Файл: Sound Tech Terms Dictionary.pdf

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system message:  A general term for MIDI messages with status byte values of 240 and above,
intended for all devices on a MIDI network, irrespective of any channel assignments.  It includes
System-Common, System-Exclusive, and System Real-Time message types.  See MIDI.

System Real-Time:  A type of MIDI data that is used for timing reference.  Because of its tim-

ing-critical nature, a System Real-Time byte can be inserted into the middle of any multi-byte
MIDI message.  System Real-Time messages include MIDI Clock, Start, Stop, Continue, Active
Sensing, and System Reset.

System Reset:  A System Real-Time message which causes a MIDI device to reset to its default
condition, i.e., its settings when first powered-up.  This will usually involve silencing all
voices, resetting the display to the opening page, etc.

T

tablature:  Pictograms which represent fingering positions on a string fretboard.

tach:  See tach pulse.

tach pulse:  A signal generated by the tachometer roller of an audio or video transport, one or

more times per rotation.  Because the tach roller is in contact with the tape in fast-wind
modes as well as play or record mode, it can be used to get approximate tape location data
when SMPTE timecode data cannot be read.  Tach pulses sent by various decks to the synchro-
nizer allow it to stop each deck near the SMPTE timecode designated by the engineer.  Once
in play or record modes, the decks will again interlock via the SMPTE timecode data.  Tach
pulses do not include location information, only speed and direction.  Tach pulse is the me-
chanical, or analog, equivalent of word clock.  See also bi-phase/tach.

tail:  (1) Additional information which follows a block of data either on disk or for the pur-

pose of data transfer between devices.  The tail usually serves as a full stop to the data that
precedes it.  Commonly encountered in MIDI System-Exclusive transfers.  For example, in
Yamaha System-Exclusive transfers, the last two bytes are tail information in the form of an
ECC and an EOX status byte.  (2) The end of a reel of tape or film.

tail-out:  See spiral.

tails-out:  See heads-out.

take:  A term meaning a single, continuous recording.  This may be of a complete work, but

is more often a short section.  The EDL is comprised of selected takes in their final order.

take sheet:  A sheet of paper on which the engineer makes notes about each take as it is re-

corded, such as complete or incomplete, good or n.g., which sections of the take are usable,
etc.

take-up motor:  On a tape recorder, the motor that applies take-up tension to the tape.  This

motor also powers the fast-forward mode.

take-up reel:  The reel onto which tape is wound after it passes from the feed reel over the

audio or video heads.

talkback:  A facility on a mixer which sends signal from the control room to the recording

area, allowing an engineer or other studio personnel to talk over headphones or a loud-
speaker to give instructions, identify takes, etc.  A microphone on the console is normally
routed directly into the studio amp and monitors, while a relay mutes or attenuates the vol-
ume of the control room monitors to prevent feedback.

tangency:  The parameter of tape-head alignment that determines the geometric relationship

between the plane passing through the head gap and the tape passing over the gap.  Ideally
this plane would be exactly perpendicular to the plane that is tangential to the tape passing
the gap.  Misadjustment of tangency will cause uneven head wear on both sides of the gap.

tap:  In a digital delay, a point in the circuit after one or more delay stages at which the delayed

input signal can be patched-out and routed to another destination.

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tape:  (1) (noun) Recording medium consisting of a magnetic coating applied to a plastic sub-

strate.  See magnetic recording tape.  (2) (verb) To record music or other program material,
whether or not the recording is actually written to magnetic tape, for storage, editing,
and/or playback.  (3) Another name for the tape recorder operating mode normally called
repro.

tape bias:  See bias.

tape counter:  A mechanical or electronic display of the relative amount of tape that has

passed through the transport system of a tape recorder.  In professional systems using some
kind of timecode, it may also show the absolute time value recorded at any given point on the
tape.

tape delay:  The original delay lines were made by using a three-head tape recorder to record

a signal while playing it back on the same machine.  The distance between the record and re-
play heads causes a time delay which varies with tape speed; this technique is called tape de-
lay.  If some of the replay signal was mixed with the direct signal, a pseudo-reverb could be
created.  The record-replay idea was further developed with specific machines which used
tape loops and multiple replay heads and the ability to adjust the contribution and feedback
of each head.  These machines were replaced with DDLs.

tape echo:  An early method of producing echo effects by means of a tape loop.  See loop(2).

tape head:  The transducer used in a magnetic recording tape machine to create patterns in the

magnetic surface of the tape during the recording process, or conversely, to read the patterns
on playback.  See magnetic recording tape.

tape hiss:  Noise that is characteristic of analog magnetic recording tape, produced by the ran-

dom fluctuations in the positioning of magnetic particles along the tape, and heard as a low-
level hiss during playback.  The noise, although broadband, is most noticeable in the high fre-
quencies.  See Barkhausen effect, noise reduction, grain(2).

tape loop:  See loop(2).

tape pack:  The smoothness with which magnetic recording tape is wound onto the hub of a

reel, or simply, the pack.

tape returns:  Mixer inputs that typically come from a multitrack tape recorder.  They are dif-

ferent from common line inputs in that they are typically switchable between monitor and
mixdown functions, depending on whether or not the recorder is recording, or the mixer is
mixing.

tape speed:  Professional equipment records at standard speeds of 30ips (76cps), 15ips (38cps),

or 7  

1

2

ips (19cps).  Consumer recorders run at 1  

7

8

ips (4.75cps).  Faster tape speeds mean

higher-quality recording as the signal has more tape area onto which to be recorded.

tape splicer:  See Guillotine splicer.

tapeless studio:  A recording set-up which uses exclusively digital recording, storage, and

playback equipment.

