Vocal Dictionary - Terms of A through D

            As singers, it is really important for us to have a knowledge and understanding of all the terminology that is used to describe music and singing. I have previously posted “Music Dictionary” blog posts. This “Vocal Dictionary” will serve to supplement and complete the knowledge you need as a singer working in the Music Industry.  Please let me know what you think. Maybe you have ideas for some additions.

·      Abducted – The name given to your Vocal Folds when they are in their open position.

·      Absolute Pitch – When a person is able to determine the precise pitch of a note when it is played on a musical instrument, having only heard it.

·      A Cappella – When you sing without any other form of instrumental accompaniment.

·      Accelerando – To gradually increase the speed with which a musical piece is played or sung.

·      Accent – Strong stress placed on an “indicated” note for rhythmic or dynamic use. The symbol for a note to be accented is: >   over the note.

·      Accidentals – Any of a number of various “signs” (monikers), which denote the alteration of a particular note by semitones. These are used insert sharps, flats, and naturals into a piece of music where they are not a part of the original Key Signature.

·      Accompaniment – The music and/or instrumentation that plays beneath singing in a piece of music.

·      Accompanist – The person who plays the instrument under singing.

·      Adagio – This means to play or sing a piece of music more slowly.

·      Adducted – This is the term to explain when the Vocal Folds are being pulled together.

·      Ad Libitum (Ad Lib) – This means to play or sing “at liberty”. The performer imposes his or her own perspective onto the marked section of a piece of music for singing or playing.

·      Allegro – This is a term that means to play or sing a piece of music more quickly, rapidly, or lively.

·      Alto – This is a low female voice. The lowest female voice is Contralto.

·      Aria – This is a featured song or solo in opera.

·      Arpeggio – This signifies when a chord is played in a “Broken” fashion such that notes are played individually. Most commonly, as arpeggio is the 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, and 8^th notes of an octave.

·      Art Song – Art songs were the “pop” songs of the Classical Era. These are written as a vocal composition to be accompanied by piano, and generally the text is either a poem or specifically written lyrics.

·      A Tempo – To return to the original tempo designated for a piece of music.

·      Attack – This is the process of a singer to hit the first note in a phrase or song. Attacks might be described as “gentle”, “direct”, or “scooping”, to name a few.

·      Back Phrasing – This is NOT a “lazy” stylistic choice for musicians or singers; it is the intentional singing of a phrase either ahead or behind the beat. This is a typical technique for many jazz singers but also for many pop singers. This is, however, only effective if the rest of the accompaniment maintains a strong sense of time, tempo, and beat. Otherwise, the piece will sound sloppy and wrong, and will almost certainly, frustrate other musicians or even cause the music to fail completely. Back Phrasing is not, ordinarily, notated but performed Ad Lib.

·      Ballad - This is a song with a slower tempo, whose theme is rather sentimental, emotional, or romantic.

·      Bar – This is all the music between any 2 given Bar Lines, which is commonly known as 1 Measure. A Bar Line looks like this - |

·      Baritone – This is a classification of the Male voice. It is the most common Male Vocal Type because it lies in the middle of the male voice, above Bass, and below Tenor.

·      Bass – This is the very lowest Male Vocal classification.

·      Bass Clef – The Bass Clef or “F” Clef is a music symbol that demarcates the fourth line of the lower staff to the “F” note, just below Middle “C”. It looks, roughly, like a cursive “F” and the “Colon” around line 4 corresponds to the “Cross” of the “F”. The Bass Clef looks like this:  ?

·      Beat - A “beat” in music is representative of a single unit of musical rhythm. A “beat” is comparable to the beat of a person’s heart. In fact, the “beat” of music IS its heart beat. This rhythm or rhythmic feature is often played/established by the drums in a band or on music.  When you see a conductor with an orchestra, he or she is showsing/demonstrating the beat of the music with the conductor’s baton.

