Voice & Vocal Concepts Revision

Main types of voice: FEMALE Soprano – HighSoprano – High Mezzo SopranoMezzo Soprano (in between soprano & alto) Alto - LowAlto - Low MALE Counter Tenor –Counter Tenor – Very High (choir boy) Tenor – HighTenor – High BaritoneBaritone (in between Tenor & Bass) Bass - LowBass - Low

Voice Uses  Solo  Duet  Choir  Unison  Harmony  A Cappella  Accompanied  Descant

  SOLO – one voice   DUET – Two people singing together   CHOIR – A group of people singing together (SATB = Soprano, alto tenor & bass voices)   UNISON – two or more voices sounding at the same pitch or an octave (8 notes) apart   HARMONY – the sound of two or more notes made at the same time   A CAPELLA – unaccompanied singing   ACCOMPANIED – when instruments are played along with the singing   DESCANT – a melody above the main tune, mainly in vocal music e.g. (Hark the Herald)

Songs RecitativeRecitative AriaAria ChorusChorus RoundRound

 RECITATIVE – a type of vocal writing where the music follows the rhythm of SPEECH (think KFC advert!!), bare accompaniment  ARIA – a SOLO song in an opera, oratorio or cantata, lots of decoration in the melody, orchestral accompaniment  CHORUS – 1. a GROUP of singers with several people to each part (SATB) 2. the refrain between verses of a song  ROUND – each part sings the same melody entering one after the other. When they reach the end they start again, eg Frere Jacques

Styles MusicalMusical OperaOpera ChoraleChorale PassionPassion OratorioOratorio CantataCantata

  MUSICAL – singing (solo, duet, chorus), speech, costumes/scenery, band accompaniment, modern   OPERA – singing (recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO SPEAKING, costumes/scenery, orchestral accompaniment, often in a foreign language, old(er)   CHORALE - a German hymn tune usually homophonic in texture written for SATB   PASSION – tells the story of the crucifixion from the GOSPEL, singing (recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO SPEAKING, NO COSTUMES/SCENERY, orchestral accompaniment   ORATORIO – tells a story from the bible, singing (recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO SPEAKING, NO COSTUMES/SCENERY, orchestral accompaniment (smaller group of players)   CANTATA – as oratorio but on a smaller scale

Styles  Strophic  Through Composed  Scat Singing  Homophony  Polyphony  Syllabic  Melismatic

  STROPHIC – a vocal/choral composition where the same music is repeated throughout (verse-chorus- verse-chorus)   THROUGH-COMPOSED – a vocal/choral composition in which there is little or no repetition of the music   SCAT SINGING – nonsense words, syllables and sounds are improvised by the singer (doobie-doobie-shop-shoo-wap)   HOMOPHONY – all parts move together at the same time   POLYPHONY – 2 or more parts moving independently   SYLLABIC – each syllable gets one note   MELISMATIC – many notes are sung to one syllable

Scots Songs  Waulking Song  Bothy Ballad  Scots Ballad  Gaelic Psalm  Mouth Music

  WAULKING SONG – a working song sung in Gaelic by women while they ‘waulked’ woollen cloth to soften and shrink it, led by a soloist with a response from the rest of the women (call & response), strophic   BOTHY BALLAD – a folk song with many verses, tells a story of rural or farming life, usually sung by men, led by a soloist with a response from the rest of the group (call & response), strophic   SCOTS BALLAD – a slow song which tells a story of love/an event/death, strophic   GAELIC PSALM – sung in church, led by a precentor with a response sung by the congregation (call & response), sounds untidy   MOUTH MUSIC – Gaelic nonsense words sung in imitation of the sound of bagpipes as an accompaniment to dancing