Cathy's Music Dictionary for Singers - Post #3 - M Through R
Enjoy Post #3! Please send me more suggestions or corrections, and check out my website at www.SingitForward.net
Thanks everyone!
Here comes the final installment of Cathy's Music Dictionary for Singers. Can't wait to hear from each and every one of you!
Thanks everyone!
Marcato
This means to play or sing the song
like a march, with that emphasis. It
will almost certainly already be in 4/4 time but that does not automatically
mean it will be a march. This term,
however, clarifies, specifies that it should, in fact, be a march.
measure
Also known as a "bar", this is distance between two “bar lines” or
the music in a piece that takes place between any two measure or bar lines or
one complete cycle of the piece’s time signature, such as 4/4, which would mean
4 beats of Quarter Notes or a combination of notes equaling/totaling 4 beats
medley
A new piece of music, made of of
pieces or sections of music from other existing pieces. There are usually, at least, three pieces,
which may overlap, be of equal or different lengths, and may or may not end by
returning to one of the pieces already visited earlier. The component pieces in a medley are usually
related in some way, whether all from the same musical play, all some form of
love song, or all some form of 80s piece.
There are no hard-and-fast rules about medley contents but “random”
contents would pretty strange, so I recommend some kind of theme or thought.
meter
This has
to do with rhythm and the actual “heartbeat” or pulse of the music. Meter specifically deals with the persistent
pattern of stresses and off-beats throughout the piece of music. The Meter
is indicated at the beginning of a composition through its time signature. Time signatures look essentially like
fractions, 2 numbers, one on top of the other, which concisely explain exactly
how many beats should be in each measure and what kind of note gets one
count. Other than the Time Signature,
look for one of the Italian words we’ve talked about here, such as Largo, Appassionato, or Vivace for more specific directions
about tempo, mood, and dynamics.
Mezzo
This, literally, means medium or
middle. Used in combinations like Mezzo
Forte (mf), meaning moderately loud or Mezzo Piano (mp), which means moderately or medium soft.
This is a female vocal range just
below Soprano with a range of approximately a4 to A6. The Mezzo-Soprano voice
tends to have a somewhat darker vocal tone than sopranos.
Misterioso
This means
you need to play and/or sing the piece in a mysterious, mystical way.
moderato
This means “Moderate” and it is
frequently used in combination with other terms related to tempo, such as allegro moderato.
This term is used for the process of
altering and changing from one key or scale/tonal center to another. The easiest and fastest method of modulation is
through the Dominant 7-Chord of the New Key but be on the lookout for an
upcoming post on ways to modulate. This
may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature.
molto
Very or a lot
monitor
In a live music setting, this is a
performer’s best friend. Whether a large
speaker on the floor in front of you, a small “hotspot” speaker next to you, or
an “in-ear” version, a Monitor serves to playback your amplified singing and/or
playing, so that you can adjust your pitch, volume, tone, or whatever else
might be needed to improve and balance your performance. In a recording studio, monitors are much more
heavy-duty, and are designed for playing back recorded mixes.
monitor mix
This is very important for a
performer to understand. What I mean by
this is that it’s important for you to understand what YOU need to hear as a
performer. When I am singing, I need
piano mainly with a LITTLE bit of drums in the mix. If there are other singers or if I am singing
backgrounds, I definitely want to hear the other singers as well. It is always important to hear WHO you need
to blend with, how you need to sing to blend with the other singers, and also,
how loudly or softly you need to sing for the blend to be complete. Understand THREE things about a Monitor
Mix: ONE, the Monitor Mix does not need
to be the same as the House Mix (the sound the engineer is sending to the
audience); TWO, the Monitor Mix does not need to be the same for you as for
other people; THREE, and this one is most important, the engineer cannot read
your mind, so if you don’t tell him or her what you need (what you can’t hear
or what you hear too much of or what is not changing, despite the fact that the
engineer said he had fixed the problem).
THE BETTER YOU CAN HEAR; THE BETTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SING OR
PLAY!
mosso
This means movement and yes, once
again, it is usually seen in combination with another word, such as piu mosso (a little more movement or a
little faster) or Meno Mosso (less
movement or slower)
moto
This, literally, means Motion. Once again, you will usually see it in
combination with other words, such as con moto, meaning to play or sing with
motion.
natural
This is a symbol (♮)
that occurs when a composer needs to cancel the effect of a sharp or a flat, so
that those notes, the sharps or flats, are no longer sharp or flat but are
their “natural”, un-sharpened, un-flatted version.
non
This is another “qualifier” that
means “not”. You will see it used in
combination with other terms, such as non
troppo (not too much) or non tanto (not
so much) or allegro ma non troppo (fast,
but not too fast).
note-for-note solo
This is exactly what it says it
is. When you are doing a “cover” of
another band’s song, it is possible to improvise the arrangement of their song,
as long as you don’t try to change their melody, lyrics, or chords. The other option is to do a “note-for-note”
version, including the solos, and that, literally, means being faithful to
every note, nuance, and effect the original band or artist used. This will require repeated listenings and
studying the original recording closely, as you will want to replicate “ghost
notes”, the “overdrive” pedal or “chorus” pedal, and any other sounds they
used.
