FLYLYFE JOURNAL · HOUSE MUSIC GLOSSARY
The House Music Glossary: 60+ Terms Every Head Should Know
From the Warehouse to the white label, house music has its own language. This glossary defines 71 genres, machines, techniques, clubs, people and dance-floor terms in plain English, checked against published histories so you can use it, share it and cite it.
FLYLYFE · UPDATED 2026-09-12
How to use this glossary
Terms are listed alphabetically, with names that start with "The" filed under the next word (the Warehouse is under W). Every entry has its own link, so you can point straight to a definition. New to the sound? Start with house music, four-on-the-floor and Frankie Knuckles, then read our full guide, What Is House Music?
0–9
- 12-inch
- A 12-inch vinyl single, the standard format for club records. The wider grooves allow longer, louder mixes than a 7-inch, and Walter Gibbons' remix of Double Exposure's "Ten Percent" (Salsoul, 1976) is widely cited as the first commercially available 12-inch single.
A
- Acapella
- A vocal-only version of a track with the music removed. Many 12-inch releases include one so DJs and producers can layer the voice over a different beat.
- Acid house
- A style of house built around the squelchy, resonant sound of the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer. Phuture's "Acid Tracks," released on Chicago's Trax Records in 1987, is widely credited as the first acid house record.
- Afro house
- A branch of house developed mainly in South Africa that blends African rhythms, percussion and vocal traditions with the four-on-the-floor beat. It draws on deep house, soulful house and the local kwaito sound.
- After-hours
- A party or club that keeps going after regular bars close, often into the morning. After-hours rooms are where many heads say the deepest music gets played. It's also the name of one of our tees.
- Anthem
- A track so widely loved that the whole room recognizes it within a few bars. Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body" is one of the records most often called a house anthem.
B
- B2B
- Short for "back-to-back": two or more DJs sharing the decks and taking turns, often trading one or two tracks at a time. A good B2B set sounds like a conversation.
- Balearic
- An eclectic, sunny DJ style tied to the Spanish island of Ibiza, where DJ Alfredo mixed pop, soul, reggae and early house at the club Amnesia. British DJs who heard him there in 1987 carried the approach back to London.
- Beatmatching
- Adjusting the speed of one record so its beats line up exactly with the record already playing. It lets a DJ blend two tracks without the kicks clashing.
- Body & SOUL
- A Sunday party started in New York in 1996, with François K., Joe Claussell and Danny Krivit on the decks. It ran weekly at Club Vinyl for six years and continues as a traveling event, carrying on the tradition of the Loft and the Paradise Garage.
- Booth
- The DJ's station: decks, mixer and monitors, usually raised or set apart from the dance floor. "Hanging by the booth" is where you'll find the people trying to read track names.
- BPM
- Beats per minute, the tempo of a track. Most house music sits somewhere around 120 to 130 BPM, and deep house often runs a little slower. Our Tempo tee is named for that count.
- Breakdown
- The section of a track where the drums drop away, leaving pads, vocals or piano before the beat returns. Breakdowns build tension on the floor.
C
- Chicago house
- The original house sound, made in Chicago in the early and mid-1980s with drum machines, basic synthesizers and a lot of disco in its DNA. Local labels such as Trax Records and DJ International carried it to the rest of the world.
- Closing set
- The final set of the night. Closers have room to go long, get emotional and play the records the regulars have been waiting for.
- Crate digging
- Hunting through record stores, bins and collections for rare or forgotten records. Diggers are the reason plenty of lost disco and house records found a second life, and it's the idea behind our Brownstone DJ tee.
- Cue
- To preview a record in headphones and set its starting point before bringing it into the mix. The cue button on a CDJ or mixer marks that point.
D
- David Mancuso
- New York host and DJ (1944–2016) who began the invitation-only parties known as the Loft at his home at 647 Broadway on Valentine's Day 1970. His approach to sound and community influenced a generation of DJs, including Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles.
- Deep house
- A warmer, often slower style of house with jazz-influenced chords, soft pads and understated vocals. Larry Heard's "Can You Feel It," released as Mr. Fingers in 1986, is regarded as one of the first deep house records.
- Disco
- Beat-driven dance music that grew out of Black, Latino and gay clubs in the US and peaked in the late 1970s, known for its four-on-the-floor rhythm, strings and horns. House music grew directly out of it.
- DJ International Records
- A Chicago house label founded in 1985. Along with Trax Records, it was one of the two labels most responsible for spreading Chicago house beyond the city.
- The Drop
- The moment a track's full beat and bass come back in after a breakdown or build. In house, the drop tends to feel like a release rather than an explosion.
