.. glossary::
:sorted:
ASIO
Audio Stream Input/Output
Steinbergs ASIO is a third-party :term:`low-latency <latency>` Sound :term:`API`
for Microsoft Windows, and is seen the de facto standard for professional audio
devices on Windows.
ASIO shows usually better performance than the Sound APIs of Windows itself,
but only when the hardware manufacturer provides a dedicated ASIO driver.
cueing
Headphone cueing, or just cueing, is listening to the next track you would
like to mix in your headphones. The audience will not hear what you are
cueing in your headphones. Being able to cue is a crucial aspect to DJing.
shortcut
Shortcuts let you work more efficiently. This manual shows some shortcuts for
accessing Mixxx functions with an English keyboard layout. Depending on your language
settings the defaults may be different.
crossfader
The crossfader is a slider that determines how much each deck of audio
contributes to the :term:`main output`.
main output
master output
The main output is sent to the big speakers. It's what your audience
hears. Please note that the term "master output" has been used
historically but is in the process of being phased out. Prefer using "main
output".
headphone output
The headphone output is what you hear in your headphones.
PFL
``PFL`` or “pre-fader listen” is the headphone signal that is not affected
by the deck volume faders. This allows for pre-listening tracks in
headphones by lowering the volume fader so the deck plays only to
headphones but not to the audience. See also: :term:`headphone button`.
waveform summary
The waveform summary shows the waveform envelope of the track near the
current playback position.
waveform overview
The waveform overview shows the waveform envelope of the entire track, and
is useful because they allow DJs to see breakdowns far in advance.
key lock
With key lock enabled, the tempo of the track will change but the pitch
remains consistent. When unlocked, the pitch slider will speed up (or slow
down) the track and the pitch will increase (or decrease) along with it.
headphone button
The headphone button is used to indicate whether or not you are
pre-listening to a deck or sampler in your headphones.
operating system
Your operating system (OS) is the computing environment on your
computer. For example, Windows, macOS, or GNU/Linux are the three
operating systems that Mixxx supports.
file manager
A computer program that organizes data files into groups and shows you
where they are when you need to find them again. Popular file managers for
the :term:`operating systems <operating system>` Mixxx supports are
Explorer on Windows, Finder on macOS and Nautilus on GNU/Linux.
head/mix button
The head/mix button is used to control how much you mix the :term:`main
output` into your :term:`headphone output`. This can be very useful when
:term:`cueing` a track, because you can test out how it sounds when mixed
with the main mix in your headphones, before letting the audience hear the
track.
track
A track is another word for a song.
deck
A deck is like a virtual vinyl turntable. You can load a :term:`track` into
it and play the track, just like you would put a record on turntable and
play it.
Zulip
`Zulip <https://zulipchat.com/>`_ is a powerful, open source group chat
application that combines the immediacy of real-time chat with the
productivity benefits of threaded conversations. The ``Mixxx Zulip Chat``
at can be found at `<https://mixxx.zulipchat.com>`_ .
BPM
Beats per minute
BPM is used as a measure of tempo in music.
If you tap your foot to music you are following the “beat”.
If you count how many taps you do in a minute you have calculated the BPM.
beatmatching
A mixing technique used to establish a similar tempo with two or more tracks,
making them sound like just one track.
beatgrid
A series of markers that point to the location of beats within the track.
Beatgrids are used for advanced mixing functions such as track
:term:`sync`, precise effects synchronization, looping and accurate
:term:`BPM` representation.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
A digital communications language and hardware specification enabling compatible
electronic instruments, sequencers, computers, etc., to communicate with
each other in a network. Most DJ :term:`controllers <controller>` use MIDI
to communicate with computers.
HID
Human Interface Device
A part of the :term:`USB` specification. It specifies a device class (a
type of computer hardware) for human interface
devices such as keyboards, mice, game controllers, and some DJ
:term:`controllers <controller>`.
controller
An external hardware device that generates and transmits signals to a
computer, usually via :term:`USB`, to control software with physical controls
other than a mouse and keyboard. Controllers have many uses for music such
as controlling DJ programs like Mixxx. They typically send :term:`MIDI`
signals but some controllers use :term:`HID` signals. Many DJs prefer to
control DJ software using physical knobs, faders, and wheels on controllers
instead of using a computer keyboard and mouse.
