01/W Glossary

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rev: 02Mar29
(Note: This glossary is different than the one in the Korg 01/W Percussion Manual.)
arco
Italian for "bow". Stringed instruments can be played by plucking (pizzicato) or by using a bow. (Now you know what "Prog A77: ArcoAttack" is.)
appoggiatura
Played with a very light and quick motion, leading immediately to the following note. Also called a "grace note".
Bank
A button on the front panel for selecting a group of Programs, Combinations, or Songs. Click here for details.
bar
Another word for "measure", derived from the vertical line that marks the start of each measure.
Base Resolution
The number of ticks-per-quarter-note the 01 will record at. You can pick Low resolution (48 ticks per quarter-note) or High (96 ticks). The Base Resolution is set in SEQ mode, Page 9.
Batteries
There are two batteries the can 01 use. Every 01 has an internal battery mounted on the main circuit board. Click here for details. The PROG/SEQ DATA card has its own battery. Click here for details.
Beat
Korg's abbreviated way of saying "time signature". The time signatures you have to choose from depend on the Base Resolution setting. Your choices are:

 
Base Resolution Available Time Signatures
Low (48 ticks per quarter-note) 1/4 - 9/4 
1/8 - 16/8 
1/16 - 16/16
High (96 ticks per quarter-note) 1/4 - 5/4 
1/8 - 10/8 
1/16 - 16/16
cent
A unit of pitch. There are 100 cents in a half-step. (See table and drawing on p. 54 in the Percussion Manual.)
Combi
Short for "Combination" in the 01.
Combination
A group of one to eight Programs that are active at the same time. The Programs can be assigned to different keyboard keys ("split") or the same keys ("layered"). The 01 comes with 200 built-in Combinations. Click to see the list of ROM Combis.
D. Mod
Dynamic Modulation. Modulating modulation.
DAC
D2A
Digital-to-Analog Converter. An IC or circuit that converts a digital number into an analog signal (current or voltage). The 01 uses a 16-bit D2A to convert PCM waveforms into voltages. For circuit and troubleshooting details, click here.
Damper
A foot pedal found on pianos. Normally a felt pad presses against the piano strings so they don't keep ringing as you play other notes (the pad "dampens" the ringing). Pressing down the damper pedal moves the felt pad off the strings so they can ring.
On a synth, pressing the damper pedal extends the "sustain" portion of the sampled waveform.
On the 01, a damper pedal can be plugged into the DAMPER jack on the back panel.

Pressing and releasing the damper pedal inserts a MIDI Control Code into your sequence.
If MIDI Control Codes are disabled, the damper will work when you play live, but the MIDI control codes will not be recorded in SEQ mode.

If your damper isn't being recorded in SEQ mode, check to see if the damper is enabled:
1. Press GLOBAL
2. Press UP once (to move the highlight to the bottom line)
3. Press "D" or "E" to highlight "CTRL:"
4. Press UP ARROW so the display shows "CTRL:ENA".