- Dub
- A stripped-back version of a track that pushes the rhythm forward and cuts the vocal down to fragments or removes it. Borrowed from reggae, dub treatments were central to New York garage and to Larry Levan's productions.
E
- Edit
- A reworked version of an existing record, usually rearranged to extend the intro, repeat the best section or stretch a break for the dance floor. Early house DJs relied on edits to make disco records work longer in the club.
- EQ
- Short for equalization: the mixer knobs that boost or cut the low, mid and high frequencies. DJs often cut the bass of one track while bringing another in so the kicks don't pile up.
F
- Four-on-the-floor
- A rhythm with the kick drum landing on every beat of a 4/4 bar. It's the steady pulse inherited from disco that defines house music.
- Frankie Knuckles
- DJ and producer (1955–2014) known as the Godfather of House. Born in the Bronx, he became resident DJ at Chicago's Warehouse, where the house sound took shape, recorded "Your Love" with Jamie Principle, and was the first winner of the Grammy for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical.
G
- Garage house
- The New York and New Jersey strain of house, also called New York house, named after the Paradise Garage. It leans soulful, with gospel-style vocals, piano and disco-rooted grooves. Read more in our NYC house music history.
- Gospel house
- A soulful style of house built on the vocals, choirs, organ and call-and-response of Black gospel music. Its uplift is one reason heads call house a spiritual thing.
H
- Heads
- Longtime, devoted fans of the music: the dancers, diggers and regulars who know the records and come for the whole night. It's less about age than commitment. See how heads dress in our NYC house music streetwear guide.
- Hi-hat
- The cymbal sound in a drum pattern. In house the open hi-hat usually lands on the off-beat, between kicks, giving the groove its forward lean.
- House music
- Electronic dance music built on a four-on-the-floor kick, usually around 120 to 130 BPM, that emerged from Chicago clubs in the early 1980s. Our guide What Is House Music? covers it in depth.
J
- Jackin'
- From "jack," a Chicago term for the rippling, full-body dance move that grew up with early house in the 1980s; the word shows up in many early record titles. Today "jackin' house" also describes a funky, sample-heavy style of house.
- Jersey sound
- The soulful, gospel-leaning house style associated with New Jersey, especially Club Zanzibar in Newark, where Tony Humphries held a residency starting in 1982. It overlaps closely with garage house.
- Jesse Saunders
- Chicago DJ and producer whose "On & On," written with Vince Lawrence and released on his Jes Say label in 1984, is frequently cited as the first house record released on vinyl. He made it with a Roland TR-808.
K
- Kerri Chandler
- DJ and producer from East Orange, New Jersey, regarded as a pioneer of deep house and the New Jersey sound. His first single came out in 1991, and he founded the label Madhouse Records the following year.
L
- Larry Heard
- Chicago producer, also known as Mr. Fingers, regarded as a founder of deep house. His 1986 track "Can You Feel It" remains one of the genre's defining records.
- Larry Levan
- DJ and producer (1954–1992) who was the resident at New York's Paradise Garage for its whole run, from 1977 to 1987. His Saturday-night sessions shaped garage house and the idea of the DJ as the center of the club.
- The Loft
- The private dance parties David Mancuso hosted in New York starting on February 14, 1970, first at his home at 647 Broadway. Invitation-only and alcohol-free, the Loft became the model for underground clubs like the Paradise Garage.
- Loop
- A short section of music, often one or a few bars, repeated continuously. DJs loop sections live to extend a mix, and producers build whole tracks from layered loops.
M
- Marshall Jefferson
- Chicago producer whose "Move Your Body," released on Trax Records in 1986, is among the earliest house records to feature piano. He also produced Phuture's "Acid Tracks."
- Masters at Work
- The New York production and remix duo of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, working under that name since 1990. They also recorded the 1996 album Nuyorican Soul with musicians including Tito Puente, Roy Ayers and George Benson.
- Mixing
- Blending one record into the next so the music never stops. It combines beatmatching, EQ and timing, and the best mixes are the ones the floor doesn't notice.
- The Music Box
- Chicago club where Ron Hardy was the resident DJ through much of the 1980s, known for a raw, loud and adventurous sound. It closed in 1987.
O
- Opening set
- The first set of the night, also called the warm-up. A good opener sets the mood and leaves headroom for the DJs who follow.
P
- Paradise Garage
- The New York club at 84 King Street, in a former parking garage, that ran from 1977 until September 1987 with Larry Levan as resident. Its custom sound system and devoted crowd made it one of the most influential clubs in dance music history.
- Peak time
- The busiest, highest-energy stretch of the night, when the room is full and the DJ plays the biggest records. "Peak-time" also describes tracks built for that moment. Heading to a festival? Here's what to wear.
- Piano house
- House music driven by bright piano chords and riffs. The style has roots in early records like Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body" and runs through garage and soulful house.