DVS
Digital Vinyl System
A system consisting of a traditional turntable, a special vinyl record encoded
with a digital :term:`timecode` instead of an analog audio track, an :term:`audio interface`,
and a computer running DJ software such as Mixxx that supports :term:`vinyl control` functionality.
vinyl control
A method of controlling DJ applications which simulates the traditional
DJing paradigm of two turntables. Using special :term:`timecode` media,
the DJ application analyzes the timecode signal and simulates the sound and
feel of having your music collection on vinyl.
timecode
Used here in conjunction with :term:`vinyl control`. A special audio signal
on a control vinyl or control CD (timecode media) that a computer can
listen to in order to determine speed, direction and position of the
playback.
sync
Sync allows you to automatically adjust a track's :term:`tempo` and
:term:`phase` to be in sync with another deck that is playing.
sync lock
master sync
Sync lock mode persistently adjusts a track's :term:`tempo` and
:term:`phase` (if :term:`quantization` is enabled) in order to stay in
:term:`sync` with other decks that are in sync lock mode.
rate
The speed at which a track is played back, usually expressed in terms of a
percentage of the speed relative to the tracks normal rate. Often while
mixing, DJs adjust the rates of tracks so that they can play at the same
tempo as other tracks. This allows DJs to :term:`beatmix <beatmatching>`,
and is an essential part of DJing.
fast-forward
To cause something to advance at quicker than normal speed. In
terms of audio software that means if you press the fast-forward button
the audio will play with increased speed as long as the button is pressed.
This is useful to seek through a track.
fast-rewind
The opposite of :term:`fast-forward`. If you press the fast-rewind button
the audio will play in reverse with increased speed as long as the button
is pressed.
phase
The phase of a track is its position relative to another track. If two
tracks are :term:`sync'd <sync>` to the same tempo and in-phase then they
should be playing so that their beats are aligned.
pitch bend
A technique used by DJs that temporarily `bends` the rate of a track up or
down, usually while a button is held. This technique is usually used to
make micro-adjustments to the synchronization of tracks while
beatmatching. Before digital DJing, this was accomplished by dragging one's
finger alongside the turntable to slow it down or by twisting the record
spindle to speed it up.
ramping pitch bend
Basically identical to the regular :term:`pitch bend` with the difference
that the pitch changes gradually, instead of all at once. Often uses for
temporary pitch changes. It simulates the effect of touching a turntable
to temporarily slow down or speed up a record.
latency
Latency refers to a short period of delay (usually measured in milliseconds)
between when an audio signal enters and when it emerges from a system.
Being able to lower the latency as much as possible makes a huge difference
in responsiveness.
kill switch
A button to turn on and off individual frequency ranges within a channel,
i.e. treble, mid and bass. Useful for effects where the DJ drops a track
out for a period or creates room for a transition.
level meter
The level meter is used to show the average levels of audio
signals. The level should average around the top of the green region, with
the loudest parts of the music (the transients) briefly going into the
yellow region. If the level meter is in the red, the signal is clipping and
the gain should be turned down.
balance
A balance control on a mixer allows you to adjust the balance between the
left and right channel. The balance refers to the relative volume of the
corresponding channel in a stereo audio signal.
tempo
The speed of a track measured in :term:`BPM`.
volume
A term that refers to the degree of sound intensity or audibility; loudness.
Volume is determined by people's perception and does not directly correspond
to any physical property of sound.
reverse
Reverse plays a track backwards.
Ogg Vorbis
A patent-free audio compression algorithm which uses a form of lossy data
compression. It is designed to provide for efficient streaming and
manipulation of high quality digital audio. Ogg Vorbis files generally end
with a .ogg or .oga extension.
lossless
Used when describing audio compression algorithms, a lossless algorithm is
one which results in no loss in audio quality when used.
lossy
Used when describing audio compression algorithms, a lossy algorithm is one
which results in a loss in audio quality when used.
MP3
A patented audio compression algorithm which uses a form of :term:`lossy`
data compression. It is de-facto standard of digital audio compression for
music. MP3 files generally end with a :file:`.mp3` extension.
AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
A patented audio compression algorithm which uses a form of :term:`lossy`
data compression. Designed to be the successor to :term:`MP3`, AAC
generally achieves better sound quality at similar bit rates. While the
.aac extension is sometimes used for AAC-encoded files, they are typically
saved with an :file:`.m4a` file extension.
FLAC
Free Lossless Audio Compression
A patent-free audio compression similar to :term:`MP3` but
:term:`lossless` (i.e. there is no loss in audio
quality when used). FLAC files generally end with a .flac extension.
ALAC
Apple Lossless Audio Codec
A :term:`lossless` audio file format
used by iTunes and other Apple products. ALAC files use the same MP4
container format as AAC and use the same file extensions (:file:`m4a`,
:file:`mp4`). Mixxx and many other programs are not compatible with ALAC.
It is recommended to convert ALAC files to :term:`FLAC` for use in Mixxx.