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tape sync:  A method for synchronizing a pair or group of independent devices which uses

one track of a tape recorder attached to the other device(s) on which is striped the master
timecode signal which provides timing for the other device(s).  See FSK, pilot tone, SMPTE
sync track, sync track.

tape type:  Categories for recording tape are based on the magnetic coating of the tape.

Usually applied to cassette tapes, they include:  Type I (ferric oxide), Type II (chromium di-
oxide), and the now-discontinued Type III (metal).

tape weave:  An improper gradual up and down motion of magnetic tape as it passes over

the tape heads in a tape recorder, causing tape skew.  It is usually caused by the tape not hav-
ing been properly slit, but can also result from worn tape guides.

Tartini tone:  See difference tone.

taskbar:  The menu on a Windows™ system which displays open applications.

TCA:  Timecode Address.  The HH:MM:SS:FF bits of the SMPTE timecode word.

TDF:  Triangular probability Density Function.  See dither.

TDIF:  TASCAM Digital Interface Format:  An eight-channel digital interface used to connect

TASCAM MDMs to one another and to compatible external gear.  The TDIF format uses mas-
ter clock sync and carries eight channels of digital audio on a electrical cable with 25-pin D-sub
connectors.  Each wire in the cable carries two multiplexed channels, which closely resembles
AES/EBU.  The entire cable can handle eight channels to and from any compatible device,
and so is bi-directional.  The maximum bit depth is 24 bits, and the data rate is four times the
sample rate.  See also  Lightpipe.

TDM:  Time-Division Multiplexing.  Digidesign’s proprietary 24-bit DSP environment, pro-

viding real-time digital audio processing and mixing on ProTools™ hardware.  Many third-
party manufacturers make software plug-ins to add audio functions to TDM-based-systems.
TDM itself refers to the division of each sample period into 256 different addresses, each
available to a plug-in.

Telecine:  (1) A machine that transfers film to video signal for broadcast or storage onto

videotape.  Also generically refers to the process of film-to-videotape transfers.  It consists of
a film projector with a special optical system that connects to a television camera which re-
cords the projected film image.  Better quality than a video-video dub, but the Telecine trans-
fer must happen in real-time.  Telecine occurs at three points in the filmmaking process: first,
when the film is transferred to video in preparation for editing on a nonlinear system; when
an edited workprint is transferred to video to give sound editors a guide with which to edit
sound; and, when an interpositive is transferred to a videotape to create a master for home
video release.  (2) The UK name for a film chain.

Telharmonium:  Also called the Dynamophone.  An early electric keyboard invented around

1900, weighting over 200 tons, it was the feature of the world’s first music broadcasting
service in New York in 1906.  The Telharmonium used the tone-wheel principle and so was the
predecessor of the later, smaller Hammond organ.

temp dub:  A quick and temporary mix of a film soundtrack made during post-production for

screening and evaluation in double-system.

T

temperament:  In the tuning of a musical instrument to a scale, temperament is the compro-

mise, or deliberate mistuning, of pure or just intervals so the various frequency ratios be-
tween notes of the scale are compatible with octaves.  This compromise is called a tempera-
ment, of which there are theoretically an infinite number.  Also called tempered tuning.  See
meantone, equal temperament, just intonation, syntonic comma, diatonic comma.

temp score:  Music placed by the director or music editor to get an impression of how a scene

will work once it’s scored.

tempo:  The speed of the pulse, or beat, of the music.  See rhythm.

tempo-dependent:  A clock, such as the MIDI clock, which is dependent on the tempo of the

music for tracking, i.e., the MIDI clock will transmit more MIDI clocks per second if the mas-
ter sequencer increases the tempo, as compared with other synchronization signals which en-
code information about absolute time, such as SMPTE timecode.

tempo map:  Data containing the initial tempo of a composition and the SMPTE timecode loca-

tion of the song start, plus the degree and location of any subsequent tempo changes are
stored in a tempo map.  Usually the tempo map is built by the sequencer and stored along
with sequence data.

temporal masking:  A data reduction technique which takes advantage of the fact that a loud

sound affects the perception of quieter signals both before and after it.  If, for example, a rela-
tively quiet signal occurs 10-20ms before a louder one, it may still be masked by the louder
signal.  This is called backwards masking.  The hearing mechanism also takes time to recover
from a relatively louder sound, and this creates a masking effect which extends up to 100-
200ms after the masking signal has ceased, called forward masking.  The length of the masking
is related to the relative amplitude of the masking signal.  To reduce data by using this tech-
nique, the input signal is divided up into blocks of samples usually around 10ms in length,
and each block is analyzed for transients which act as temporal maskers.  Most systems vary
the length of the block to take advantage of both backwards and forwards masking.  Also
called time-masking.  See perceptual coding.

tenor:  From tenere, the Latin “to hold.”  Originally, a vocal part with sustained notes in sa-

cred music.  Now used to refer to a male voice which has a range from about C-below-
middle-C upwards about two octaves, and by extension, instruments which have a similar
tessitura.  Music written for the tenor register is notated with a tenor clef, which has middle-C
on the fourth line of the stave.  The term counter tenor is used to specify a male voice singing
in the alto range.  The other registers are alto, baritone, bass, and soprano.  See also treble and
voice.

tent:  An area of a recording studio enclosed in absorbtive panels, constructed to provide a

dead acoustic space.

tenuto:  A notation indicating that a note should be held for longer than its nominal value,

shown by a short, heavy line on the note.

terminal:  The point at which the signal either enters or leaves an audio device, including wire

nuts, and by extension, other audio-type connectors.

terminal strip:  A series of connections, usually screw terminals, arranged in a line to perma-

nently connect multiple audio lines to such devices as recording or broadcast consoles.