·      Beat Boxing – This is form of vocal percussion that imitates drumbeats. It is performed using a person’s mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

·      Bel Canto -  (In Italian, Beautiful Singing or Song) This is singing whose focus is on creating beautiful sound, not merely acting or emotion. It is, generally, a Classical singing technique, which creates a pure vocal sound with sustained syllables and, especially, vowel sounds. Many great operatic singers utilize the Bel Canto technique.

·      Belting – This is a frequently used term for describing a loud “Chest Register” sound. If a performer is not careful, belting can lead to dangerous “pushing” and over-driving of the voice, caused by attempting to force the voice beyond healthy limits. In order to “successfully” produce belting sound, excessive airflow and Vocal Fold tension must be exerted. Ideally, there should only be ONE voice from top to bottom and an ability to completely control volume, emotion, breath, and texture.

·      Blend – As in most every occurrence of the word, “blend” with regard to singing means to smooth things out. In particular, this means to blend or smooth out the transition area between vocal registers, especially between the Belt, Chest, or Modal register, and the Head register. People who PUSH the Chest or Modal voice too high will often crack or lose control of the voice transitioning into the Head Register. This is unfortunate, ugly and jarring to listeners. The other important definition for “Blend” is to learn to combine your voice with the voices around you, in a group, so that no individual voices STAND OUT over the entire group. Listening intently to the voices nearest yourself, and determining to raise or lower your own voice so that your voice is of a similar pitch, volume, and texture as surrounding voices accomplishes this.

·      Break – A “Break” in the voice is painful to hear and to feel. It is caused by the tension in the throat produced when the transition from the muscles used to create the Modal or Chest Register are stressed so much that a smooth change into Head voice production cannot be achieved. Proper vocal technique allows no interruption of sound production but a smooth, continuous tone from one register to the next.

·      Breath Support – Sufficient breath is the fuel for the voice. Production comes, primarily, from the Diaphragm but extensive breathing exercises and practice will allow singers to maintain strong pitch, volume, and control even in the longest passages. Insufficient “fuel” causes poor, “flat” or “sharp” pitch, poor control and vocal color, as well as inconsistent phrasing and dynamics.

·      Bridge – There are two, distinct definitions for “bridge” in music. One refers to the area within a song, which is NOT the Chorus or Refrain, or a Verse. It frequently occurs after the Chorus and before re-entering a Verse. The second definition has to do with the transitional region of a person’s voice BETWEEN their two most prominent Vocal Registers, often between the Modal or Chest Register, and the Head Voice. This Bridge area is of crucial importance. Developing a strong Bridge can be the difference between a great voice and an immature, limited one.

·      Broken Chord – A Chord consists of two or more notes played at the same time. However, a Broken Chord is when the notes of a chord are played individually. For example, a “C” chord contains the notes C, E, and G. Played together, this would be a “Blocked Chord”. When these notes are played individually, this is a “Broken Chord.”

·      Cadence – This is the name of a melodic or chord sequence that brings the feel of closure or culmination to a piece of music or a phrase. A Cadence can also be any recurrent phrase in a piece of music.

·      Canon – This is a musical form such that a melody or phrase is duplicated or mimicked within a piece of music by instruments or voices.

·      Cantabile – This, literally, means in a “Singing Style.”

·      Capo – This is the “Head,” the “Top,” or the “Beginning” of a piece of music.

·      Catch Breath - A quick, short, unnoticeable breath.

·      Chase Vocals – This term is used to describe vocal parts that are, essentially, echoes. The lead singer performs his or her line and then, the Chase Vocals are performed. Most often these Chase Vocals simply repeat what the Lead Vocal sang but it is also possible that the Chase Vocals “add” to what the Lead Singer sang. “Background Singers” frequently performed Chase Vocals. Chase Vocals do not interfere, in any way, with the Lead Singer’s vocals.

·      Chest Voice: Also known as “chest register.” The lower notes of a singer’s range; in the same general range as the speaking voice. When singing in the chest voice, the vocal cords become naturally thick, and the resulting sound is generally associated with deep, warm tones.  Achieved by using resonance and voice placement. The resonance sounds it comes from the chest area.

