Dictionary of Music - Birding America

timpani 431time signature A sign consisting of two numbers,one placed above the other, that indicate theMETER of a musical composition or section. Theupper number shows the number of beats per measure,and the lower shows the time value of the noteto receive a beat. Thus, the time signature of 4 2 indicatesthere are two (2) beats per measure, with eachquarter note (4) receiving a beat. It also shows thatthere are two quarter notes per measure. Similarly, 6 8indicates that there are six (6) beats per measure,with each eighth note (8) receiving a beat. (In booksdiscussing music, including this dictionary, 6 8 is oftenwritten 6/8, 4 2 , appears as 2/4, etc.).The modern system of time signatures comesfrom the medieval system of proportions (see PRO-PORTION), which indicated meter as a fraction of afixed note value, the semibrevis (equal to the modernwhole note). Two of the older signs have survived,the C used for 4 4 meter, and the ¢ used for 2 2and 4 4 meter. Besides these two, other time signaturesthat are found with reasonable frequency are: 2/4,3/2, 3/4, 3/8, 3/16, 4/8, 5/2, 5/4, 5/8, 5/16, 6/4, 6/8,7/16, 9/8, 9/16, 12/8.The time signature ordinarily appears near thebeginning of the staff, after the clef sign and the keysignature (indicating sharps and flats, if any).Sometimes two time signatures appear together;this indicates either that two meters are being usedat the same time (see POLYMETER) or that the musicis constantly changing back and forth between thetwo meters. Some twentieth-century composershave devised still other, more novel forms of timesignature.time-space notation A system of notation thatindicates rhythm—that is, the duration of sounds—by horizontal lines related to a fixed scale. Introducedby Earle Brown in 1953, it is particularly usefulfor representing tape portions in music thatcombines live and recorded sound.time valueSee under TIME.timpani (tim′ pə nē) sing. timpano (tim′pə nō)Italian. Also, kettledrums. An important orchestralpercussion instrument and the only orchestral drumsthat are tuned to a definite pitch. At least two timpanihave been included in every standard orchestrasince about 1700, and often there are three or fourtimpani (played by one player). Each drum consistsof a shell, which is a basin or “kettle” of copper orbrass, with a head of calfskin or plastic stretchedover the open top. The head can be tightened orloosened by means of screws, which are eitherturned by hand or operated by pedals. The exactpitch to which a drum is tuned depends on the diameterof the bowl (the smaller the diameter, the higherthe pitch), as well as on the tautness of the head (thetauter it is, the higher the pitch) and the actual conditionof the calfskin (its thickness, resiliency, and soon). A good drum will have a range of about onefifth (from C to G in the key of C, for example) andsome have a range of an octave or more. Moderntimpani can be tuned as low as the second C belowmiddle C and as high as the second A above middleC. The symphony orchestra normally has three timpani,with a combined range from low E-flat to the Gbelow middle C. The lowest-pitched drum measuresfig. 241 p/ufrom p. 451fig. 242 p/u from p. 452about thirty inches in diameter, the middle one abouttwenty-six to twenty-seven inches, and the highestabout twenty-three to twenty-four inches.The timpani are sounded by being struck with apair of padded drumsticks, which the player selectsfor the desired effect. The drumsticks come in differentsizes, and the heads are covered with variousmaterials—cork, wood, sponge, felt, or others; theharder materials produce louder, sharper sounds thanthe soft ones. The player stands behind the drums,the larger one usually to the left and the smaller tothe right. The best tone is obtained by hitting thedrums about one-fourth of the way from the edge tothe center. If the drum is struck elsewhere, as, forexample, in the center, fewer harmonics are heard