CMP Study Guide 2026

Velocity is a MIDI data parameter that represents the speed and force with which a note is played. In the piano roll editor, it is typically displayed as a vertical bar associated with each note. Adjusting a note's velocity directly impacts its volume and can also trigger different sample layers or affect the timbre in many virtual instruments, mimicking the expressive dynamics of a real instrument.

Copyright law protects original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression, such as melodies, lyrics, and specific chord progressions. However, copyright does not protect mere ideas, concepts, or facts themselves. For an idea to be protected, it must be expressed in a concrete, original form, not just exist as a thought.

Standing waves create bass buildups and nulls at predictable positions, so what the engineer hears at the mix position may not reflect the actual bass in the recording.

Clipping occurs when a signal exceeds a system's maximum amplitude ceiling, flattening the peaks and adding harmonic distortion, which is often used intentionally in sound design.

A perfect square wave's harmonic series consists only of the fundamental frequency and its odd-numbered harmonics (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc.). This lack of even harmonics gives it a characteristic hollow or reedy sound, distinct from a sawtooth wave (which contains all integer harmonics) and a sine wave (which contains no harmonics).

Under work-for-hire agreements, the employer or commissioning party—here the label—is considered the legal author and owns the copyright.