.

Ensemble
In world music, instruments are grouped into families:

Chordophones: An instrument the sound of which is created by means of strings stretched between two points (violin,
guitar, berimbao).

Aerophones: A musical instrument (trumpet or flute) in which sound is generated by a vibrating column of air.

Idiophones: A musical instrument, the sound of which is produced by shaking or scraping.

For example.

Membranophones: An instrument that produces sound through the vibrations of a membrane

(timpani, dadabuan).
Example
Metallophones: metal struck to create pitches (kulilntang) Idiophone

Vocal

Electronic

Mood
Mood plays an important role in music. Mood description is subjective, like taste, but we can sometimes agree on the
general feeling of the music. How does the music make you feel? Is it Happy, Sad, Inspiring, Dark, Angry, Nostalgic or
any other feelings from the grand garden of human experience? Sometimes the music is a complex blending of several
moods.

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 3
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

Dynamics
The Loud and Soft in music. How music changes dynamically contributes to the creation of its power and intimacy.
Dynamics creates contrasts and pulls us in. From very soft to very loud, we can increase the loudness (crescendo) or go
from loud to soft (diminuendo).

Form
Form creates the shape of the music. Like architecture, it shows us the space the music lives in. It can be very simple
such as a folk or pop song: Verse, Chorus, Verse (ABA). It might have many sections that keep returning (Cyclical). A
composed piece may not repeat sections, but just keep moving forward towards a conclusion like a story (Linear).
Improvised pieces have their own internal structure. There are many other kinds of forms of music to be explored, waiting
for someone like you.

Listening Compass
TEMPO Very Fast Fast Moderate Slow Very Slow Changes
METER 4 3 2 6/8 None Complex

MELODY 1 2 Counterpoint Canon Changes None

HARMONY Major Minor Modal none Changes

TEXTURE Hot Sharp Metallic Watery Fiery Smooth

MOOD Dark Light Inspiring Sad Angry Nostalgic

ENSEMBLE Aerophone Chordaphone Idiophone Membranophone Metallophone Vocal

PURPOSE Dance Film Marching Rite of Passage Worship Expression

DYNAMICS Soft Loud Crescendo Diminuendo Changes

RHYTHM Constant Changing Simple Complex

FORM ABA Linear Cyclical Improvised

Music Vocabulary
Accelerando Getting faster
Acoustics 1. the science of sound. 2. the properties of a concert hall or other buildings as they affect the sounds
produced in it.
Adagio Slow, relaxed tempo
Allegro Fast, brisk tempo
Andante Walking tempo
Aria A song for solo voice in opera
Bass Lowest part of the music, such as string bass or bass singer
Brass An instrument family whose sound is produced by blowing into a cup-shaped mouthpiece
Chord Generally, three or more notes played at the same time. A chord may relate harmonically
Coda Italian for “tail”. The concluding section of a piece of music

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 4
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

Concermaster The first violinist in an orchestra

Concerto A composition for orchestra and solo instrument(s). The solo part is usually written in a virtuosic style.
Cresecendo Getting louder
Diminuendo Getting softer
Dominant In a major scale, this is the fifth tone of the scale (3 1/2 steps from root), also refers to the chord built on
the fifth tone
Dynamics Loudness or softness of music, for example, piano = soft and forte =loud.
Fanfare A flourish of trumpets
Fantasia An instrumental piece composed in a “free” form, not adhering to a specific style
Forte Loud
Fortissimo Very loud
Harmony The overall design of chords, scales and intervals
Homophonic Everybody playing the same melody
Improvise To make up and perform music on the spur of the moment, without playing music that is written or from
memory
Interval The distance between two notes, expressed either in steps or scalar distance, for example 2 whole
steps is a major third.
Key signature Indicates what sharps or flats and/or what key a piece (or section of a piece) is in.
Key Scale system defined by its center tone, for example G Major, E minor, F whole tone; tonality
Largo Very slow
Legato Playing music smoothly, from Italian “bound together”
Lento Slow
Measure Contains all the required beats as stated in the time signature.
Melody A single line, consisting, generally, of a recognizable contour.
Meter The basic grouping of beats and accents, defined by a measure and shown in the time signature.
Monophonic One melody
Movement A distinct unit or division within an extended piece of music like a symphony or suite.
Notation System of music symbols
Op. Abbreviation of “opus” meaning “work”. A musical composition. Usually written with a number to indicate
where a piece stands in a composer’s output.
Opera A form of theater where words are set to music. Combines drama, music, and dance to tell a story.
Orchestra A large body of instrumentals, may include strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion
Orchestration The art of using instruments in different combinations and of designating the various parts of music
each instrument is to play
Ostinato A repeating rhythmic figure
Overture A piece of music designed to be played as an introduction to an opera or ballet
Percussion An instrument family whose sound is produced by shaking, striking together or hitting with hands or
mallets.
Phrase Portion of a musical sentence
Piano Soft
Pianissimo Very soft
Polyphonic Many melodies

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 5
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

Presto Very fast tempo

Program Music Music based on something non-musical such as a story, legend, historical event, place, painting, etc.
Rhythm How time is designed using silence, accents, pulse, beats, patterns and tempo.
Ritard To slow down
Scale A consecutive and constant series of notes going up and down, usually the basis for a harmonic
system.
Soprano Italian, “Upper”. Highest female voice.
Staccato Detached, very short sounds
Strings An instrument family whose sound is produced by plucking or bowing stretched strings.
Subdominant In a major scale, this is the fourth tone of the scale (2 1/2 steps from root), also refers to the chord built
on the fourth tone.
Suite A group of musical pieces that belong together
Symphony A composition for orchestra, often containing four movements that fit together
Syncopation A shift of accent in a passage or composition when a normally weak beat is stressed
Tempo The rate or speed. Usually indicated by Italian terms such as Adagio (Slowly), Presto (Fast), Andante
(Walking rate), Largo (very slow).
Theme A musical idea that can be varied or transformed in many ways
Timbre The distinctive sound or color that each instrument produces
Time Signature Top number = how many beats per measure. Bottom number = what value note gets one beat
Tone Poem Also known as a symphonic poem. A composition for orchestra based on a non-musical idea
Variation The altering of a theme from a simple embellishment to more complex changes
Vivace Lively
Woodwinds An instrument family whose sound is produced by means of a vibrating column of air enclosed in a pipe
or tube. With the exception of the flute and piccolo, the vibration is produced by a single or double reed.

