Fade (audio engineering)

In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theatre lighting in much the same way (see fade (filmmaking) and fade (lighting)).

A recorded song may be gradually reduced to silence at its end (fade-out), or may gradually increase from silence at the beginning (fade-in). Fading-out can serve as a recording solution for pieces of music that contain no obvious ending. Both fades and cross-fades are very valuable since they allow the engineer to quickly and easily make sure that the beginning and the end of any audio region is smooth in order to not have any prominent glitches. It is necessary that there is a clear section of silence prior to the audio. Fade-ins and out can also be used to change the characteristics of a sound, for example a fade-in is used to soften the attack, especially in vocals where very plosive (‘b’,‘d’, and ‘p’) sounds can occur. It can also be used to soften up the attack of the drum and/or percussion instruments. A cross-fade can be manipulated through its rates and coefficients in order to create different styles of fading. Almost every fade is different; this means that the fade parameters must be adjusted according to the individual needs of the mix.

Though relatively rare, songs can fade out then fade back in. Some examples of this are "Helter Skelter" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles, "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley, "Rambling On" by Procol Harum, "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" by The Smiths, "Thank You" by Led Zeppelin, "It's Only Money, Pt. 2" by Argent and "Future" by Paramore.

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