Music Abbreviations
56 abbreviations · part of Arts & Entertainment Abbreviations
Abbreviations used across the music world: release formats (EP, LP, OST), genres (R&B, EDM, DnB), studio and live-sound gear (DAW, MIDI, DI, FOH), classical score markings and catalog numbers (pp, cresc., Op., BWV), and the industry bodies and labels behind recordings (A&R, RIAA, ASCAP, UMG). Score markings are traditionally Italian and written in lowercase italics, while industry abbreviations are usually written in capitals.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A&R | Artists and repertoire | Record-label department, and the executives in it, responsible for finding and signing artists, matching them with songs and producers and overseeing recordings. |
| accel. | Accelerando | Tempo marking telling performers to speed up gradually until a new tempo is reached or the passage ends. |
| ADSR | Attack, decay, sustain, release | Four-stage envelope that shapes how a synthesizer sound changes over time: how quickly it reaches full volume (attack), falls to a holding level (decay, sustain) and… |
| AMA | American Music Award | Award presented at the American Music Awards, an annual US show voted by fans, created by Dick Clark in 1974 as an alternative to the Grammys. |
| AOR | Album-oriented rock | US radio format, from the 1970s, that played album tracks by rock artists rather than only hit singles. |
| ASCAP | American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers | US performing rights organization that licenses public performances of its members' music, collecting royalties from radio, TV, streaming, venues and businesses and… |
| BMG | Bertelsmann Music Group | Music division of German media group Bertelsmann; the original BMG (1987-2008) was a major label that merged with Sony Music in 2004, and a new BMG Rights Management… |
| BMI | Broadcast Music, Inc. | US performing rights organization collecting public-performance royalties for songwriters, composers and publishers. |
| BPM | Beats per minute | Unit of musical tempo counting how many beats occur in one minute. |
| BTS | Bangtan Sonyeondan | Seven-member South Korean boy band that became the most commercially successful act in K-pop history, with multiple Billboard number ones and sold-out stadium tours. |
| BWV | Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) | Catalog number identifying a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. |
| CHR | Contemporary hit radio | Radio format playing current popular hits in rotation, the industry term for Top 40 radio. |
| CMA | Country Music Association | Nashville-based trade organization for the country music industry, best known for the CMA Awards each November and the CMA Fest summer festival. |
| cresc. | Crescendo | Instruction to gradually increase loudness, written as the abbreviation or as an opening "hairpin" wedge under the notes. |
| D.C. | Da capo | Instruction in sheet music to repeat from the beginning of the piece. |
| D.S. | Dal segno | Instruction to repeat from the segno sign, a stylized S with a slash and two dots, rather than from the beginning. |
| DAW | Digital audio workstation | Software for recording, editing, mixing and producing music and audio, such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio and GarageBand. |
| DI | Direct input | Box or technique for plugging an instrument such as a bass, keyboard or acoustic guitar directly into a mixing console. |
| dim. | Diminuendo | Instruction to gradually decrease loudness, written as the abbreviation or as a closing hairpin wedge. |
| DJ | Disc jockey | Person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience, on the radio, at clubs, festivals and parties, often mixing tracks together seamlessly. |
| DnB | Drum and bass | Electronic music genre with fast breakbeats, usually about 160 to 180 BPM, and heavy sub-bass lines. |
| EDC | Electric Daisy Carnival | Large electronic dance music festival produced by Insomniac Events, held each May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and in other cities including Orlando and Mexico City. |
| EDM | Electronic dance music | Umbrella term for dance-oriented electronic genres such as house, techno, trance, dubstep and drum and bass, especially the festival-scale pop-electronic sound that… |
| EMI | Electric and Musical Industries | British music company formed in 1931 by the merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company (His Master's Voice). |
| EP | Extended play | Recording longer than a single but shorter than a full album, typically four to six tracks running under about 30 minutes. |
| EQ | Equalization | Adjustment of the balance of frequency ranges in a sound, boosting or cutting bass, midrange or treble. |
| f | Forte | Dynamic marking meaning loud. |