Inspiration: Musical Ideas From Other Times and Places

World Music
Japan - Instruments: Koto, Shakuhachi, voice
India - Santur, Sarod, Tabla, voice
Iran (Persia) - Santur, dumbek, voice
Indonesia - Gamelan

Pre-20th Century European (Western Asia) Art Music

Johann Sebastian Bach (Baroque)- Brandenburg Concertos
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Classical)- A Little Night Music
Tartini - The Devil's Trill
Ludwig Von Beethoven (Early Romantic)- Pastoral Symphony
Gustav Mahler (Late Romantic)- 1st Symphony

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 6
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

20th Century Western Culture Music

Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Claude Debussy - Nocturnes
Aaron Copeland – Appalachian Spring
Gustav Holst - The Planets
Igor Stravinsky - Petrouchka
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Renaissance | Baroque | Romantic
Bulgarian | Turkish | African
Harry Partch | Spike Jones | PDQ Bach
Cajun | Blues | Navajo

Period Definitions
Baroque: (1680-1750) Free flowing, often polyphonic style of music. Rules of construction are very strict, however. The
Fugue, canon and imitation techniques are some of the basic building blocks. [Bach, Vivaldi]

Classical: (1750-1800) A style of music distinguished by its symmetry and box-like construction. Measures are generally
grouped in fours and eights, modulation and development are straightforward. Developed as a reaction against the
Baroque. The Sonata and Sonata form are crystallized. Mozart, Haydn

Romantic: (1800-1860) From the French Roman, meaning novel, story. This style arose as a parallel to the availability of
books to all classes. The structure is based on the Sonata form, generally, but is allowed to grow and develop like a story,
with many characters, plots, twists and turns, highs and lows. 1850 Late Beethoven, Brahms

Impressionism:(1860-1900) "A style of composition designed to create descriptive impressions by evoking moods
through rich and varied harmonies and timbres". Ravel, Debussy

Special Effects
There are several ways in which a recording can be altered and otherwise messed with. These are:

• Reverberation
• Delay
• Flange
• Chorusing
• Pitch Shifting

Reverberation is the kind of room the performance takes place. Imagine all the different kinds of spaces you have ever
been in. From your bathroom which is very short but sometimes appropriate (for singing in the shower), to the racquetball
court and gymnasium, to the Grand Canyon. The space a performance takes place in translates into a quality like
Spacious or Intimate. Different instruments can be in different spaces, so they don't muddy each other. A lead voice can
be in a large chamber while the percussion and bass can be in a very small space. This gives a foreground/background
clarity. Intimacy uses a very small space or sometimes no reverberation at all.

Delay is the same as echo, except without the repeating.

Flanging occurred when two tape decks, playing the same exact recording, were touched on the flange of the tape reel,
causing a slight delay, The combined sound created something unique- a sliding up and down of pitch.

Chorusing. In musical terms a chorus is: A) a composition in four or more parts written for a large number of singers. B)
A refrain in which an audience joins a soloist in a song. C) A repeat of the opening statement of a popular song played by
the whole group. D) A solo section based on the main melody of a popular song and played by a member of the group. E)
A body of singers who perform choral compositions. F) A body of vocalists and dancers who support the soloists and
leading performers in operas, musical comedies, and revues.

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 7
Victor Spiegel Music Music Producer’s Guide

In the technology discourse a chorus is also an effect that modifies the sound of a single instrument to simulate a group of
the same instruments. The subjective effect of a real chorus is caused by the fact that each of the sounds being mixed
together have different frequencies and/or timbres. The mixture becomes extremely complex as the relative phases of the
signals cause partial cancellation and reinforcement over a broad frequency spectrum.
The synthetic chorus effect was first obtained by subjecting the sound to a series of very short time delays and mixing
them. The delays were then modulated to increase the uncertainty of the combined pitch. This "time based" method takes
quite a few delays to achieve a good, rich effect. More recently pitched based chorusing has been introduced, which is
sometimes more convincing as a true chorus. These units work by splitting the signal into many frequency bands and then
randomly varying the phase and amplitude of each before recombining them. Both methods are valid and can produce
good results, but there is often a fundamental difference in the sound between the two.

Pitch Shifting takes material and makes it sound higher or lower. In voice work, it can be used subtly to deepen a voice,
or in its extremes, you can create monsters or mice-like critters.

The Creative Coefficient

There is a crossover point when direction becomes inimical to the creative process. Sensitivity is essential to knowing
when to allow the project to develop on its own, and let your "child" play in the world and become real.
Most inexperienced producers feel they have too much riding on the project to give up control. Experienced producers
know when to let go.

The best projects are usually the ones where each individual feels they've made a contribution and can take pride in their
part. Your job is to give a vision to these people and gently guide them towards a shared goal.
It is important to be consistent but flexible, to learn to speak the different languages of your associates, and stay open to
learning from them. They want the project to succeed as much as you do because their reputation is on the line.
Creativity is a bridge into the unknown. It helps to have friends.

vspiegel@vspiegel.com www.vspiegel.com 8