Glossary: Polyphonic | Sweetwater.com

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Polyphonic: When discussing musical instruments, the ability to play more than one note simultaneously. All instruments have a finite number of notes they can produce at one time. For example, a six string guitar has a maximum of 6-note polyphony. A synthesizer might be 32-note polyphonic, and so on. The more notes of polyphony an instrument can produce, the more capable it is of playing complex arrangements and chords. If the polyphony of the instrument is exceeded, it must "steal" the notes it needs from others that are already sounding. For example, a synthesizer might steal the last note requested from the first one hit; the first note stops, and the new one begins to sound. Some synths and samplers use sophisticated algorithms for voice stealing, others allow you to pre-allocate a given number of voices to a particular MIDI channel, and so on. Compare "polyphonic" to "multitimbral" in the WFTD archive.

P-94	p-n Junction	P90
PACE	Pad	PAF
Page	PAL	Palm Muting
Palo Escrito	Pan (Panning)	Pancake
Panic Button	Parabolic Reflector	Paragraphic Equalizer
Parallel/Parallel Port	Parameter	Parametric Equalizer
Parasitic Oscillation	Parity	Parlor Guitar
Partial	Partition	Pascal
Pass	Passband	Passive
Passive Radiator	Password	Paste
Patch	Patch Bay	Patch Cord
Patchlist	Patch List	Patch Mapping
Path	Paua	PCB
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)	PCI-X	PCI Express (PCIe)
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)	PCMCIA	PCM Deck
PD Drive	PDF	Peak
Peak Hold	Pearloid	Pedalboard
Pedal Point	Pedal Steel	Peer-to-Peer
Peghead	Penny Whistle	Pentachord
Pentatonic Scales	Pentium	Pentode
Perceptual Coding	Percussion Switch	Perfect Fifth
Perfect Pitch	Period	Perkins EQ
Permeability	petaFLOPS	PeterGabrielizing
Pre-Fade Listen (PFL)	Phantom Channel	Phantom Image
Phantom Power	Phase	Phase Cancellation
Phase Invert	Phase Lock	Phase Locked Loop
Phase Modulation	Phase Quadrature	Phase Shifter
Phon	Phon	Phone Plug
Phono Plug	Phono preamp	Phosphor Bronze
Photona	Physical Modeling Synthesis	Pianissimo
Piano	Pick	Pick Guard
Pickup	Piezo	Piggyback Amp
Pigtail	Pinch Roller	Pink Noise
Pinna Effect	Pipe Organ	Pitch
Pitch Bend	Pitch Correction	Pixel
Pizzicato	Plainsong	Planar Loudspeaker
Plate	Plate Reverb	Platter
Playhead	Play List	Plectrum
Plenum	Plesiochronous	Plexi
Abbreviation for Phase Locked Loop.	Plosive	Plug-in
Plug and Play	PMPO	Pocket
Pocketing	Podcast	Point-to-Point Wiring
Point Source Monitor	Polarity	Polarize
Polar Pattern	Pole	Pole Piece
Polka	Polyester	Polyphonic
Polyphony	Polyrhythm	Polytonality
Polyurethane	Ponticello	Pop
Pop Filter	Port	Portamento
Portative Organ	Position	Positional Sensing
Post Production	Potential Acoustic Gain	Potentiometer
Potting	POW-r	Power
Power Calibration Area	Power Chord	Power Compression
Power Conditioner	Power Cycle	Power Factor
Power Spike	Power Supply	Power Surge
PPG Wave	Peak Program Meter (PPM)	PPQN (Pulses Per Quarter Note, sometimes Parts Per Quarter Note)
PQ Subcode	P-Ram - (a.k.a. PRAM)	Pre-bend
Pre-delay	Preamp	PrecedenceEffect
Pre Fade/Post Fade	Preference File	Premiere
Prepolarization	Presence	Preset
Pressure-gradient Microphone	Pressure Microphone	Pressure Wave
Presto	Primary Tones	Princess Ensemble
Print	Print-Through	Producer
Program-dependent Compression	Program Change	Progression (Chord)
Progressive Hammer Action	Progressive Scan	Project-O-Sonic
Propagation	Proprietary	Protocol
Proximity Effect	PS/2	Psychoacoustics
PTP	Public Performance Right	Pull-off
Pull Down	Pulldown Menu	Pulse
Pulse Wave	Pumping	Punch
Punch Block	Punch In	Pure Tone
Purfling	Purple Heart	Push-Pull