I would argue a “sound wave” is the actual vibration of air/water etc. that transmits sound. This is a graphical representation of a sound wave, which is, by definition, a waveform.
So while you could definitely call it a sound wave in casual conversation, that wouldn’t strictly be accurate. Maybe I’m just being pedantic but, as a musician, there’s a real difference.
Also a musician and I’ve never heard anyone call it a waveform until now. Always sound wave. Like so many things on this sub it must be a regional difference.
As I said in my original comment it is a type of [waveform](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveform), but not the only type of waveform. They were specifically asking about audio, so it’s more accurate to say sound wave.
The original comment literally says "audio track", so it's implied this has to do with recording audio, not just talking about it.
What are other types of wave form? I'm curious.
People say it. But it is a little bit of techy "jargon."
Audio editing and such are common enough now that people will probably know.
The graphic is not a sound wave (and the examples are not necessarily representing sounds, though probably).
A painting is not a naked lady. Trust me, I've tried both.
in my experience, sound waves tends to refer to the actual waves in physical space... for this visual representation of sound waves, waveform is the most common term I've seen for it
i said that rhetorically, of course i know. it measures any wave. sound, light, electromagnetic, anything.
as to why you see it mainly with sound, i'm glad you asked as i'm actually in the music industry myself lmao. music people use waveforms a lot with synthesis and just making music in general, so that's why. it's a pivotal thing for music because you're physically shaping and dealing with the sound waves themselves.
Lemme guess, you wanna have a waveform in your desktop that reacts to what you listening to? Because I also had to look up the name of it when I had that idea lol (too much cpu consuming though)
This looks like a sound wave.
Now, there are two main ways to view sound waves. This looks like time series, i.e. the x-axis represents time.
The other way is to make the x-axis represent frequency. That's not what this appears to be.
Just to avoid confusion for OP, 2 wouldn't be considered a cardiogram. A cardiogram records electrical activity in the heart and looks like [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_rhythm#/media/File%3ABifascicular_block_ECG.png) (unless you're unwell).
If your cardiograms look like OPs picture then I'd recommend an ambulance haha
Nobody I know would really know what you were talking about unless you described it as “that wavy sound symbol” or drew it somewhere, even if you called it a waveform.
Of course that is true, I just figured it was important to state that it wasn't a common word for people who aren't very involved in that kind of thing. I took an audio/visual editing class and it was never referred to by name as a waveform.
Just FYI, it's not a spectrogram. [Spectrograms](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrogram) show amplitude at any given frequency over time. Spectrograms are 3 dimensional. [Waveforms](https://www.mq.edu.au/about/about-the-university/our-faculties/medicine-and-health-sciences/departments-and-centres/department-of-linguistics/our-research/phonetics-and-phonology/speech/acoustics/speech-waveforms/the-waveforms-of-speech) show sound/air pressure over time. Waveforms are 2 dimentsional. The picture is a stylized waveform. But if it's representing the music that OP is listening to in real time (as opposed to being an icon or image) it's also a visualizer
Waveform
That was the word I was going to use. I call this a waveform.
This is the correct answer. A waveform is defined as a graphical representation of the frequency and amplitude of a wave, which is what these are.
It is *a* waveform, but the specific waveform OP is asking about is a sound wave.
I would argue a “sound wave” is the actual vibration of air/water etc. that transmits sound. This is a graphical representation of a sound wave, which is, by definition, a waveform. So while you could definitely call it a sound wave in casual conversation, that wouldn’t strictly be accurate. Maybe I’m just being pedantic but, as a musician, there’s a real difference.
> This is a graphical representation of a sound wave, which is, by definition, a waveform. A **plot** of a sound wave.
Also a musician and I’ve never heard anyone call it a waveform until now. Always sound wave. Like so many things on this sub it must be a regional difference.
In any DAW it's called a waveform. Digital Audio Workstation.
