Glossary: B

B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, and A♯ are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has…

B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative…

B-flat major is a major scale based on B♭, with pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is…

B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B♭, consisting of the pitches B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Its key signature has five flats. Its…

Bach: The Goldberg Variations is the debut album of Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould. An interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's…

A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments…

Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a…

In psychology and neuroscience, backward masking is a phenomenon of human perception in which a briefly presented stimulus (the "target")…

Balanced audio is a method of interconnecting audio equipment using balanced interfaces. This type of connection is very important in…

"Bam Bam" is a 1982 song by Jamaican dancehall recording artist Sister Nancy. The song's chorus was inspired by the 1966 song of the same…

Banded waveguides synthesis is a physical modeling synthesis method to simulate sounds of dispersive sounding objects, or objects with…

Barakat syndrome is a rare disease characterized by hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness and renal disease, and hence also known as…

Barisal guns or fog guns (mistpoeffers (fog dissipators) in Belgium and Netherlands, Seeschießen (sea/lake gunshots) in Germany, brontidi…

Baritenor (also rendered in English-language sources as bari-tenor or baritenore) is a portmanteau (blend) of the words "baritone" and…

A bark is a sound most often produced by dogs. Other animals that make this noise include, but are not limited to, wolves, coyotes, foxes…

The Bark scale is a psychoacoustical scale proposed by Eberhard Zwicker in 1961. It is named after Heinrich Barkhausen, who proposed the…

The basilar membrane is a stiff structural element, a type of basement membrane within the cochlea of the inner ear which separates two…

The basilar papilla is the auditory sensory organ of lizards, amphibians, and birds, which is homologous to the organ of Corti in mammals.

A bass amplifier (also abbreviated to bass amp) is a musical instrument electronic device that uses electrical power to make lower-pitched…

A bass chorus is an electronic effect used with the electric bass. It creates the same "shimmering" sound as a chorus effect for electric…

Bass effects are electronic effects units that are designed for use with an electric bass and a bass amplifier, or for an upright bass and…

The fundamental principle of bass management (also called LFE crossover) in surround sound reproduction systems is to route bass content…

In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note…

A bass reflex system (also known as a ported, vented box or reflex port) is a type of loudspeaker enclosure that uses a port (hole) or…

Bass traps re acoustic absorbers designed to reduce the amplitude of low-frequency resonances in enclosed spaces and thereby improve…

Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic…

Basso profondo is the lowest bass voice type. It is often misspelled as basso profundo.

A bat detector is a device used to detect the presence of bats by converting their echolocation ultrasound signals, as they are emitted by…

A bathythermograph, or BT, also known as a mechanical bathythermograph, or MBT, is a device that holds a temperature sensor and a…

Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception.

"Beat Box" is a song by the English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise. Originally appearing as the second track on the 12-inch EP…

The BeatBuddy is a digital drum machine made by Singular Sound that is housed in the form of a stompbox unit. The floor-based format and…

Beatmapping is the detection of a beat or tempo in music using software. Beatmapping visually lays out/displays the tempo (speed) of music…

Beatmatching or pitch cue is a DJ technique of pitch shifting or time stretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the…

A beep is a short, single tone, typically high-pitched, generally made by a computer or other machine. The term has its origin in…

"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" is an American country song written by Vivian Keith and Ben Peters, and most famously recorded by Freddy…

The X32 Digital Mixing Console is a digital mixing console conceived and designed by German manufacturer Behringer. The console features…

The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory…

A bellow (/ˈbel.oʊ/ is a type of animal vocalization common amongst bulls and other large animals such as alligator, koala, moose, red…

Bi-amping and tri-amping is the practice of using two or three audio amplifiers respectively to amplify different audio frequency ranges…

Bi-wiring is a means of connecting a loudspeaker to an audio amplifier, primarily used in hi-fi systems. Normally, there is one pair of…

A bias tee is a three-port network used for setting the DC bias point of some electronic components without disturbing other components…

The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzz effects pedal made by New York City-based Electro-Harmonix.

Bilingual–Bicultural or Bi-Bi deaf education programs use sign language as the native, or first language, to teach Deaf children.

Binaural fusion or binaural integration is a cognitive process that involves the combination of different auditory information presented…

Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3D stereo sound…

Binaural unmasking is phenomenon of auditory perception where the brain combines information from the two ears in order to improve signal…

Bio-duck is the name given to a previously unidentified sound recorded in the Southern Ocean, specifically in Antarctic waters and off the…

Bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science that combines biology and acoustics. Usually, it refers to the investigation of sound…

Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs (often simply birdsong) are the sounds…

Birdsong was a temporary radio channel which used to broadcast on national digital radio in the United Kingdom. The transmission consisted…

Birds and birdsong have played a role in Western classical music since at least the 14th century, when composers such as Jean Vaillant…

Bistatic radar is a radar system comprising a transmitter and receiver that are separated by a distance comparable to the expected target…

Bistatic sonar is a sonar configuration in which transmitter and receiver are separated by a distance large enough to be comparable to the…

In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (bitrate or as a variable R) is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit…

A bitcrusher or bit crusher is an audio effect that produces distortion by reducing the resolution or bandwidth of digital audio data.

Bitrate peeling is a technique used in Ogg Vorbis audio encoded streams, wherein a stream can be encoded at one bitrate but can be served…

Bjerknes forces are translational forces on bubbles in a sound wave. The phenomenon is a type of acoustic radiation force.

Björnstad syndrome is an autosomal recessive congenital condition involving pili torti, sensorineural deafness, and hair abnormalities.

Black Angels, subtitled "Thirteen Images from the Dark Land", is a work for "electric string quartet" by the American avant-garde composer…

"Blame It on the Girls" is the third and final single released from singer-songwriter Mika's second studio album, The Boy Who Knew Too…

Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. It originally ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989.

Bloop was an ultra-low-frequency, high-amplitude underwater sound detected by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…

A raspberry, or razz, also known as a Bronx cheer, is a mouth noise similar to a fart that is used to signify derision. It is also used as…

Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and…

Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) and Blu-ray Disc Recordable Erasable (BD-RE) refer to two direct to disc optical disc recording…

Blu-spec is a rarely-used format of compact disc made using production techniques similar to Blu-ray discs, but are readable with standard…

The Blue Book is a compact disc standard developed in 1995 by Philips and Sony. It defines the Enhanced Music CD format (E-CD, also known…

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Some…

"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955.

"Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)" (originally "Blue Yodel", often called "Blue Yodel No. 1" or "T For Texas") is a song by American…

"Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940 and first recorded and released by Sammy Kaye in 1940 on RCA Victor. It is…

Blumlein pair is a stereo recording technique invented by Alan Blumlein for the creation of recordings that, upon replaying through…

Boettcher cells are a special cell type located in the inner ear.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by British rock band Queen from their fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera. The lead single from the…

Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull, allowing the hearer to perceive…

A bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a type of hearing aid based on bone conduction. It is primarily suited for people who have…

"Boogie Chillen'" or "Boogie Chillun" is a blues song first recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1948. It is a solo performance featuring…

Book music (French: Livre de musique) is a medium for storing the music played on mechanical organs, mainly of European manufacture.

The Boom XB-1 "Baby Boom" is a retired trijet supersonic demonstrator designed by Boom Technology as part of the development of the Boom…

The BD-2 Blues Driver is an overdrive pedal made by the Boss Corporation. Boss released the BD-2 in 1995 at a time when the blues was…

The Boss DS-1 Distortion is a distortion pedal manufactured by Boss since 1978. Alongside the ProCo Rat released the same year, the DS-1…

The Boss Katana is a line of modeling amplifiers for electric guitar and bass introduced by Japanese manufacturer Boss in 2016.

The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone is a distortion pedal released by Boss in 1991. Designed for heavy metal guitarists, the Metal Zone is…

The SD-1 Super Overdrive is the second overdrive pedal made by the Boss Corporation. Released in 1981 and produced continuously since…

The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus Tursiops. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the…

The term boundary tone refers to a rise or fall in pitch that occurs in speech at the end of a sentence or other utterance, or, if a…

Boutique amplifier is a catch-all descriptor for any type of instrument amplifier that is typically hand built with the intention of being…

In human neuroanatomy, brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), also called brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs), are very…

Brainwave entrainment, also referred to as brainwave synchronization or neural entrainment, refers to the observation that brainwaves…

The Braun LE1, Loudspeaker Unit 1 (German: Lautsprechereinheit 1), was the first electrostatic loudspeaker available on the German hi-fi…

The Bristol Sessions were a series of recording sessions held in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, considered by some as the "Big Bang" of…

British Library Sounds (previously named Archival Sound Recordings) is a British Library service providing free online access to a diverse…

British Tape Recorders or BTR machines were reel-to-reel audio tape recorders initially made by EMI in England after World War II.

The brown note (sometimes brown tone or frequency) is a fictional infrasonic frequency capable of causing fecal incontinence by creating…

In science, Brownian noise, also known as Brown noise or red noise, is the type of signal noise produced by Brownian motion, hence its…

Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome (BVVL), is a rare, progressive, inherited neurodegenerative disorder that most often manifests in…

Butler in a Box was an early voice-controlled home automation device developed in 1983 by magician Gus Searcy and programmer Franz Kavan…

Buy Quiet is an American health and safety initiative to select and purchase the lowest noise emitting power tools and machinery in order…