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format
High-quality digital audio file format, similar to .wav files. Contains
CD quality audio stored in a non-compressed, :term:`lossless` format. AIFF
files generally end with a .aiff or .aif extension.
WAV
Standard digital audio file format used for storing waveform data; allows
audio recordings to be saved with different sampling rates and bitrates;
often saved in a 44.1 KHz, 16-bit, stereo format, which is the standard
format used for CD audio. Wave files are not compressed, and are therefore
:term:`lossless`. Wave files generally end with a :file:`.wav` extension.
Opus
Opus is a totally open, royalty-free, highly versatile :term:`lossy` audio
codec. The :file:`.opus` filename extension is recommended.
codec
Short for compressor/decompressor, a codec is any technology for
compressing and decompressing audio and video data. Some popular
codecs for computer audio include :term:`MP3` and :term:`Ogg Vorbis`.
LAME
LAME is a free software :term:`codec` used to encode/compress audio into
the :term:`lossy` :term:`MP3` file format.
bitrate
Describe the quality of an audio or video file. For audio data the bitrate
is commonly measured in :term:`kbps`. For example, an MP3 audio file that
is compressed at 192 Kbps will have a greater dynamic range and may sound
slightly more clear than the same audio file compressed at 128 Kbps.
kbps
Short for kilobits per second. Here used to measure the quality of audio
data. See :term:`bitrate`
ReplayGain
ReplayGain normalizes audio data in a non-destructive way, so the tracks in
your music library don't all play at different volumes. Audio files are
scanned by a psychoacoustic algorithm to determine the loudness of the
audio data. ReplayGain information is stored as :term:`metadata` in a
digital audio file in order for the sound to be correctly played at the
right level of loudness.
db
decibel
A Decibel is a logarithmic measurement of sound
level. Whispering is around 25 dB while unbearable sound such as a jet
engine is around 160 db. Rule of thumb: A volume increase of 10 dB is
perceived as twice as loud.
cue sheet
A cue sheet (or CUE file, CUE sheet, etc.) is a formatted plain text file
which is used to provide index information for a large audio file. For
example, it can be used to tell software extra details about the layout of
a CD to burn.
metadata
In general, any piece of information about a music file that Mixxx uses
(e.g. title, artist, album, hotcue locations, loops, etc.). Various file
metadata formats allow information such as the title, artist, album, and
track number to be stored in the audio file itself, see
`<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3>`_ . Mixxx stores additional metadata
about music files in its database, like :term:`beatgrid`, waveform data,
:term:`hotcues <hotcue>`, playlists, crates, number of plays, etc.
CDJ
CDJ is a term originally used to describe a line of CD players from Pioneer
Electronics. Today CDJ generally refers to DJ CD players that work like a
record player. They allow analog control of music using CDs, usually using
a touch sensitive emulated vinyl control surface.
OpenGL
An :term:`operating system` feature used to draw hardware-accelerated
graphics. Mixxx uses OpenGL to draw the waveform displays and spinning
vinyl widgets.
bug report
Every software has bugs. When you come across a bug in this software, you
should submit a report about it to the developers. They can use this to
identify, replicate and fix the issue.
binaries
Files that contain compiled computer code, which was compiled from source
code. Source code, which is usually a bunch of text files, is processed
with a program called a compiler. The compiler then generates a binary,
which is something like an an .exe or a .dll file. By using binaries you
are relieved of the task of having to compile the code by yourself.
audio interface
An audio interface is a device that facilitates the input and output of
audio signals to and from a computer, typically connected by :term:`USB`.
Almost all computers come with a basic audio interface built in, but a higher
quality audio interface with at least 4 output channels is recommended for
Mixxx.
soundcard
Another name for an :term:`audio interface`, although few audio interfaces
are shaped like cards anymore.
direct monitoring
A feature of many :term:`soundcards <soundcard>` that allows microphones and other
input signals to be heard through the soundcard outputs with no
perceivable latency. With direct monitoring, the audio interface mixes the
input signal in hardware with the output signal from Mixxx. This
bypasses the latency of sending the signal into the computer for Mixxx to
process and sending it back out to the soundcard.
cue
cue point
A reference point in the track usually placed on the
position the DJ wants the track to start at by default. This is useful to
instantly jump to that point without seeking through the track.
hotcue
Similar to the main :term:`cue` point, a hotcue is a reference point in the
track. DJs usually place hotcues at distinctive positions within a track
such as drops, breaks or kicks and snares. Mixxx supports up to 36 hotcues.
