Glossary

A

access needs are what people need to provide for you so that you can take part/play.
Artist a person who makes art eg. painter, musician.
is short for advance, sometimes people can pay to come to a gig before the gig and it costs less money
is short for amplifier - it is like a speaker, there are different kinds eg. Bass amp (for bass guitars) and Guitar amps (for guitars) .

B

in music a band is a group of people who play music together..
backline is a word used to describe the audio equipment a venue or rehearsal studio has .
is short for biography, it is the story of a band or musicians.
sometimes when people are letting other people use their drum kit they will say “ bring your own breakables”. Breakables is a word used to describe cymbals because they break more easily.

some gigs give musicians/artists a token ( it looks like a paper ticket) which they can use to get a free drink. Some venues give artists free drinks and some do not.
is a small box that is on stage, musicians plug instruments into it so that the sound gets to the sound engineer without being distorted
when people talk about doors at a gig they usually mean the time when the audience can come into where the gig is happening. The musicians and bands usually do not play while the audience is coming into the venue.
a door split is sometimes the way musicians get paid. A door split is when the money that the audience has paid is divided up and given to each musician/band. Sometimes the place where the gig is happening also takes some money from this.

is when a band or musician has finished playing and the audience ask them to play some more music, sometimes you will hear people shouting “one more song” or “ One more Tune”. or “ One more song”.

front of house when talking about a gig means the speakers and sound that the audience hear.
a fee is money. When people are talking about gigs, a fee is the money that a musician/band will be paid.
Flappause is when people flap instead of clapping, because some people find clapping too loud.

music or comedy concert/performance.
a guest list is a list of names of people who the band would like to come and be in the audience for free.

(sometimes called a ¼”. You say it “quarter inch cable”). This is a cable often used to plug guitars into amps, but other instruments also may be able to use it.
a input is something you plug in that will make a sound, for example if you are a singer you might have a microphone (Mic) input and an input from a ipad ( or similar ) for playing backing tracks.

Line Check sometimes if there’s not enough time for a soundcheck, the sound engineer will do a line check. This just means the sound engineer checks they are getting your sound to their sound desk from your equipment.
Load In and Load Out are the times when a band or musician can bring (load in) or take away (out out) their equipment and instruments at a place where a gig is happening, sometimes this is also called a Get in and Get Out.

short for merchandise this is things an artist/band/musician might sell like CD’s, T shirts etc.
Musician a person who plays music
Monitor a monitor is a speaker or speakers on a stage that face the musicians so the musicians can hear themselves. Sometimes musicians may have in ear monitors, which means they use special ear plugs to hear the sound that would come out of the monitor speakers if they were being used.
a mini jack is the name of the cable most headphones have, that can plug into a phone, some instruments also use mini jack cables to get their sound out.

is short for technical rider. A rider is a list of things a musician or band need on stage that they are not bringing themselves, this could include microphones, chairs and keyboards.

is when a band or musician goes on stage and plugs in their instruments and plays so the sound engineer can get the bands sound to sound good.
A set is a word used to mean the amount of time a band/musician can play for. Set can also have different meanings in different places eg. “ set the table“ or a set in a play.
a list of songs a musician/artist will play at a gig.
a sound engineer or technician is a person who makes sure that musicians/bands can hear themselves on stage and that the audience can hear the sounds the band/musicians are making. If you are not happy with the sound you can tell the sound engineer, who will try to make it better.
a sound desk (sometimes called a mixing desk) is a piece of equipment that allows you to plug in lots of instruments and make sure that each instrument can be hard through the speakers.
sometimes promoters won’t sell tickets but will ask the audience to give money to pay the musicians, sometimes they make a suggestion of how much eg. ‘suggested donation £5’.
a bat who provides emotional support.
a social story is a written down story explaining something that is going to happen or might happen and what to do in that situation

a PA is the speakers and sound desk already at a venue or rehearsal room, sometimes the PA is described as Backline.
this is when a promoter lets people pay what they are able to, to go to a gig
a promoter is the person who is in charge of making sure that people know about a gig.
is short for promotion and when talking about gigs it usually means the ways people will find out about the gig, such as posters, flyers and social media posts.

On The Door means how much it costs to come to the gig if you don’t buy a ticket in advance.
output when talking about musical instruments, such as keyboards, is how the sound from the keyboard gets to the speakers. When you are working out what you want on your tec rider you need to find out what outputs your instruments have, for example a keyboard might have a 1/4” output. Your outputs will go to the sound engineer as inputs because the sound engineer will plug your instruments in to their sound desk.

XLR cable is a type of cable that is used a lot for microphones to be plugged into a PA.