Direct Entry
A way to enter numeric values without using VALUE UP/DOWN/Slider. Here's how:
1. Highlight the field you want to change,
2. Press and hold the letter button (A-H) below that field,
3. Push the number buttons to enter the value you want,
4. Release the letter button you were holding.
This feature was in ROM #58, perhaps earlier. (E-mail me if you know.)
DRAM
(pronounced "DEE ram"). Dynamic RAM. From a user's point of view, RAM is RAM - it doesn't matter what type it is. Technically, DRAM is dense (more bits per cubic centimeter), but slow because it requires clocking to get data out. It is one of two types of RAM in your 01.
Dynamic Modulation
Modulating modulation. That is, changing the amount of modulation.
EEPROM
Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. What the 01 doesn't have, although some might suggest it does. This is similar to ROM in that it doesn't forget its contents when power is removed. Unlike ROM, the contents can be changed after the part leaves the factory. The 01 uses a battery to supply power to SRAM, and that SRAM remembers your edits.
EG
Envelope Generator.
Embouchure
1. The mouthpiece of a wind instrument. 2. A method of using the lips and tongue on the mouthpiece. 3. Combi B92: "Nice Reed ensemble in octaves."
FDD
Floppy Disk Drive. (Click here for more info.)
gliss.
glissando
Sliding. On a piano, dragging your finger across the white keys. On a harp, dragging your finger across the strings. On stringed instruments, like a guitar, this can mean simply sliding your finger up or down the string after it is picked, but the proper term for a smooth gliss is "portamento".
Global Channel
The MIDI channel used when the 01 is addressed as one MIDI device. Click here for details.
grace note
Played with a very light and quick motion, leading immediately to the following note.
half-step
The smallest distance between two notes (in Western music). Sometimes called a "chromatic step" or "semitone". On a piano, notes are one half-step apart. On a guitar, frets are one half-step apart. There are 12 half-steps (and notes) in an octave.
IC
Integrated Circuit. Also called a "chip", because an IC is actually a tiny chip of circuitry mounted inside a large package with pins attached so we (and machines) can handle the chip.
inversion
A change in the basic or fundamental way of playing a chord. The "root" position has the root note as the lowest note. The "first inversion" has the second note of the root position as the lowest note with the root note now the highest note of the chord. The "second inversion" follows the same pattern with the 3rd note of the root chord now the lowest position with the original second note now the highest note of the chord.
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display. The 01's LCD is 240 x 64 pixels (dots) and is backlit.
Legato
Moving smoothly between notes with no noticeable interruptions.
leger line
A short horizontal line above or below the staff on written music for notes outside the staff.
LFO
Low-Frequency Oscillator. What Korg calls a "Modulation Generator".
Loudness Terms

Below is a table relating musical loudness terms to suggested MIDI Velocity values. Be aware there are no set rules relating terms to velocity - it's all subjective. To complicate matters, you can select different Velocity Curves for the 01. This means that the same velocity setting can sound different depending on the Curve you have selected. Regardless of how complicated things can get, this table can be a starting point:
 
Loudness Terms
Term Sign MIDI Means
Pianississimo ppp 24 as softly as possible
Pianissimo pp 44 very softly
Piano p 54 softly
Mezzo Piano mp 64 moderately softly 
Mezzo m mezzo means "half"
Mezzo Forte mf 74 moderately loudly
Forte f 84 loudly
Fortissimo ff 94 very Loudly
Fortississimo fff 114 as loudly as possible
Più forte pf more loudly
Fortepiano fp a sudden change from loud to soft
Crescendo cres. or < gradually get louder
Diminuendo dim. or > gradually get softer
 
