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Vocal Music Intermediate
Word List
¾: A time signature representing 3 beats in a measure where the quarter note receives the beat
2/4: A time signature representing two beats in a measure where the quarter note receives the beat
4/4: A time signature representing 4 beats in a measure where the quarter note receives the beat
A Cappella: Singing without instrumental accompaniment
Accelerando: The Italian word indicating to gradually speed up.
Accent: Symbol indicating the note is to be sung with extra force or stress.
Accompaniment: A musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for
other musical parts
Andante: A moderately slow walking tempo
Arpeggio: “Broken chords” or notes of a chord sounded out at a time
Arranger: A person who transfers music from one medium to another
Ascending: A melodic line that raises in pitch
Baritone: Second lowest male singing voice, between tenor and bass
Choir: A large group of singers often associated with a church
Choral: When pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, it refers to a vocal composition.
Chord: Three or more pitches sounded simultaneously
Chorus: A large group of singers. Often used for school groups and others not associated with a
church
Common Time: An alternative way of identifying a time signature where there are 4 beats in a
measure and the quarter note receives the beat
Conductor: The leader of a musical ensemble who indicates through gestures or conducting
patterns how the music should be interpreted
Descending: A melodic line that lowers in pitch
Diaphragm: a muscular partition separating the abdominal and chest cavities and functioning in
breathing.
Double Bar Line: A double vertical or heavy black line drawn through a staff to indicate the end of
any of the main sections of a composition
Duet: Two performers, performing two different parts
Ensemble: A group of musicians who perform together
Enunciation: To articulate or pronounce words especially clearly and distinctly
Fermata: A symbol indicating to hold a note longer than its normal duration
Flat: A symbol that lowers the pitch one half-step
Interlude: a passage containing the main sections of a composition
Interval: The pitch distance between two tones
Jazz: An American musical art from characterized by improvisation and rhythmic punctuation
Largo: A slow, broad tempo.
31. Larynx: The upper part of the trachea in the human throat, also called 'voice box', 'glottis', 'vocal
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apparatus', the seat of the variation in tone of the voice
Ledger Lines: Short horizontal lines representing an extension of the staff, drawn through the
stems of notes too high or too low to be placed directly on the staff
Mezzo: The Italian term referring to medium
Natural: a symbol that cancels a previous sharp or flat.
Phrase: A musical sentence with a beginning, middle, and end
Poco a poco: To change tempo or dynamics little by little
Range: The number of notes a particular voice can sing
Repeat: A sign indicates that a musical section should be repeated.
Scale: A pattern of pitches arranged by whole steps and half steps
Secular: Music without religious context.
Sforzando: A sudden accented note usually followed by a piano marking
Sharp: A symbol that raises the pitch one half-step
Soft Palate: A muscular portion located in the back of the roof of the mouth that separates the oral
cavity from the nasal cavity used for inhalation and exhalation
Solo: In music, one performer, alone
Spiritual: A musical art form by African Americans which combines African rhythms with melodies
they heard in America
Stage Presence: Proper deportment during a performance
Stave: The plural form of staff
Tenuto: A symbol that indicates you should stress and extend the marked note
Unison: When voice parts sound the same pitches and the same rhythms simultaneously
Vocal Chords: The Organ of the voice by which we produce vocal sounds situated at the top of
the wind pipe