This is one of the most important
“intervals” in all music; it is from one note or pitch to the same pitch with
half (an octave lower) or double (an octave above) its frequency. In other words, it is from a “C” to another
“C”, either an octave below it or an octave above it.
pad
This is a term that describes a
“cushion” of sound. The first “pads”
were from synthesizers, and could be played by keyboard players. I have been a part of many “vocal pads”,
which are tracks upon tracks of vocal harmonies, stacked one on top of the
other, then doubled and tripled. This is
possible with any instrument, though not necessarily desirable. A pad can fill out the sound and significantly
add to the ambience created by its fullness.
Patetico
This is the Italian term for singing
or playing with great emotion. Once
again, I think we should pretty much perform all our music this way BUT just in
case, when you see Patetico, you KNOW
you need to turn on the sentiment.
phrase
This is a musical unit. It is the grouping of consecutive, melodic
notes, used both when they were composed, as well as when they are
performed. The phrase does not need to
have any sense of completion in itself. A
musical work usually has a melody but that melody will, almost always, consist of
numerous successive phrases.
piano (p)
This term means to play or sing the
piece softly. Further versions of this
include pp, pianissimo or even ppp, pianississimo, which are very soft,
and very, very soft respectively.
pick-up
This is an electronic device used
with stringed instruments, such as electric bass or guitar, Chapman Stick, or
electric violin, to sense the vibrations of their strings or of the bodies of
the instruments, converting their sounds to an electrical signal that is then amplified,
so that it can produce musical sounds through the speaker system, Direct Box,
or directly broadcast for television or radio.
Usually electric guitars and basses utilize magnetic pickups, while
acoustic guitars, upright basses, fiddles, and/or violins ordinarily use
piezoelectric pickups.
pickup group or pickup band
This is the name given to a group of
singers or musicians who are used for only a single performance or only a few
performances. This is very common with
professionals. I have personally been a
part of MANY pickup bands and MANY pickup groups. Because I live outside Los Angeles, there are
many, many professional musicians (often touring musicians, as well as many
studio musicians), and so, sometimes, pickup bands here are better than any
regular band anyone could put together on their own.
poco
A little. This term is often found in combination with
other terms, such as in poco più allegro (a little faster) or poco a poco (little by little).
Pomposo
This is another mood marking with a
tempo significance. Specifically, this
means to play or sing in a dignified, grand style.
Portamento
This is a term for “connecting” one
note or pitch to another note or pitch.
You use a vocal slide JUST BEFORE it is time for the second pitch, so
that the slide is NOT slow and painful to sing or to hear. It is basically like
a “mini-Glissando”. For the piano, a portamento is somewhere between legato and staccato. That
may sound just like playing normally but the “key” word here (no pun intended)
is “connected”. When I think of playing portamento,
I am reminded of playing an organ. With
an organ, if you don’t keep your fingers on the keys so that the sound remains
continuous, it sounds SO choppy and awful.
So, you have to play piano as if you can’t play another note if you’ve
taken your fingers off the last ones.
Connect the notes!
Presto
This is a term that means a very
quick tempo. There are also other
versions of this term, such as Prestissimo
(Very, very fast).
Push
This is a slang term that is used
for a rhythmic technique that slightly anticipates the beat, so that the
performer “pushes” his or her entrance by a fraction of a beat early.
Quarter Note
This is THE most common note in all
of music. It is signified by a stem with
a solid, filled-in head, and it is worth ¼ the duration of a whole, which is
the equivalent to one beat in 4/4 time
(
).
).
Rallentando
This is “similar” to Ritardando,
except that it is more extreme slowing.
With Rallentando, you REALLY slow down a LOT.
remix
This is the name for a second or
subsequent “mix” of a particular group or set of recorded tracks.
rest
This is the term for a symbol that
indicates NO playing or singing for the duration of the rest. A symbol standing for a measured break in the
sound with a defined duration. Each
specific value has a defined duration and an equivalent rest with the same
duration. Each type of rest has a
corresponding type of note. Here are
examples: 
reverb
This is a term to describe the delay
or “echo” effect unit for adding warmth and echo delay to a voice or
instruments at a live venue or during a recording session. Quintessentially, a ceramic tile bathroom has
perfectly amazing “echo” capabilities, naturally. In most settings, however, this effect must
be recreated artificially through electronic reverb or delay units.
Ritardando, Ritard., Rit.
This is the term used when the
composer or arranger wants you to slow down or decelerate. This is the opposite of accelerando. Rit. is
an abbreviation for ritardando.
Ritenuto
This term
means to IMMEDIATELY slow down, whereas Ritardando and Rallentando are much
more gradual.
The word “Rubato”, literally, means
“Robbed” because it allows the performer to “take” liberties with dynamics,
articulation, expression, and especially, tempo. Rubato only applies to those
areas specified by the composer or arranger but within those areas, the
performer has complete control. Other
terms related to Rubato are Ad Libitum, A Piacere, and Expressivo.
Here comes the final installment of Cathy's Music Dictionary for Singers. Can't wait to hear from each and every one of you!
Comments
Post a Comment