| feat. | Featuring | Credit used in song titles and track listings to name a guest artist on another artist's recording, as in "Song Title (feat. |
| ff | Fortissimo | Dynamic marking meaning very loud, stronger than forte. |
| FOH | Front of house | Area of a venue where the audience is, and especially the mixing position there where the sound engineer controls what the crowd hears. |
| IFPI | International Federation of the Phonographic Industry | Global trade body representing the recorded music industry, which publishes the annual Global Music Report and names the world's best-selling artist of the year. |
| K. | Köchel catalogue number | Number identifying a work by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the chronological catalog compiled by Ludwig von Köchel, as in Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525. |
| LFO | Low-frequency oscillator | Synthesizer component that produces a slow repeating wave, usually below 20 Hz, used to modulate other parameters for vibrato, tremolo, filter sweeps or the "wobble" in… |
| LP | Long-playing record | Album format, originally a 12-inch vinyl disc played at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute with about 20 minutes per side. "LP" is still used to mean a full-length album in… |
| MC | Master of ceremonies | In hip-hop, a rapper or vocalist who performs over a DJ's music and hypes the crowd; more generally, the host who introduces acts at a show or event. |
| mf | Mezzo-forte | Dynamic marking meaning moderately loud, louder than mezzo-piano (mp) and softer than forte. |
| MIDI | Musical Instrument Digital Interface | Technical standard and file format that transmits musical performance data, such as which notes are played, how hard and for how long, between instruments, computers… |
| MPC | Music Production Center | Line of sampling drum machines and production workstations made by Akai, played by tapping velocity-sensitive pads. |
| Op. | Opus | Number assigned to a musical composition, usually by its publisher or composer, to identify works in order of publication, as in Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Op. 67. |
| OST | Original soundtrack | Album of music from a film, television series or video game, including the score and licensed songs. |
| p | Piano (soft) | Dynamic marking meaning soft, one of the basic indications of loudness in written music. |
| PA | Public address system | System of microphones, mixers, amplifiers and loudspeakers used to amplify sound for an audience, from small club speakers to stadium line arrays. |
| pp | Pianissimo | Dynamic marking telling performers to play very softly, quieter than piano (p). |
| PRO | Performing rights organization | Organization that licenses the public performance of musical works on behalf of songwriters and music publishers and distributes the royalties it collects. |
| R&B | Rhythm and blues | Genre of African American popular music that began in the 1940s, blending blues, jazz and gospel; today the term mostly refers to contemporary R&B, a smooth… |
| RIAA | Recording Industry Association of America | Trade group representing US record labels, best known for certifying gold (500,000 units), platinum (1 million) and diamond (10 million) records and for anti-piracy… |
| rit. | Ritardando | Tempo marking telling performers to slow down gradually. |
| SATB | Soprano, alto, tenor, bass | Standard four-part choir arrangement with two women's or children's parts (soprano and alto) and two men's parts (tenor and bass). |
| SESAC | SESAC | Smallest of the major US performing rights organizations, a for-profit, invitation-only company representing songwriters and publishers. |
| SXSW | South by Southwest | Annual festival and conference in Austin, Texas, each March, combining music showcases, film premieres and technology and media panels. |
| UKG | UK garage | Electronic dance genre that developed in London in the mid-1990s from US garage house, featuring shuffled two-step rhythms, chopped vocals and deep bass at around 130… |
| UMG | Universal Music Group | World's largest music company, owner of labels such as Republic, Interscope, Island, Capitol and Def Jam, plus a huge publishing catalog. |
| VJ | Video jockey | Host who introduces music videos on television, or a performer who mixes video live at concerts and clubs. |
| VMA | Video Music Award | Award presented at MTV's annual Video Music Awards show, held since 1984, celebrating music videos. |
| VST | Virtual Studio Technology | Plug-in standard created by Steinberg that lets software instruments and audio effects, such as synthesizers, compressors and reverbs, run inside digital audio… |
| WMG | Warner Music Group | One of the three major record companies, owner of labels including Atlantic, Warner Records, Elektra and Parlophone, as well as the Warner Chappell publishing business. |