Head

A tight membrane stretched across the end of a drum that is struck by a stick to create sounds. Up until the middle of the 20th century, drum heads were made out of animal skin. Today, a plastic material is used. The tip of sticks used to strike drums with.The round part of a note symbol as distinguished from the stem or any other part of the note.See also notehead. A slang expression in jazz that refers to the beginning of a composition. For example, if you perform a composition from the head, the performers know to start at the beginning. This is also known as the edge of the composition or at the top. A slang expression, primarily in jazz, that refers to the main melody of a popular song. The term head is typically used in the song form where the head is performed and repeated, followed by a bridge section, and ending with the return of the head. This is a common form (A-A-B-A).<br><br>In tape recording, the transducer, or energy converter, that changes the audio energy from electrical energy to magnetic energy and back. This also refers to devices that apply magnetism to the recording tape for other purposes such as in the erase head.