This document provides definitions and descriptions of various audio effects and technologies. It explains distortion effects create warm, dirty and fuzzy sounds; talk boxes allow musicians to modify sounds through lip movements; pitch bend creates a smooth glide between tones. It also describes delay and multitap delay effects; auto-tune corrects pitch; phasers create sweeping modulated peaks and troughs. Additional effects and technologies discussed include sound effects, vibrato, compression, limiting, gating, surround sound, mono and stereo sound, copyright, performing rights, licenses and contracts.

1. Effects Unit
Distortion
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by
compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding
overtones.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_(music)
Talk Box
A talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a
musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing,
or by changing the shape of their mouth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_box
Bonjovi (Living On A Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk
Pitch Bend
A smooth uninterrupted glide in passing from one tone to another,
especially with the voice or a bowed stringed instrument.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Pitch+bend
Delay + Multitap Delay
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage
medium, and then plays it back after a period of time.
Multitap delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or
played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating,
decaying echo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_(audio_effect)

2. Auto tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio
Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and
instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and
mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned
vocal tracks without needing to sing in tune.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Tune
Example: T-pain (Bartender)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2wjJlP2N4
Phaser
A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by
creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The
position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary
over time, creating a sweeping effect. For this purpose, phasers usually
include a low-frequency oscillator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaser_(effect)
Temeblo
An imitative sound, as of thunder or an explosion, produced artificially for
theatrical purposes, as for a film, play, or radio program. Often used in the
plural.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sound+effect
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of
pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato
is typically characterized in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch
variation ("extent of vibrato") and the speed with which the pitch is varied
("rate of vibrato").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrato
Compression
Audio compression is a form of data compression designed to reduce the
transmission bandwidth requirement of digital audio streams and the
storage size of audio files. Audio compression algorithms are implemented
in computer software as audio codecs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression_(data)

3. Limiter
A compressor or limiter is an automatic volume control that reduces the
volume when the input gets too loud. Originally they were used to prevent
AM radio transmitters from distorting if the announcer got too close to the
microphone, and to keep volume levels consistent. Then some creative folks
discovered that a compressor can sound cool as an effect on voices and
musical instruments.
http://www.ethanwiner.com/compressors.html
Gating
A Noise Gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to
control the volume of an audio signal. In its most simple form, a noise gate
allows a signal to pass through only when it is above a set threshold: the
gate is 'open'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_gate
Surround Sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for
enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio
channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound
Prince (The Beautiful Ones)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DijrdUoFt80
Mono-aural
Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound, this early
sound system used a single channel of audio for sound output. In
monophonic sound systems, the signal sent to the sound system encodes
one single stream of sound and it usually uses just one speaker.
Monophonic sound is the most basic format of sound output.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/monophonic_sound.html

4. Stereo
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any
method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an
illusion of directional and audible perspective. This is usually achieved by
using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of
two or more loudspeakers in such a way as to create the impression of
sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the
creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time.
Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the
right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to
other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from
it, and other related rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
Performing rights
Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part
of copyright law and demands payment to the
music’s composer/lyricist and publisher (with the royalties generally split
50/50 between the two). Public performance means that a musician or
group who is not the copyright holder is performing a piece of music live, as
opposed to the playback of a pre-recorded song.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performing_rights
Licenses
A license may be granted by a party ("licensor") to another party
("licensee") as an element of an agreement between those parties. A
shorthand definition of a license is "an authorization (by the licensor) to
use the licensed material (by the licensee)."
In particular, a license may be issued by authorities, to allow an activity
that would otherwise be forbidden. It may require paying a fee and/or
proving a capability. The requirement may also serve to keep the
authorities informed on a type of activity, and to give them the opportunity
to set conditions and limitations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License
Contract
A contract is an agreement having a lawful object entered into voluntarily
by two or more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal
obligations between them.