Special 301

Special 301 is a provision of U.S. trade law requiring the identification of countries that deny adequate and effective copyright protection and market access to U.S. companies.

Stomp

Type of lively, rhythmic jazz music marked by a heavy beat. The term was probably derived from the early, foot-stomping forms of blues and ragtime dance music. "Stomp" was a common word to titles of music during the 1920s and 1930s. Besides having a "heavy" beat the rhythms of stomps are sharply defined, energetic and music associated with the stomp builds to a definitive climax.

Stop-Time

Performance technique used in New Orleans-style jazz in which the rhythm section stops keeping time and instead alternates sets of sounded beats with periods of silence. Alternations, however, occur regularly. An accent will be given to the first beat of a two measure phrase where the rhythm section will play a chord and beat at this point. Silence follows but solos can continue. Stop-time is not only used in jazz music it is also used in tap dancing and blues.

Stopping

In the process of playing stringed instruments where the strings lie over a fingerboard, the strings are said to be "stopped" when they are pressed against the fingerboard to alter the open-position interval of the string. Stopping, or pressing against the string, actually shortens the string relative to its open or unstopped position thus increasing its frequency and tonal structure. Accordingly, melodic lines, harmonies, and arpeggiated and blocked chords are a result of stopping positions and techniques. (See "stopped tones" concerning "stopping" and brass instruments.)

Street Date

The date on which the product actually arrives on the "street" in retail stores or ancillary markets for sale and distribution; the date which product is commercially available for public sale.

Super Audio CD (SACD)

A high-density disc format that uses a proprietary audio system of very high quality developed by Philips and Sony. Like the DVD, SACD will also have extra capacity that will be used to achieve a high-quality, multi-channel surround sound that is significantly better than current CDs, and may also be used to include features such as text, graphics, video and interactivity. SACD audio discs will require new players, but most, if not all, new SACD players will also play consumers’ existing CD collections.

Syncopation

Although syncopation can be given a Euro-centric slant because many cultural rhythms naturally emphasize other beats, polyrhythms are not consistent with cultural diversity; different rhythms are consistent with cultural diversity. Syncopation does not simply refer to accents on different beats (Euro-centric rhythms accentuate beats one and three in 4/4 time and Afro-centric rhythms accentuate beats two and four in 4/4 time) but refers to the interruption of what is considered the dominant pulse or beat of a piece of music. Accordingly, syncopation can be applied to any constant rhythm regardless of culture. The performance of syncopation can include temporary shifts in meter, accenting weak beats over strong beats, accentuating a different beat in each measure, making a weak beat into a strong beat, contextual note values, articulation of notes and even melodic and harmonic contours or contrasts.

talk box

A poorman's vocoder. Popularized by Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh in the '70s. See Heil Talk Box for a demo of the original and most popular model.

Tempo

The speed at which a piece of music is played is referred to as its tempo. Tempo variances occur even when they are clearly indicated on a score -- which was not a common practice until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Indicated tempos are subject to interpretation. Composers were aware of this and made allowances for interpretive artists (as do publishers). When metronome marks are employed (e.g. the quarter note receives seventy-two beats per minute) they are usually given in terms of possible ranges (e.g. the quarter note receives between sixty and eighty-four beats per minute). Terms used for tempo are also indicative of a speed but that speed is subject to interpretation. Exactly how slow is grave and how fast is andante? Ranges, rather than absolutes, are used in determining tempo. Unfortunately, taste for specific and exacting tempos occasionally becomes problematic as discerned in performance reviews.

The Berne Convention

The Berne Convention is a copyright agreement reached in 1886 that has been the basic international legal instrument for the protection of copyrights. It was last updated in 1971.

The Free Trade Agreement For The Americas (FTAA)

The Free Trade Agreement was launched by 34 countries of the western hemisphere to liberalize trade within the hemisphere.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement, signed between the United States, Canada and Mexico, establishes a high level of intellectual property protection and enforcement.

The Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreements (TRIPS)

The Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreements -- or the intellectual property rules of the GATT agreement -- is the consensus reached by most of the countries of the world that establishes necessary legal protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights on a global basis.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR)

The office of the United States Trade Representative is the agency charged by Congress with reviewing the practices of U.S. trading partners.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization is an international body that has jurisdiction over trade disputes involving intellectual property rights agreed to in TRIPS.

TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association)

Created in 1988 by a merger of the US Telecommunications Suppliers Association (USTSA) and the EIA's Information and Telecommunications Technologies Group (EIA/ITG). This organization works with the EIA in developing technical standards and collecting market data for the telecommunication industry.

Time Signature

A fractional number placed at the beginning of a composition to indicate the number of beats in each measure and the value of each beat. Examples include 2/4, 4/4, and 6/8. The first of the two numbers indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the second number indicates the type of note that equals one beat. 2/4 time signifies two beats in every measure, with each beat having the value of a quarter note. Time signatures can appear in the middle of a composition whenever there is a change of meter; accordingly, time signatures indicate the meter of a particular composition

Triple Meter

This metric adjective describes music written with three beats to each measure, as in a waltz.

Turn the Rhythm Around

This is a technique for changing the rhythm of a piece of music while playing the said piece of music. A shift in the beat occurs over several bars to establish the new meter.

Tutti

During the playing of a concerto in which there are a group of soloists and a larger ensemble, tutti designates a section in which the ensemble plays together or the ensemble and the soloists play together. The "tutti" term is Italian, like most orchestral nomenclature, and literally means "all".

Two-Beat

This phrase is used to describe music in which the first and third beats of each four-beat measure are accentuated, usually by the rhythm section. Two-beat is a characteristic of marches, early jazz music, and most Euro-centric music.

Units shipped

The quantity of product delivered by a recording manufacturer to retailers, record clubs, and direct and special markets, minus any returns for credit on unsold product.

Up-Tempo

Up-beat indicates music that is played with a fast, lively beat.

Upbeat

The beat which immediately precedes the "downbeat" or first beat of each measure. Derivatively "up-beat" comes from the motion of the conductor's hand/baton before s/he comes to the first beat of the measure or the "down-beat."

word

An ordered set of bits that is the normal unit in which information may be stored, transmitted, or operated upon within a given computer - commonly 16 or 32 bits.

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