Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Recording and Production

Take

Meaning in music, with examples

/teɪk/nounCommon term

In music, take means: One attempt at recording a part or a whole song. Engineers usually record several takes and choose or combine the best ones.

In Turkish: kayıt denemesi, çekim, take

How it is used

Studio language: 'Let's do another take', 'That was the take!', 'take three', 'the best take'. Combining the best parts of several takes is called 'comping'. 'One-take' describes a recording done in one go.

Example sentences

  1. The second take had the best feel, even with a small mistake in the bridge.

  2. We recorded six takes of the vocal and comped the best lines.

Common collocations

  • do another take
  • the best take
  • first take
  • comp the takes
  • one-take recording
  • recordTo capture sound, such as a voice or an instrument, so that it can be played back, edited and released later.
  • overdubTo record a new part on top of tracks that are already recorded, for example adding a guitar solo or backing vocals after the basic tracks are finished.
  • trackA single song on an album or release. In a studio or DAW, it also means one separate recorded part, such as the drum track or the vocal track.
  • producerThe person who guides a recording project creatively and practically, shaping the sound, the arrangement and the performances, and often programming or engineering too.
  • click trackA metronome sound that musicians hear in their headphones or in-ear monitors while recording or performing, so that everyone stays at exactly the same tempo.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Recording and Production

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: