GCSE Music Eduquas Popular Music AoS4

Hammer on

Hammer-ons are when you pick one note and then hammer a second finger down onto the same string to get a second note - without picking a second time.

Vibrato

In vibrato, the voice is alternating subtly and very quickly between two pitches that are very close together

Pitch bend/slide

A pitch bend is a music effect on where one note will slide to another note. Pitch bends is a technical term that is used in MIDI technology and there are some genres of music such as rock and video game where pitch bends are often heard.

chest

The chest voice consists of the middle and low notes of your vocal range; this is the range you use in your speaking voice.

Head

Head voice is a particular vocal type and resonance area at a higher register—i.e., the range of notes at the top of your voice.

Falsetto

While falsetto and head voice have been used to mean the same thing, falsetto is understood to be a breathy version of high notes and head voice produces a richer and more balanced tone on the high pitches in a singer's voice.

Dhol

A two-headed drum played with beaters that make a very loud and energetic sound.

Tumbi

A single stringed instrument. It is plucked to give a distinctive high-pitched sound.

Distortion

When guitarists refer to 'distortion', they mean what's technically called harmonic distortion. This is what happens when a gain stage is asked to create a bigger version of a signal than it has the capacity for.

Open/closed hi-hat

A hi-hat is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues.

Sitar

Probably the most famous Indian instrument, the sitar produces a distinctive sound and has a “shimmering” quality due to the sympathetic strings which vibrate when it is being played.

Tabla

A pair of drums often used in Indian classical music. They are used far less than the dhol in Bhangra but can occasionally be heard.

Synth lead

A synth lead is typically a monophonic sound that is cutting or piercing and played in a similar manner to an electric guitar solo. A pad is typically a big warm rich chord sound that just might be good for playing a synth lead over the top of.

Synth pad

Synth pad-A sustained chord or tone generated by a synthesizer, often employed for background harmony or atmosphere.

Belting

Belting is a singing term that refers to singing notes in your head voice range with the power of your chest voice.

Rythm guitar

Plays the main riff

Lead guitar

Plays the melody

fill

In popular music, a “fill” is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.

12 bar blues

The term "12-bar" refers to the number of measures, or musical bars, used to express the theme of a typical blues song. Nearly all blues music is played to a 4/4 time signature, which means that there are four beats in every measure or bar and each quarter note is equal to one beat.

32-bar song form

Its form would be abbreviated as AAA. AABA form , also known as 32-bar song form, consists of a twice-repeated strophe (AA), followed by a contrasting bridge (B), followed by another repetition of the initial strophe (A). AABA and strophic form were especially common in older pop music (1960s and earlier).

Pre-chorus

The section of a song before the chorus. The purpose of a pre-chorus is to create a more seamless transition from the preceding section, most often the song's verse, to the chorus. It also helps to create anticipation towards the chorus.

Introduction

An intro is the opening section of a piece of music, usually before the singing begins. Often when you hear a pop song's intro, it's so familiar that you'll recognize it immediately.

Bridge

A bridge is a musical sections that connects two parts of a song. Eg) A verse often connects a verse to the chorus of a song.

Middle 8

Middle 8 is a type of bridge, that has significantly different chords and lyrics.

Instrumental

A piece of music performed with only instruments, no vocals.

Verse-chorus form

The verse-chorus form is a songwriting structure built around two repeating sections: a verse section and a chorus section. The chorus, which typically anchors the song, contains the song's signature melodic motifs along with lyrical refrains that tend to be the same throughout the tune.

Strophic

Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music.

Riff

A short repeated phrase in popular music and jazz, typically used as an introduction or refrain in a song.

Hook

It’s often a quick four or eight beat rhythm that grabs your attention. Your rhythmic idea can also be instrumental or lyrical. Without lyrics, a rhythm hook relies on a combination of elements like a catchy beat, chord progression, and a bassline

Microtonal

Using notes that aren’t found in western tuning.

Melismatic

Singing-Two or more notes per syllable

syllabic

Singing-One note per syllable

power chord

A chord that contains the 1st and 5th note of a scale.

chaal

Rhythm-this is a swing or shuffle rhythm. A bol (word sound) is used to teach it , as the method in Indian classical music. These are written below.

Dha na na na na Dhs Dha na

swung

The term swing, as well as swung note(s) and swung rhythm, is also used more specifically to refer to a technique (most commonly associated with jazz but also used in other genres) that involves alternately lengthening and shortening the first and second consecutive notes in the two part pulse-divisions in a beat.

syncopation

A disturbance on flow or rhythm of the regular beat, an off-beat note.