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Music vocabulary · Recording and Production

Mastering

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈmæstərɪŋ/nounCommon term

In music, mastering means: The final stage of audio production, in which finished mixes are polished, made consistent in loudness and tone, and prepared for streaming, CD or vinyl.

In Turkish: mastering, mastır

How it is used

Done by a mastering engineer, often in a separate studio. You send mixes 'for mastering' or 'to be mastered'; the result is 'the master'. Typical topics: loudness, limiting, EQ, track order and the gaps between songs.

Example sentences

  1. The album goes to mastering on Monday, so we need all final mixes by Friday.

  2. Good mastering makes the songs sound like they belong on the same record.

Common collocations

  • mastering engineer
  • send for mastering
  • mastering studio
  • get a track mastered
  • mastering chain
  • mixTo balance and combine all the recorded tracks of a song into a final stereo version, adjusting volume, panning, EQ, effects and dynamics.
  • EQShort for equalisation or equaliser: adjusting the balance of low, mid and high frequencies in a sound, or the tool that does this.
  • streamingListening to music over the internet without downloading it to keep, through services such as Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music. It is now the main source of recorded-music income.
  • releaseTo make a song, album or video available to the public, for example on streaming platforms, in shops or on video sites.
  • producerThe person who guides a recording project creatively and practically, shaping the sound, the arrangement and the performances, and often programming or engineering too.

More terms: Recording and Production

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