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All singers should know the following musical terminology:
A-C | D-G | H-K | L-O | P-S | T-Z
Accidentals--A sign indicating a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note.
Alto--The range of a voice between mezzo-soprano and tenor. The second highest part in a four-part arrangement.
Arranger--A person who adapts a musical composition for performance.
Articulation--The action of the speech organs in the formation of consonants and vowels.
Audition--An interview or tryout for a particular role or job as a singer, actor, dancer, or musician, consisting of a practical demonstration of the candidate's suitability and skill.
Bar line--A vertical line used in a musical score to mark a division between measures, or bars.
Baritone--The range of a male voice between tenor and bass.
Bass--The range of the lowest male voice.
Bass clef--It is also called the F clef. It is a musical sign to show low pitched notes.
Bel canto--A style of singing developed in Italy during the Renaissance, characterized by brilliant vocal ornamentation and purity of tone.
Belting--A singing style used in pop, rock, and Broadway music, especially by female singers. Tones are produced in the middle and low registers of the voice, by using chest resonance which is amplified by diaphragmatic pressure.
Binary--A structure of music that consists of two equal parts: A and B.
Blues scale--A blues scale is often formed by the addition of an out-of-key "blue note" to an existing scale, notably the flat fifth addition to the minor pentatonic scale. However, the heptatonic blues scale can be considered a major scale with altered intervals.
Breath control--The ability to use breath conservatively and efficiently in order to sing long vocal phrases.
Breath mark--A comma in between music notes to indicate places for singers to breath.
Breath support--Muscular support of the breathing process provided by the diaphragm and rib cage. Breath support creates a feeling of balance between the breath and tone.
Bridge--The transitional section of a song, different than Verse and Chorus sections. It is usually positioned right before the return of the final chorus section of a song.
Chest register--The low range of the voice, produced by using chest resonance.
Chord symbols--Abbreviations for chords, such as C7, Gm7, or Db.
Chromatic scale--A sequence of notes that progresses in consecutive half steps, ascending and/or descending.
Chorus--1. A group of singers who sing together. 2. A section of a song that always uses the same melody and lyrics.
Clavicular breathing--Shallow breathing which occurs in the upper part of the lungs.
Coda--The last portion of any music, or added ending.
Coloratura--A singer capable of singing brilliant runs, trills and other ornamentations in the soprano range.
Composer--A person who writes music, especially as a professional occupation.
Compound meters--Time Signatures in which the basic beat divides into three, rather than two, and then further subdivides into six.
Conductor--A person who directs the performance of an orchestra or choir.
Connotative lyric--A song lyric that implies something more than the literal meaning of the written words, such as the use of metaphor.
Contralto--The range of the lowest female voice, usually from the first F below middle C to the second F above.
Countertenor--An adult male voice, usually in falsetto, with a range similar to the contralto and sometimes reaching the soprano.
Crescendo--A gradual increase in volume.
Decrescendo--A gradual decrease in volume.
Diaphragmatic breathing--Deep breathing which involves the use of the diaphragm.
Diaphragm--A dome-shaped muscular plate that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity.
Diminuendo-- A gradual decrease in volume.
Diphthong--Double vowel sound, such as the "oi" in voice.
Dotted rhythm--Rhythm in which the beat is unequally subdivided into a long dotted note and a short note.
Double bar line--Two thin, vertical lines used to separate different sections of a musical passage. It can be used 1. before a key change, 2. during an overall change of style; or before a chorus or bridge, 3. before changing the time signature mid-line; if the change occurs mid-measure, a dotted double bar is used, 4. before A Tempo or Tempo I, 5. sometimes occurs with the repeat commands dal segno (D.S.) or da capo (D.C.), and 6. the end of the song.
Double vowel sound--A complex sound composed of two consecutive vowel sounds, such as sigh and smile.
Duet--A musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece.
Duo--A pair of people or musical instruments.
Dynamics--Degrees of volume in a musical composition.
Eight--An individual section of a song, usually consists eight measures.
Embellishment--An added note or group of notes to a song melody, rhythm, or harmony.
Enunciation--The pronunciation of words with regard to fullness and clearness.
Explosive consonants--The consonants that are produced by using an explosion of air, such as “t”, “p”, and “k”.
F clef--Same as bass clef. The musical sign indicates low pitched sounds. Hundreds of years ago, a calligraphic letter "F" was written by starting on the fourth staff line to indicate the sound and the position of "F".
Falsetto--The high range of a male singer’s voice, which resembles the normal range of a female singer’s voice. It is also used as a female singer's light and breathy head voice.
Fermata--The sign that shows to hold or pause at a note or rest.
