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Music Glossary A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U W X Y Z 1 3 - L-pad
- L-pad
- Largo
- Among the early divisions of tempo markings, largo was the slowest. It is now often placed between grave, extremely slow and ponderous, and andante, walking. "Adagio" is considered by some composers and theoreticians to be slower than "largo" and therefore largo is categorized between adagio and andante. Occasionally a movement in a composition will be entitled "Largo" for the slow, steady, and stately manner in which the movement should be performed.
- Ledger Line
- Many people are familiar with the two staffs of music for pianos and hymnodies. The treble clef is commonly referred to as the upper staff and the bass clef is commonly referred to as the lower staff. Historically the staffs have not always been separate and included a single staff first numbering fifteen lines and then decreased to eleven. During the years in which such line-packed staffs were used, few ledger lines were needed. That was about the only asset of these complex staffs, particularly germane to the fifteen line staff. Ledger lines are now used to indicate notes which go either above or below the two tiered staff for pitch indication. Ledger lines are short lines drawn parallel to the staff that essentially represent an extension of the staff.
- levels
- Terms used to describe relative audio signal levels.
mic-level Nominal signal coming directly from a microphone. Very low, in the microvolts, and requires a
preamp with at least 60 dB gain before using with any line-level equipment.
line-level Standard +4 dBu or -10 dBV audio levels.
instrument-level Nominal signal from musical instruments using electrical pick-ups. Varies widely, from
very low mic-levels to quite large line-levels.
- Linux
- A computer Unix-type operating system (OS) invented by Linus Torvalds in 1992, who wrote it as a
student at the University of Helsinki. He created this OS because he couldn't afford one that could accomplish
what he wanted with his available hardware. He then posted it on the network for other students, where it grew
and became very stable and powerful. Today, for free, the software, source code, etc., is available off the web.
- loud
- If it's too loud you're too old!
- loudness
- The SPL of a standard sound which appears to be as loud as the unknown. Loudness level is measured in phons and
equals the equivalent SPL in dB of the standard. [For example, a sound judged as loud as a 40 dB-SPL 1 kHz tone has a
loudness level of 40 phons. Also, it takes 10 phons (an increase of 10 dB-SPL) to be judged twice as loud.]
- luminance
- That part of the video signal which carries the information on how bright the TV signal is to be.
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Music Glossary 
