This is music the actor on-screen CAN hear—the music coming from the radio, a jukebox, in the club, at the party, etc.

A term used in cue sheet preparation, meaning an on-camera Dance. This is most-often considered a featured use, especially if the Dance is the prime focus of the scene.

Composer: “All In” for a Composer means that they will deliver the score in final format to the producer for one, all-in fee. That means they will usually be doing a “synth score” where all the music is recorded via digital means, using instrument samples, etc. If they need to use a live guitar or sax player (or whatever), they have to pay the play [..]

(SEE: Fingerprinting)

Not to be confused with the composer, although composers often arrange their own music—especially anyone whose name isn’t John Williams or an equally A-list composer (they’re the ones who can afford to have their nails buffed while the Arranger weaves their magic). An Arranger takes the composition and decides what instrument will play what and adj [..]

A term used in cue sheet preparation that describes the underscore, non-visual or off-camera INSTRUMENTAL source, such as music playing on a radio, etc.

A term used in cue sheet preparation that describes a vocal, non-visual or off camera VOCAL source, such as a song (with lyrics/words) playing on the radio or jukebox in the background. Even if noted as a background vocal on a cue sheet, a writer/publisher’s PRO may often bump up the cue to “Feature” status merely because there are lyrics set to th [..]

No, this is not when you get an owie after touching a hot stove. In digital terms, it simply means recording music onto a CD or other portable device. A blank CD is put into a CD drive (re-writable, of course) that is connected to a computer. As each song is automatically transferred, it is “burned” onto the blank CD.

These are the short pieces of music you hear before/after commercials as we come “back to the show!” Game shows use these a lot—and not just at commercial breaks, but to emphasize various key points in the game. Short music cues in the midst of the action can also be referred to as Bumpers.

This is a digital metronome signal (Click) that helps the musicians hear the exact beat/tempo while they record.