Fade (audio engineering)

In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theatre lighting in much the same way (see fade (filmmaking) and fade (lighting)).

In sound recording and reproduction, a song may be gradually reduced to silence at its end (fade-out), or may gradually increase from silence at the beginning (fade-in). Fading out can serve as a recording solution for pieces of music that contain no obvious ending. Quick fade-ins and -outs can also be used to change the characteristics of a sound, such as to soften the attack in vocal plosives and percussion sounds.

Professional turntablists and DJs in hip hop music use faders on a DJ mixer, notably the horizontal crossfader, in a rapid fashion while simultaneously manipulating two or more record players (or other sound sources) to create scratching and develop beats. Club DJs in house music and techno use DJ mixers, two or more sound sources (two record players, two iPods, etc.) along with a skill called beatmatching (aligning the beats and tempos of two records) to make seamless dance mixes for dancers at raves, nightclubs and dance parties.