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Choral Music Glossary A cappella – without accompaniment A tempo – to go back to the original tempo Absolute pitch – to be able to sing a note without hearing the pitch on an instrument syn. perfect pitch Accelerando – to gradually get faster Accent – a type of articulation, that gives added emphasis to a note Accidental – a sharp, flat, or natural that alters a pitch; makes a pitch higher or lower Accompaniment – instrumental support added to a vocal piece Alla breve – cut time, or 2/2 Alto – the lowest of the female voice parts Arpeggio – do-mi-sol-do-sol-mi-do Arranger – takes an existing piece of music and makes it accessible for a variety of ensembles Articulation – the way in which you sing/play the notes Balance – the ratio of volume between vocal or instrumental parts; equality of volume Ballad – a song that tells a story; is usually slow in the musical theater genre Bar line – is used to separate and organize measures Bass – the lowest of the male vocal parts Baton – a long piece of wood or plastic used by a conductor to keep time Beat – the pulse in music Blend – uniformity of sound Baritone – the middle of the three male vocal parts Belting – sole use of the chest voice register when singing Cacophony – noise, usually loud and uproarious, sometimes harsh or discordant Caesura – a break in the music Canon – a melody that repeats, with each section having a staggered start Castrato – a male whose testicles were removed in order to retain his soprano and alto range during 16th-19th centuries, during those times in which women were banded from performing and singing on stage Chest voice – the louder often belty quality vocal register Chromatic – consisting of half-steps Clefs – symbols used to tell you how to read the notes of the staff; two examples are treble clef used for higher voices and instruments and bass clef used for lower voices and instruments Coda – added measures at end of a piece; also a symbol Compound meter – meters that have beats subdivided into threes Con – Italian for with Consonance – harmonies that are pleasing to the ear Crescendo – to gradually get louder Composer – the person who writes the music Da capo – Italian for from the beginning Dal segno – Italian for from the sign Decrescendo – to gradually get softer Diaphragm – the bowl shaped muscle that is used to control breathing Diction – the way we say the words Diminish – to lessen in volume Diminuendo – to gradually get softer, usually to a greater degree than a decrescendo Diphthong – two vowel sounds in the same syllable Dissonance – harmonies that clash Divisi – when your section dividess into two or more parts Dolce – Italian for sweetly DS al coda – Italian for from the sign to the coda Duet – when two instruments or voices sing or play together Dynamics – the loudness and softness of music Elision – joining two vowel sounds together in the same syllable; putting the ending consonant of a word at the beginning of the word that follows it Falsetto – refers to the male register that is high; the male fake voice Fermata – a symbol that tells you to hold until indicated by the conductor to go on Flat – to be below the pitch; an accidental that alters a pitch a half step lower Forte – Italian for loud Fortissimo – Italian for very loud Fugue – a complex canon that involves a melody sung in sequence where each part begins at a different time in a different key Grand staff – a staff that is joined by a bracket that consists of a treble staff and a bass staff; usually used to notate piano music Half step – the smallest interval we sing (in Western music) Harmony – the secondary pitches that embellish the melody Head voice – the lighter upper vocal register in males and females Homophony – when the words and rhythm of all sections are the same Interval – the distance between two pitches Intonation – state of being in tune; not flat or sharp Key signature – the group of sharps of flats at the beginning of a musical piece that tell you which pitches are raised or lowered; tells you where Do is; tells you the tonal center of a piece of music Legato – smooth and flowing Libretto – the text or story that is apart of a musical work; in musical theater this in the spoken lines; in opera this is the play that has been set to music Literal translation – a word for word translation of a foreign text that does not fit the notes and rhythms in a piece of music Madrigal – an a cappella piece, usually sung by a small group written between 1600-1750. Maestro – the conductor Major scale – the sequence of whole and half steps that make up do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do; or the sequence of WWHWWWH beginning on any pitch Marcato – the strongest type of accent Measure – separated by barlines, used to organize the music on the staff