·      Chord Progression – This is a series of chords played in a sequence. Examples of chord progressions could be: I, IV, V, I; I, vi, ii, V, I; or I, V, IV, ii, I.

·      Chorus or Choir – This is a group of singers. The “Chorus” can also refer to the main “Hook” or theme of a song, which is normally repeated a number of times throughout the time the song is sung.

·      Chromatic Scale: This refers to a musical scale made up of ALL half steps or semitones, which makes a 12-tone scale, as opposed to the traditional 8-tone Major or Minor Scale.

·      Clef: This name describes a symbol that occurs at the beginning of a musical staff. Depending on which Clef you are reading, it will indicate the pitches that are represented on that portion of the staff. For the purposes of singing and playing piano, the clefs would be Treble or Bass Clef.

·      Coda: Just as a “Capo” is the “Head”, the “Coda” is the “Tail” of a song. This, literally refers to the closing section of a song or other piece of music, which is usually appended or added to the music. Q  is a symbol that send you to the Coda.

·      Coloratura: Most commonly a Coloratura Soprano is the highest Soprano range, reaching beyond C6 or “High C”. True Coloraturas are pretty rare as this extended range is more difficult for the human ear to hear AND it requires an additional combination of vocal muscles to achieve (see the blog post on Vocal Registers for more detail). “Coloration” of the voice also means ornamentation of a vocal line or phrase and most Coloratura Sopranos cultivate ornamentation of their highest notes to compliment performance. For an example of typical ornamentation by a Coloratura, listen to the Queen of the Night’s Aria from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”

·      Colla Voce: This is an “Italian” musical term that means “With the Voice.” When you see this phrase over a section of music, it means that the orchestra or band of instruments must follow the Solo singer who is allowed to “interpret” the music rather than adhering strictly to Tempo, Rhythm, and notated melody requirements.

·      Common Time – This Time Signature is often notated by a large Capital “C” in the Time Signature location, rather than the more usual fraction. It stands for 4/4 time, which is the most “Common” Time Signature, used in more music than any other Time Signature. This denotes 4 beats per measure and that a Quarter Note receives 1 count.  The symbol for Common Time is:  c

·      Consonant - A speech sound produced as the result of a temporary partial or complete constriction of airflow (b, d, f, g, l, etc.).

·      Contralto – This is the very lowest female vocal register, often paralleling a male tenor’s range.

·      Counter Melody – This term refers to an additional melody, which contrasts but enhances the original, main melody.

·      Covering – This is a term for a darker, richer tone quality to the voice. Covering would not be appropriate for all voice types; it WOULD be commonly used for Bass, some Baritone, Contralto, and even some Dramatic Soprano voices.

·      Cracking – This is a vocal problem that happens to pretty much every singer at one time or another. It can be caused by several different situations: lack of enough vocal warm-up exercises; lack of vocal control, often from in-adequate breathing and support; attempting to sing outside your range; anxiety, stress, or uncontrolled nerves; “Pushing” too hard; or lack of vocal preparation or not enough practice over the particular passage in the song or in your range. All of these issues can be alleviated through consistent vocal lessons and practice.

·      Crescendo – This term refers to the building of vocal sound energy or volume by an instrumentalist or singer. This is specified in a piece of music by the symbol ---- and, generally, means to get louder, whether as you play or as you sing.

·      Croon – Generally, “crooning” was more popular in male voices of the forties and fifties but this vocal style is smooth, sensual, soothing. Examples are Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Buble’.

·      Da Capo – This means “from the Head”, which means going back to the beginning of a piece of music.

·      Dal Segno or D. S. – This Italian phrase means “from the Sign” or go back to the Sign (%) and play or sing through that area of the music once again.

·      Dal Segno al Coda – This says, “from the Sign to the Coda”, which means that when you see this marking in your piece of music, go back to the Sign (%) and then, continue playing or singing until you get to the marking for the Coda, and after going to the Coda, complete the song.