Hotcues can be assigned a text label and a color, and they can be reordered
with drag-and-drop of hotcue buttons in decks.
cue marker
A catch-all term used in mixxx to refer to the :term:`cue point`,
:term:`hotcues <hotcue>` and :ref:`intro and outro cues<djing-intro-outro-cues>`.
bar
In musical notation, a bar (or measure) is a segment of time defined by a
given number of beats. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the
same length.
flanger
A flanger is an effect that mixes the input signal with a delayed copy of
itself which leads to interferences in the signal and creates a comb-filter
effect. By routing the output of the effect back into the input (feedback),
the effect is enhanced.
podcast
A podcast is a feed of audio or video files made available for free or for
purchase over the Internet. Podcast clients such as iTunes allow listeners
to subscribe to the feed and automatically download content to their
portable audio players as it becomes available.
DRM
Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies attempt to control what you
can and can't do with the media and hardware you've purchased. Typically, a
DRM system either encrypts the data so that it can only be accessed in a
way authorized by copyright holders or marks content with a digital
watermark or similar method so that the content can not be freely
distributed. For information about how you can get involved in activism
against DRM, see `Defective by Design <https://www.defectivebydesign.org>`_.
shoutcast
Shoutcast is proprietary software that allows digital audio content to be
broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of
Internet radio stations.
icecast
Icecast is free and :term:`open-source` software that allows digital audio
content to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the
creation of Internet radio stations. Unlike :term:`Shoutcast <shoutcast>`,
the software provides the ability to stream in free file formats like
:term:`Ogg Vorbis` and run your own directory server.
open-source
Generically, open-source refers to a program for which the source code is
available to the public for use and/or modification from its original
design free of charge. Open source code is typically created as a
collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share
the changes within the community. Open source sprouted in the technological
community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations. For
more information, see `Wikipedia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software>`_.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
The address that defines the route to a file on
an Internet server. URLs are typed into a Web browser to access Web pages
and files, and URLs are embedded within the pages themselves as hypertext
links. One example of a URL is `<https://mixxx.org>`_ .
quantization
Quantization is the process of aligning notes and other events like loops
or cuepoints so that they start or finish exactly on beats or fractions of
beats.
HSV
HSV stands for hue, saturation, and value, and is also often called HSB
(B for brightness). The HSV Color Model represents color in a way more
suited to the human perception of color. For example, the relationships
“stronger than”, “darker than”, and “the opposite of” are easily expressed
in HSV. In contrast, the representation of the hardware-oriented :term:`RGB`
model is close to what most monitors show.
RGB
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and
blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of
colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive
primary colors, red, green, and blue.
GUI
Graphical User Interface
It's pronounced "gooey" and it refers
to a user interface based on graphics (icons, pictures and menus) instead
of text. In Mixxx, it uses a mouse, keyboard, or :term:`MIDI` / :term:`HID`
:term:`controllers <controller>` as input devices.
key
Short for "musical key" (i.e. C major).
MusicBrainz
A open-source music encyclopedia that collects music :term:`metadata` and
makes it available to the public. For more information, see
`<https://musicbrainz.org/>`_.
AcoustID
An acoustic fingerprint system built entirely on :term:`open-source`
technology. It aims to create a free database of user-submitted audio
fingerprints with mapping to the :term:`MusicBrainz` :term:`metadata`
database and provide a web service for audio file identification using this
database. For more information, see`<https://acoustid.org/>`_.
API
Application Program Interface
An API is a specification and set of rules
for how software programs interact with each other. In Mixxx, an example of
this is the Sound API that Mixxx uses to communicate with the
:term:`operating system` to make use of the :term:`soundcards <soundcard>` connected to
the computer.
macOS
macOS (originally named "Mac OS X" until 2012 and then "OS X" until 2016)
is the current Mac operating system that officially succeeded the classic
Mac OS in 2001.
EQ
Equalizer
An equalizer allows the sound in specified frequency bands to be amplified
or reduced, in order to adjust the quality and character of the sound.
A simple graphic equalizer consists of multiple controls for boosting or
cutting bands or frequencies of sound.
A parametric equalizer controls more parameters of the sound than a graphic
equalizer. It can control three aspects of each frequency: level (boost or
cut), the center or primary frequency, and the bandwidth or range of each
frequency.
DAW
Digital Audio Workstation
An electronic device or application software used for recording, editing
and producing audio files.
LADSPA
Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin
The LADSPA :term:`API` is a standard for handling audio filters and audio
signal processing effects.
USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard for cables, connectors
and protocols and used for lots of consumer hardware. If an :term:`audio interface`
is "USB class compliant", this means it can be used on all major
:term:`operating systems <operating system>` without special drivers (on
Windows, special drivers might still be necessary to use the :term:`ASIO`
sound :term:`API` though).