Melisma – a sequence where the pitches change, but the vowel sound stays the same; also known as a “run” Melody – the main musical theme in a musical piece or song Meter – tells you how to count the music; defines rhythmic structure Metronome marking – the number of beats per minute Mezzo-forte – Italian for medium loud Mezzo-piano – Italian for medium soft Mezzo-soprano – the middle of the three female voices; can also be referred to as a second soprano Molto – Italian for very Musicality – the combination of technique and expression in music Natural – an accidental used to restore a pitch its previous state Octave – an interval that is eight steps apart; Do (low) to Do (high) Octavo – the printed choral music Phrase – a musical sentence or idea Pianissimo – Italian for very soft Piano – Italian for soft; the colloquial term for the instrument also known as the pianoforte Pianoforte – the instrument that contains strings and hammers which hit those strings to produce sound; it used most often in accompanying vocal and choral music; a dynamic which means soft, then immediately loud Pitch – the highness or lowness of musical sounds Piu – Italian for more Poco a poco – Italian for little by little Polyphony – when the words and rhythm of each vocal section occur at different times Publisher – is responsible for the printing, copyright, distribution, and marketing of music Pure vowel – found in languages like Italian and Latin and often used to teach blend and diction in vocal and choral music; ee-eh-ah-aw-oo Quasi – Italian for sort of; almost Rallentando – to gradually slow down; usually to a greater degree than a ritardando Range – the highest note to the lowest note; can be referred to in music or with the voice Register – a range of pitches in the human voice Relative pitch – the ability to relate pitches to the tonal memory; can range from near absolute pitch to nearly no relative memory at all Repertoire – a body of music that has been performed; a body of music that is able to be performed by a particular group Rhythm – the series and length note values in music Ritardando – to gradually slow down; usually abbreviated rit. Rubato – Italian for freely Scale – a sequence of whole and half steps that make the same pattern beginning on any pitch Senza – Italian for without Sforzando – a dynamic term indicating loud-soft-loud Sharp – to be above the pitch; an accidental that alters a pitch a half step higher Simple meter -- meters that have beats subdivided into twos Singing translation – the translation that is used to fit the existing notes and rhythms in a piece of music; it often does not capture the correct meaning of the text Slur – a symbol in music used to indicate legato Solfege – a system of syllables used for sight-singing; do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do Soli – when a section in the ensemble has a solo part Solo – when an individual in the ensemble has a part to be performed alone Song – a musical piece that has words Soprano – the highest of the female voice categories Sostenuto – an articulation that is very sustained; uber-legato Staccato – Italian term used to indicate the articulation separate and detached Staff – the five lines and four spaces that music is written on Subito – Italian for suddenly Syncopation – a rhythmic technique where the emphasis is on the up-beat or weak beat Subdivision – dividing a rhythm down into a smaller part Tacet – a period of time where a section or group of instruments do not play or sing Tempo – the fastness and slowness of music; the speed of music Tie – a rhythmic symbol used to join two note values resulting in a longer lenth Tenor – the highest of the three male vocal parts Tenuto – an articulation indicating that the note should be given full length or a lean Tessitura – when the majority of the pitches fall in a piece of music; either high or low Timbre – the tone or color of an instrument or voice that makes it recognizable to the human ear Time signature – the tool at the beginning of a piece of music that tells you how to count; it usually looks like a fraction and consists of two numbers Tone quality – the quality of the sound Tonal memory – the ability to remember a series of pitches Treble – a clef used to notate pitches on the staff for higher voice and instruments; a general term used to describe higher voice and instruments Tuning point – a unison pitch arrived at after a period of harmony Tutti – Italian for all Unison – when the ensemble of a section are all singing the same pitches at the same time Vibrato – the natural vibration of the sound in singing or playing an instrument Vocalize – a vocal warm-up or exercise Voicing – the voices to be used in a piece of music; SATB, SSA, TTB, etc. Whole step – the interval that is make up of two half steps; i.e. do-re is a whole step