Voice & Vocal
Concepts
Revision
Main types of voice:
FEMALE
•Soprano – High
MALE
•Counter Tenor –
Very High (choir boy)
•Mezzo Soprano
(in between soprano •Tenor – High
& alto)
•Baritone
(in between Tenor & Bass)
•Alto - Low
•Bass - Low
Voice Uses
 Solo
 Duet
 Choir
 Unison
 Harmony
 A Cappella
 Accompanied
 Descant
 SOLO – one voice
 DUET – Two people singing together
 CHOIR – A group of people singing together (SATB
= Soprano, alto tenor & bass voices)
 UNISON – two or more voices sounding at the
same pitch or an octave (8 notes) apart
 HARMONY – the sound of two or more notes made
at the same time
 A CAPELLA – unaccompanied singing
 ACCOMPANIED – when instruments are played
along with the singing
 DESCANT – a melody above the main tune, mainly
in vocal music e.g. (Hark the Herald)
Songs
•Recitative
•Aria
•Chorus
•Round
 RECITATIVE – a type of vocal writing where
the music follows the rhythm of SPEECH
(think KFC advert!!), bare accompaniment
 ARIA – a SOLO song in an opera, oratorio or
cantata, lots of decoration in the melody,
orchestral accompaniment
 CHORUS – 1. a GROUP of singers with
several people to each part (SATB) 2. the
refrain between verses of a song
 ROUND – each part sings the same melody
entering one after the other. When they reach
the end they start again, eg Frere Jacques
Styles
•Musical
•Opera
•Chorale
•Passion
•Oratorio
•Cantata
 MUSICAL – singing (solo, duet, chorus), speech,
costumes/scenery, band accompaniment, modern
 OPERA – singing (recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO
SPEAKING, costumes/scenery, orchestral
accompaniment, often in a foreign language, old(er)
 CHORALE - a German hymn tune usually homophonic
in texture written for SATB
 PASSION – tells the story of the crucifixion from the
GOSPEL, singing (recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO
SPEAKING, NO COSTUMES/SCENERY, orchestral
accompaniment
 ORATORIO – tells a story from the bible, singing
(recitative, aria, duet, chorus), NO SPEAKING, NO
COSTUMES/SCENERY, orchestral accompaniment
(smaller group of players)
 CANTATA – as oratorio but on a smaller scale
Styles
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Strophic
Through Composed
Scat Singing
Homophony
Polyphony
Syllabic
Melismatic
 STROPHIC – a vocal/choral composition where the
same music is repeated throughout (verse-chorusverse-chorus)
 THROUGH-COMPOSED – a vocal/choral composition
in which there is little or no repetition of the music
 SCAT SINGING – nonsense words, syllables and
sounds are improvised by the singer
(doobie-doobie-shop-shoo-wap)
 HOMOPHONY – all parts move together at the same
time
 POLYPHONY – 2 or more parts moving independently
 SYLLABIC – each syllable gets one note
 MELISMATIC – many notes are sung to one syllable
Scots
Songs
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Waulking Song
Bothy Ballad
Scots Ballad
Gaelic Psalm
Mouth Music
 WAULKING SONG – a working song sung in Gaelic
by women while they ‘waulked’ woollen cloth to
soften and shrink it, led by a soloist with a response
from the rest of the women (call & response),
strophic
 BOTHY BALLAD – a folk song with many verses,
tells a story of rural or farming life, usually sung by
men, led by a soloist with a response from the rest of
the group (call & response), strophic
 SCOTS BALLAD – a slow song which tells a story of
love/an event/death, strophic
 GAELIC PSALM – sung in church, led by a precentor
with a response sung by the congregation (call &
response), sounds untidy
 MOUTH MUSIC – Gaelic nonsense words sung in
imitation of the sound of bagpipes as an
accompaniment to dancing