Software Terminology

Here is a list of words/terms you would find in music software that I have tried to simplify to as understandable as I could make them. (click on terms highlighted in blue to be taken to a page that describes it in more detail)
I'll be adding more definitions over time, and if you want to see a larger glossary on software (and other musically related) terms, click here.

Arpeggiator: The term "arpeggiator" comes from the musical term "arpeggio," which is simply playing the notes of a chord either ascending or descending. An arpeggiator can do that, but it can also do much more. On my own keyboard for example, it has an arpeggiator option that I can turn on and off. When I turn it on and play one held chord on the keyboard, it will automatically play the notes within the chord in an arpeggio fashion of notes moving up and down the scale. If you still aren't getting it, imagine this: I turn the arpeggiator option on. I then play a simple C major triad, part of the C major scale, once and hold it. If the arpeggiator was off, the keyboard would have played a held chord of three notes. With the arpeggiator on however, it will go from C to E to G, down to E, and then start over again, and the keyboard would do that all for me. You can also use arpeggiators in some music software, or if you are really traditional and hardcore, you can do all of the arpeggiating yourself.

Clipping: In most cases it's seen as a problem, although sometimes the effect is desired. Clipping occurs when the audio output of a recording is higher than its capacity. In other words, it's like accidentally filling a cup of water up to more than it can hold, causing it to spill over the sides. You'll know you're hearing clipping when your audio seems to have a lot of background noise and fuzz, or you might even hear a bit of a sidechain effect. From my experience, this usually happens when you either make a recording/instrument too loud, or you have lot's of instrument tracks in your song (about 15 or more, although it can vary depending on the instruments). The best way to prevent this from happening is by adding a limiter to your track, which prevents the music from going over its volume capacity.

Cutoff: One of the simpler and more commonly used effects in electric/dance music, this effect makes music sound muffled, almost as if you were putting your hand over a speaker while it played music. The effect can be adjusted, and is often used in electronic music to create buildup (going from a low cutoff from a high cutoff is a popular technique used).

Loop: playing the same section of music (usually a couple measures at most) repeatedly (for example, playing the same measure of a drum beat repeatedly in a song and layering on top of it would be looping)

MIDI - (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) allows musical devices to communicate with each other (for example, connecting your piano keyboard to your computer and inputting notes into your sequencer is a form of MIDI)

Velocity - how hard a note is hit

VST - (Virtual Studio Interface) external instruments/effects software that you can run and work with in your             sequencer

Quantization - an option in software that allows you to correct the length of notes so they are exactly on-beat

Sequencer - music software that you can record, edit, and playback music on (Cubase, Ableton, Logic, etc.)

Sidechain - an effect commonly used in electronic music such as house and dubstep. The effect is created by linking the drum track and an instrument track together and adding a compressor to the instrument track. This then creates a sound which can be described as the instrument producing a pulse-like sound to the beat of the kick/bass drum. 

Sound Library: music software made up of different sounds/instruments/effects you can use in your sequencer (this is different from a sequencer, as you can not record/edit/playback music)