Fifths--These intervals come in three ways: perfect, augmented, and diminished. The perfect fifth is built with seven half steps, while the augmented fifth, eight half steps, and diminished fifth, six half steps.
Flat--1. As a sign, it indicates the musical note is lowered by a semitone to achieve a lower pitch than the natural pitch. 2. A description of the pitch vibrations are less than the required standard numbers for a certain pitch.
Form--The structure of a musical composition.
Fourths--These intervals come in three ways: perfect, augmented, and diminished. The perfect fourth is built with five half steps, while the augmented fourth, six half steps, and diminished fourth, four half steps.
G clef--Same as treble clef. The musical sign indicates high pitched sounds. Hundreds of years ago, a calligraphic letter "G" was written by starting on the second staff line to indicate the sound and the position of "G".
Grace note--An ornament, a note or a group of notes printed in small type, borrows the rhythmic value from the preceding note.
Half step--The distance between one key and the next adjacent key of the piano keyboard, including all black and white keys. It is also called an Interval of a Minor Second.
Head register--The high range of the voice, which is produced with head resonance.
Head resonance--The quality of tone produced in the high part of the voice when sung with normal volume.
Hip Hop--Also known as rap, and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in the Bronx, a borough of New York City.
Hissed consonants--The consonant sounds which are produced with a hissing sound, such as "s", "sh", and "f".
Hummed consonants--The consonant sounds which are produced with nasal resonance.
Improvisation--A spontaneous interpretation of a song which may include changes in its melody, rhythm, and/or phrasing.
Intercensal breathing--Breathing that involves the expansion and contraction of the rib cage.
Interpretation--An individual singer's stylistic treatment of a song.
Interval--The measurement of distance between two notes on a musical staff or keyboard.
Inversion--The process of inverting, modifying by putting upside down or in the opposite position/order/arrangement of an interval, chord or phrase.
Key--The tonal center of a song or musical composition.
Key signature--Sharps and flats located at the beginning of the musical staff which indicate the key of the music.
Larynx--The structure of muscle and cartilage at the upper end of the human trachea, containing the vocal cords and serving as the organ of the voice..
Lead sheet--A chart containing the melody and lyrics of a song, with the harmony indicated in chord symbols.
Legato--A vocal technique that involves smooth and connected singing.
Legit--Short for legitimate, which means the classical style of singing.
Lyrical phrase--A group of words that complete a thought or idea.
Lyricist--A person who writes the words to a song, musical or opera.
Lyrics--The words to a song.
Major scale--A diatonic scale with the sequence of intervals between the notes are: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.
Measure--Also called a Bar. A unit of musical time, usually composed of two, three, or four beats. The first beat is always accented.
Metaphor--A figure of speech in which one object is spoken of as if it were another.
Mezzo-soprano--The range of a voice between soprano and alto.
Middle register--The range of voice that is produced by using a mixture of head and chest resonance. It is also called Middle Voice.
Minor scales--The three different types of minor scales are built with different sequence of intervals between the notes. The Natural minor sequence of intervals are: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. The Harmonic minor sequence of intervals are: whole, half, whole, whole, half, augmented second, half. The Melodic minor sequence of intervals are different in the ascending and the descending directions. The ascending Melodic minor sequence of intervals are: whole, half, whole, whole, whole, whole, half; while the descending Melodic minor sequence of intervals are: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole.
Mouth tones--The notes of middle register that feel as though they are produced in the mouth.
Musical ear--The ability to recognize and differentiate sounds and pitches.
Natural--A sign to show cancellation of sharp or flat in musical compositions.
Notes--Musical symbols designed to show pitches associated with a specific audio vibration, such as high and low tones.
Octave--A tone with either twice or half the frequency of another given tone, or eight "letter" tones span between such notes.
Palate--The roof of the mouth, consisting on the hard palate and soft palate. The hard palate is the bony part of the roof of the mouth and the soft palate is the fleshy back part of the roof of the mouth.
Perfect pitch--The somewhat rare ability to sing a precise musical pitch without the aid of an instrument or tuning device. It is also called the Absolute Pitch.
Phrase--A natural division of the melodic or lyrical line, comparable to a sentence of speech.
Phrase mark--A curved line used to mark a musical phrase.
Pitch--The relative highness or lowness of a tone, as measured in its vibrations per second. It is also a single musical note.
Pop--A genre of music characterized by contemporary lyrics, standard chord patterns, and electronic instruments.
Quartet--1. A group of four people playing music or singing together. 2. A musical composition designed for four people to perform together.
Quintet--1. A group of five people playing music or singing together. 2. A musical composition designed for five people to perform together.
Range--A span of notes of a singer's voice or a piece of music.