LP
1. Low Pass (filter). A filter that lets low frequencies pass through while blocking high frequencies. 2. "LP" as a Multi-Sound suffix means "loop".
MG
Modulation or Modulating.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
modulation
Modulating a signal means you are changing that signal in some repetitive or cyclic fashion.
Modulation Generator
Korg's term for Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO).
MULTI
Selects Multi-Track Recording in Sequencer Mode. Click here for details.
Multi-Sound
The basic unit of sound in the 01. One or two Multi-Sounds are used to make a Program.
A multi-sound is a waveform, similar to a computer wave (.WAV) file. In the 01, some multi-sounds are broken into two parts: the initial attack segment, and the loop segment. There are 255 multi-sounds in the 01 (256 in the pro/proX), but some are "duplicates" in that the looped portion of the wave is pulled out of the overall waveform and given its own multi-sound number. These are designated with an "LP" suffix in the multi-sound list. Click here for a list of 01/W Multi-Sounds.
Multi-Track Recording
An option for recording external MIDI data into the 01's Sequencer. Click here for details.
NT
Appears as a sufix to some Multi-Sound names. It means that Multi-Sound will produce the same pitch no matter which key you hit. Examples inclued: Stadium (151), Thing (153), Crickets1 (164), TronUp (170), Hi Hat (194), and Industry (216, 218).
OSC
oscillator
oscillator
Technically, something that generates a repeating analog signal, like a sine, triangle, sawtooth, or square wave. Historically, those were the basis for analog synth sounds. The 01 uses OSC to mean any of the basic PCM sounds, meaning a Multi-Sound or Drum Sound. The 01 manual also uses "voice" to mean "oscillator".
patch
What the 01 calls a Program, everyone else calls a Patch. It refers to a setting that makes your synth sound a certain way. The term comes from early synths when short lengths of audio cable, called "patch cords", were used to connect the audio signal to various amplifiers and filters. Changing where the patch cords went changed the final sound, so a particular arrangement of cords was called a "patch".
PCM
Pulse-Code Modulation. This is a particular way of digitizing an analog signal. In 01-speak, this is a ROM that has sampled sounds stored in it. There is internal PCM memory that is permanently installed at the factory. There is also a slot in the back of the 01 for PCM cards that have different Multi-Sounds.
Pizz.
Pizzicato
Italian meaning to pluck your instrument. Stringed instruments can be played by plucking or by using a bow (arco). (Now you know what "Prog B57: Pizzicato" is.)
polyphonic
Capable of playing more than one note at the same time. The 01 is 32-note polyphonic. You can polyphony to 64 notes by connecting two 01s together. (see the Note Receive parameter)
portamento
A continuous glide from one note to another, like sliding your finger up a guitar string. This is similar but different from a glissando, which plays discrete notes, like dragging your finger over the white keys of the keyboard. The rumor is that Korg considered portamento to be an unneeded feature, so it was not designed into the 01.
Prog
Short for "Program" in 01 terminology.
PPQN
Pulses per Quarter-Note. Similar in timing to Ticks per Quarter-Note, but this term is normally used when referring to standard analog synth clock signals. It is also an obsolete type of synchronization. It served the same purpose as the MIDI Timing Clock message.
Program
In the 01, a group of Multi-Sounds or a Drum Kit that has been saved with a Program number. The 01 comes with 200 built-in "Progs". Click to see the list of ROM Progs. A Program is made up of one or two Oscillators, or one Drum Kit.
quantization
Quantization is the process of snapping an event to the nearest time, like rounding to the nearest hour or minute. MIDI events, like key hits, can be "snapped-to" the nearest musical note (quarter, 8th, 16th, etc.). Quantizing is only done in SEQuencer Mode.
Click here for more about quantization.
RAM
Random Access Memory. A generic term for memory that loses its contents when power is removed.
ritard.
ritardando
Grandual slowing of tempo.
ROM
Read-Only Memory. Memory whose data is locked in at the factory. ROM contents are permanent and will not be lost if power is removed or if the battery dies.
RPN
Registered Parameter Number. A type of MIDI Controller (100,101/64h,65h). Can be used to set the 01's Master Tune.
SMF
Standard MIDI File. A way to store sequencer data on a floppy disk. SMFs do not contain 01-specific data, like Drum Kits, Progs, Combis, or Effect settings. For more info, click here.
Song
A collection of tracks and measures in Sequencer Mode. Click here for technical details..
SRAM
Static RAM. From a user's point of view, RAM is RAM - it doesn't matter what type it is. For you tech-heads, SRAM is the simplest, fastest, and least dense of the RAMs. It is one of two types of RAM in your 01.
time signature
Two numbers on the staff of a section of music. The top number is the number of beats in a measure. The bottom number shows what type of note gets one beat. Examples: "4/4" says there are four beats per meaure, and a quarter-note gets one beat. "6/8" says there are six beats per measure, and an eighth note gets one beat. 01 documentation uses the term "beat" to mean time signature.
VALUE controls
The VALUE slider, VALUE UP button (labeled with an upward-pointing arrow), and VALUE DOWN button (labeled with a downward-pointing arrow). Typically used to change the value or parameter in the field where the cursor is. The slider is a faster, though less accurate, way to change values. The 01 doesn't always know when the slider is all the way up (also called "full up") or all the way down ("full down"), so sometimes you must nudge it in the opposite direction before sliding it to one of the extremes.
VDA
Variable Digital Amplifier. This is a functional block that controls volume.
VDF
Variable Digital Filter. This is a functional block that controls tone.
Velocity Curve
The 01 plays louder or quieter depending on how hard you hit the keys. You can adjust how sensitive the keyboard is by selecting velocity curves in Global Mode.
voice
In 01 documentation, means the same thing as "oscillator".
WS
Wave Shaping. An 01 technique for modifying a basic Sound (Multi or Drum) by use of a Wave Shaping Table. This Table specifies a 3-point envelope that distorts the original PCM Sound. It is, in theory, a way for you to create new sounds from the same basic PCM Sounds.
For more info, click Wave Shaping info.


Copyright ©1998-2002 by Ken Westover at Cliff Canyon Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
This material may not be distributed without the written permission of the author.
E-mail questions or comments to cliffcan@indra.com.
 
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