Glossary

A B C D E F H I L O P S T V

Accent
Stress or emphasis on certain notes.

Accidentals
#, b, or [natural] symbols that tell the musician when notes outside the “diatonic” scale are used.

Adagio
A slow tempo.

Allegro
A fast tempo. In Italian the word means lively or merry.

Alto
The second highest female vocal part in harmonic writing.

Andante
Italian. A moderately slow tempo. In Italian the word means walking.

Bar Line
The vertical lines drawn across the staff to indicate the measures in a musical composition.

Baritone
The middle range male voice.

Bass
The lowest male voice.

Bridge
Transitional, moving from one section to another.

Cadence
At the end of each phrase, the point of arrival or rest.

Cantata
Vocal composition that contains many movements (sections).

Chromatic Scale
All notes in a scale divided by half-steps.

Curwen Hand signs
A series of hand signs established Sara Ann Glover and disseminated by Rev. John Curwen in the mid-1800’s to connect physical movement with melodic singing.

Decrescendo
Italian. (decresc.) A gradual decrease in loudness.

Diatonic
Any one of the common scales made of whole and half steps in a particular pattern. The white keys on a piano instrument from a diatonic scale.

Dissonance
A combination of sounds that produce harsh, discordant results, and increase the desire for resolution.

Dominant
The fifth scale degree of a diatonic scale. The solfeggio syllable Sol corresponds to the Dominant.

Enharmonic
Two tones having the same pitch but different spelling.

Flat
Lowers a note a 1/2 step.

Harmony
2 or more tones sounded at the same time.

Interval
The space between two notes (counting the first note as one).

Larynx
This is the part of the human anatomy that houses the vocal folds were singing or speaking tone is initiated.

Onset
The beginning of vocal sound.

Passaggio
The Italian word for “Passage.” This refers to the segment of the singers range where one changes from one register to another. For example from chest voice to head voice.

Soprano
The Top voice in harmonic writing. Usually sung by young children, or the highest female singers.

Tenor
The highest male part in harmonic writing, occasionally sung by females that have a low range.

Vibrato
Natural and rhythmic, but slight variation in pitch to add vocal color depending on music style and genre.

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