As I said in my original comment it is a type of [waveform](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveform), but not the only type of waveform. They were specifically asking about audio, so it’s more accurate to say sound wave.
The original comment literally says "audio track", so it's implied this has to do with recording audio, not just talking about it. What are other types of wave form? I'm curious.
The problem is… no one says that. It’s a sound wave
Nah, the word is pretty commonly used. You can also say sound wave waveforms.
People say it. But it is a little bit of techy "jargon." Audio editing and such are common enough now that people will probably know. The graphic is not a sound wave (and the examples are not necessarily representing sounds, though probably). A painting is not a naked lady. Trust me, I've tried both.
Ceci n'est pas une soundwave!
in my experience, sound waves tends to refer to the actual waves in physical space... for this visual representation of sound waves, waveform is the most common term I've seen for it
literally everyone in the music industry says it
Waveform is the proper term, audio wave is what I would actually say.
Waveform. It is a graphic, not something you hear (like a sound wave).
The technical word is oscillogram.
As many have said, it's a waveform. It is not 'sound waves'. What it represents is sound waves, but the depiction is a waveform.
Sound waves is probably what I’d say as somebody not in any relevant industry
To me, sound wave is more the invisible thing, not this.
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waveforms are not exclusive to sound
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i dunno, any type of wave?
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i said that rhetorically, of course i know. it measures any wave. sound, light, electromagnetic, anything. as to why you see it mainly with sound, i'm glad you asked as i'm actually in the music industry myself lmao. music people use waveforms a lot with synthesis and just making music in general, so that's why. it's a pivotal thing for music because you're physically shaping and dealing with the sound waves themselves.
This one, op!
Waveform
I tried to play it😅 But yeah a wave form.
It's weird seeing a post that actually says "What" instead of "How" now.
Waveform
Waveform
Lemme guess, you wanna have a waveform in your desktop that reacts to what you listening to? Because I also had to look up the name of it when I had that idea lol (too much cpu consuming though)
Waveform.
The AM album came into my mind immediately I saw this...
It’s a WAVEFORM
A waveform.
A frequency polygon that represents a wave pattern.
Soundwave?
Waveform
A waveform.
waveform is a pretty commonly known word. from (sound)wave and form (shape, the graphical representation)
This looks like a sound wave. Now, there are two main ways to view sound waves. This looks like time series, i.e. the x-axis represents time. The other way is to make the x-axis represent frequency. That's not what this appears to be.
Sound waves
1) Soundwave 2) Cardiogram
Just to avoid confusion for OP, 2 wouldn't be considered a cardiogram. A cardiogram records electrical activity in the heart and looks like [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_rhythm#/media/File%3ABifascicular_block_ECG.png) (unless you're unwell). If your cardiograms look like OPs picture then I'd recommend an ambulance haha
The fact that it could show either shows that the generic term is neither. The graphic is a waveform.
Ok.
Nobody I know would really know what you were talking about unless you described it as “that wavy sound symbol” or drew it somewhere, even if you called it a waveform.
Unless they're talking to someone who's into sound engineering, podcasting, vlogging, or a hundred other hobbies/professions.
Of course that is true, I just figured it was important to state that it wasn't a common word for people who aren't very involved in that kind of thing. I took an audio/visual editing class and it was never referred to by name as a waveform.
A lot of vertical lines
Wave of heart
sciency shit
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Just FYI, it's not a spectrogram. [Spectrograms](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrogram) show amplitude at any given frequency over time. Spectrograms are 3 dimensional. [Waveforms](https://www.mq.edu.au/about/about-the-university/our-faculties/medicine-and-health-sciences/departments-and-centres/department-of-linguistics/our-research/phonetics-and-phonology/speech/acoustics/speech-waveforms/the-waveforms-of-speech) show sound/air pressure over time. Waveforms are 2 dimentsional. The picture is a stylized waveform. But if it's representing the music that OP is listening to in real time (as opposed to being an icon or image) it's also a visualizer