- Pitch fader
- The slider on a turntable or CDJ that speeds up or slows down playback by a few percent. It's the main tool for beatmatching by ear.
- The Power Plant
- The Chicago club Frankie Knuckles opened in 1983 after leaving the Warehouse. It carried on the sound he had built there.
R
- Remix
- A new version of a track made from its original parts, often with new drums, bass or arrangement aimed at the dance floor. The Grammys added a remixer category in the late 1990s.
- Residency
- A regular, recurring slot for a DJ at the same club or party. Classic residencies, like Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse or Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, let DJs build a sound with one crowd over years.
- Ron Hardy
- Chicago DJ and producer (1958–1992) best known for his residency at the Music Box. He was celebrated for his heavily edited disco records and was an early champion of Phuture's "Acid Tracks."
S
- Salsoul Records
- A New York disco label whose string-heavy records and extended mixes fed directly into the early house and garage sound. It released the first commercially available 12-inch single in 1976.
- Sample
- A piece of an existing recording reused in a new track, from a single drum hit to a full vocal line. Chicago house producers sampled disco heavily.
- Saturday Mass
- The nickname for Larry Levan's Saturday-night sessions at the Paradise Garage, reflecting how devoted the crowd was.
- Second Summer of Love
- The name given to the explosion of acid house and rave culture in the UK in 1988 and 1989. It grew out of London club nights such as Danny Rampling's Shoom.
- Shoom
- A weekly London all-nighter founded by DJ Danny Rampling that ran from 1987 to 1990. It is widely credited with starting the UK acid house movement.
- Soulful house
- House with a strong R&B, soul or gospel vocal at its center, often with live-sounding keys and bass. It's closely related to garage and gospel house.
- Sound system
- The speakers, amplifiers and processing that deliver the music in a club. Legendary rooms like the Paradise Garage were built around custom systems, and many heads judge a club by its sound first.
T
- TB-303
- Roland's TB-303 Bass Line synthesizer, released in 1981 to imitate a bass guitar. It sold poorly, but Chicago producers later twisted its filter and resonance controls to create the sound of acid house.
- Tech house
- A blend of house grooves with the tougher drums and synthetic textures of techno. It developed in the UK club scene of the 1990s.
- Techno
- House music's close relative, developed in Detroit in the 1980s. It shares the four-on-the-floor beat but generally sounds more mechanical and futuristic.
- TR-808
- Roland's TR-808 Rhythm Composer, a drum machine released in 1980. Its booming kick and snappy snare appear on countless hip-hop and early house records, including Jesse Saunders' "On & On."
- TR-909
- Roland's TR-909 drum machine, released in 1983, which combined synthesized drums with sampled cymbals. It wasn't an immediate hit but became a cornerstone of house and techno.
- Track
- A single piece of music. In club culture it often means a functional, groove-first record built for mixing, as opposed to a verse-and-chorus song.
- Trax Records
- A Chicago label founded in 1984 that released many of house music's most important early records, including "Move Your Body" and "Acid Tracks." It has also been the subject of long-running disputes over artists' royalties.
V
- Vinyl
- Records pressed on vinyl, the original format of DJ culture. Many house DJs still play vinyl, and the 12-inch remains the classic club format.
W
- The Warehouse
- The Chicago club at 206 South Jefferson Street, open there from 1977 to 1982, where Frankie Knuckles was resident DJ. The term "house music" is widely believed to come from the club's name, and the building became an official Chicago landmark in 2023.
- White label
- A record pressed with a blank label, often in small runs. DJs use white labels to play promos, test new productions on a crowd or keep a track exclusive.
Z
- Club Zanzibar
- A nightclub at 430 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey, that opened in 1979 and became the home of the Jersey sound. Tony Humphries was its best-known resident DJ.
Further listening & reading
- House music — Wikipedia
- Birthplace of House Music Designated as Chicago Landmark — City of Chicago
- Saturday Mass: Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage — Red Bull Music Academy Daily
- Ron Hardy at The Music Box — Red Bull Music Academy Daily
- Still Saving The Day: The Loft Turns 50 — NPR
- A history of Trax Records — DJ Mag
- RIP Frankie Knuckles — Resident Advisor
- Paradise Garage — NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
Cite this glossary
DJs, writers, teachers and bloggers are welcome to link to this page. Copy the snippet below, or link to any single term by adding its anchor (for example #acid-house) to the URL.
<a href="https://www.flylyfe.com/blog/house-music-glossary/">The House Music Glossary — FLYLYFE</a>Spot an error or a term we should add? Email hello@flylyfe.com. And if you want to wear the language, our guide to the best house music T-shirts and DJ tees are a good place to start.