Rhythm and Blues--Frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African-American communities in the 1940s. It is characterized by lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American history and experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of societal racism, oppression, relationships, economics, and aspirations.
Reinforced falsetto--The developed falsetto range of a male singer.
Release--The execution of the ending of a word, or a musical note.
Repeat sign--A sign that indicates a section, or the whole song, requires a do-over, or repeat.
Rests--Musical symbols designed to show the exact duration of silence.
Rondo--A musical form with a recurring leading theme, such as ABACA or ABACABA, often found in the final movement of a sonata or concerto.
Scale--A specific sequence of tones, beginning and ending on a key note or the tonal center.
Seconds--These intervals come in four ways: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. The major second is built with two half steps and is also called a whole step. The minor second is built with just one half-step and is also called a half step. The augmented second, three half steps, and sounds like a minor third. The diminished second, no steps, and sounds like unison, just with different note spelling.
Sevenths--These intervals come in four ways: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. The major seventh is built with eleven half steps. The minor seventh is built with ten half steps. The augmented seventh, twelve half steps, and sounds like an octave with different letter names for the two notes. The diminished seventh, nine half steps, and sounds like major sixth, just with different note spelling.
Sharp--1. As a sign, it indicates the musical note is raised by a semitone to achieve a higher pitch than the natural pitch. 2. A description of the pitch vibrations are more than the required standard numbers for a certain pitch.
Sheet music--The printed version of a song, such as a piano/vocal arrangement.
Sixths--These intervals come in four ways: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. The major sixth is built with nine half steps. The minor seventh is built with eight half steps. The augmented sixth, ten half steps, and sounds like a minor seventh with different letter names for the two notes. The diminished sixth, seven half steps, and sounds like perfect fifth, just with different note spelling.
Skip--Two tones separated by one or more tones.
Solo--A musical composition for one performer in which the performer is the only singer or instrumental player, without accompaniment.
Song form--The structure of a song, designated by letters naming each section, such as ABA, or AABA.
Soprano--The range of the highest voice of women or boys, usually from middle C to two or more octaves above.
Sounded consonants--The consonant sounds "z", "dj" and "v", counterparts of hissed consonants "s", "sh", and "f".
Staccato--Notes marked with a dot above or below mean to be sung quickly and lightly.
Staff--The lines and spaces upon which musical notes are written to show high or low pitches.
Step--An interval in a scale; a tone is also a whole step, and a semitone is called a half step.
Syncopation--The practice of displacing the beats or accents in music or a rhythm so that strong beats become weak and vice versa.
Tempo--The relative speed of a song or song section.
Tempo marks--Primarily communicated in Italian, French, or German, are the pulse of musical compositions that range from Larghissimo (20 or less beats per minute) to Prestissimo (177 or more bpm), each encapsulating a unique mood and character.
Tenor--The range of a voice between counter tenor and baritone. The second lowest part in a four-part arrangement.
Ternary--A structure of music that consists of three equal parts, while the first and last parts are mostly the same; therefore, ABA, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle.".
Tessitura--The most comfortable part of a singer's vocal range.
Thirds--These intervals come in four ways: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. The major third is built with four half steps. The minor third is built with three half steps. The augmented third, five half steps, and sounds like a perfect fourth with different letter names for the two notes. The diminished third, two half steps, and sounds like major second, just with different note spelling.
Time signature--The two numbers at the beginning for the song or the section of a song that represent how many of what type of note in each measure, 4/4 means four quarter notes per measure, and 3/8 means three eighth notes per measure.
Transpose--To change the tonal center of a song, ascending or descending.
Treble clef--It is also called the G clef. It is a sign to show high pitched notes.
Trio--1. A group of three people playing music or singing together. 2. A musical composition designed for three people to perform together.
Triplets--When a certain beat is divided into three equal parts, whether notes or rests, the three equal parts are sub-division of that certain beat and are called triplets. Each of the triplets is equal to one-third of the beat.
Vanish--In phonetics, the faint, final part of certain double vowel sounds, such as the faint "ee" ending of the vowel sound in the word "high" (hah-ee").
Verses--A section of a song that keeps the same melody, but changes lyrics as the song progresses.
Vocalize--To sing vocal exercises.
Voice category--A label designating voice type, such as soprano, alto, tenor, or bass.
Voiced consonants--The consonants "b", "d", and "g", counterparts of explosive consonants "p", "t", and "k".
Vowels--a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction, and which is a unit of the sound system of a language that forms the nucleus of a syllable, such as A E I O U. Contrasted with consonant.
Vowel consonants--The consonants "y" and "w", which are pronounced as vowel sounds.
Whole step--The distance between one key and the next key of the piano keyboard with one key between them, including all black and white keys. It is also called an Interval of a Major Second.
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