·      Dal Segno al Fine – The literal meaning of this is “from the Sign, to the End.” This means that when you see this marking in a piece of music, you go back to the Sign (%) and then, play or sing the piece of music to the end (Fine) of the song.

·      Decrescendo – This means the same thing as Diminuindo, to sing or play softer gradually.

·      Diaphragm - The dome shaped muscle attached to the bottom of the ribcage all across the front of your body except in the middle where your heart is. The Diaphragm also separates your chest or thoracic cavity from your abdomen. Its main function is inhalation of air. Learning to “control” inhalation and exhalation is the basis for amazing singing. Once you learn how to utilize the muscles of your lower back and abdomen in conjunction with your Diaphragm, inhalation can be optimized. During exhalation, the Diaphragm begins to ascend as the abdomen muscles contract, decreasing any tension through the Larynx. Developing a balance of muscular control helps the singer create dynamic variety and strong tone quality. Lack of breath control can cause pitch problems, tonal inconsistencies, and overall vocal instability.

·      Diction – This is the term for clear pronunciation and articulation of your words, requiring work and focus on consonants, as well as vowels. Depending on the style and genre of music being sung, more or less concentration on diction is important. In jazz or blues, diction takes a second importance to musical and vocal improvisation. In Country Western Music, “dialectic” diction may be helpful. However, in Classical and Musical Theater, the better the diction, the more successful the performance. Having proficiency with diction allows a singer to be versatile but can also HELP a singer more easily produce quality tone. In particular, manipulation of vowels can frequently allow a singer to better control tone and give a comprehensively more effective performance.

·      Diminuendo - This means the same thing as Decrescendo, to sing or play softer gradually.

·      Diphthongs – For those of you who have heard me speak, these are what I use pretty constantly to pronounce most words, such as pronouncing the word ‘say’ being pronounced as “seh-ee”. In other words, whenever there is a LONG vowel sound in a word, rather than pronouncing ONE vowel sound, you articulate TWO sounds to substitute for one, as in the example of the word ‘say’. This actually occurs in most long vowel words but only certain dialects (like the Southern dialect) EMPHASIZE the two, separate vowel sounds. When words are enunciated slowly, the two, distinct vowel sounds can always be heard, for example, butter, which becomes ‘buh-uh-tuh’, or hey, which is actually, “heh-ee”. For singing, it is best to avoid diphthongs all together as this improves vocal control.

·      Dissonance – This is a very unpleasant combination of notes when played or sung together. However, dissonance is often used in jazz or improvisation to add musical tension to a piece of music.

·      Dolce - This, literally, means “Sweetly”, so the particular passage of a piece of music is played or sung sweetly.

·      Dominant – This refers to the 5^th note in a Major or Minor Scale. The Dominant Chord (or 5 Chord) of any Scale is the second most important chord. Only the Tonic Chord or Chord built on the Tonic (beginning) of the Scale is more crucial musically.

·      Dramatic – This is a style of singing that is darker and, usually, more intense than a comedic or lyric manner. This would also ordinarily involve an emphasis on acting over finesse of a beautiful tone, though not to the voice’s detriment.

·      Dynamics – Dynamics are one of the primary elements to give a piece of music “life.” Dynamics mark areas or passages of the music, which get louder or softer, following the appropriate emotion for the piece of music. These also refer to the Musical Symbols, which denote the various stages of volume in a song such as p, f, or fff.

·      Duet – This is a piece of music, which is written for two voices or instrumentalists, which usually involves one of the two parts singing or playing in harmony with the other.

You’ve just completed our first Vocal Dictionary section, A-D. Please check out the entire Dictionary, and be sure to send me any other suggestions you’d like to know about. For any questions or comments about my Music Lessons or Me, check out my website at www.SingitForward.net. Definitely, write me any comments or questions below. I ALWAYS LOVE to hear from each of you. Thanks again for reading! Remember, Sing it Forward!