Choir Semester Exam

Soft Palate

The muscular membrane in the roof of the mouth behind the hard palate

Larynx

An organ of the respiratory tract situated in the throat and neck above the trachea

Pharynx

The membranous tube connecting the mouth and nasal cavity with the esophagus

Diaphragm

A large dome-shaped partition comprised of muscle-tendon and sinews which separate the abdomen from the thorax and facilitates breathing

Glottis

Space between the vocal folds

Tongue

Articulator

Teeth

Articulator

Lips

Articulator

Breath

A vital source for singing

Posture

A key component of correct singing; alignment of the body

Phonation

Vibration of the vocal folds to produce sound

Tone

A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note

Timbre

The distinctive quality and character of a tone

Intonation

The production of musical tones (by voice or instrument); especially the exactitude of the pitch relations

Resonance

Spontaneous reinforcement and amplification of tonal vibrations occurring whenever the cavity is tuned to the natural frequency of the fundamental pitch sounded

Articulation

The physiological process of producing consonants in speech and singing

Vibrato

Natural pitch variant of six to seven neurological pulses per second that occur when the voice is coordinately functioning

Straight Tone

A vibrato-less tone which is caused by static adjustment of the larynx

Wobble

Undesirable, slower than normal vibrato pattern

Vocalise

Vocal exercise designed to accomplish specific vocal and musical tasks

Vowel Modification

Vowel adjustment made according to pitch levels throughout a singer’s full range as a way of equalizing tone

Diphthong

The combination of two vowel sounds on one syllable

Chest Register

The term for the heavy or low voice mechanism which produces sensations of chest vibrations

Head Voice

The adjustment of the laryngeal mechanism that produces a lighter tonal quality, with sensations experienced in the head

Falsetto

Vocal production associated primarily with the high register and light quality of the male voice

Belting

A style of pop singing where the chest register is pushed upward beyond its natural limits without gradual blending with the head register

Soprano

The higher of the female voice parts

Alto

The lower of the female voice parts

Tenor

The higher of the male voice parts

Bass

The lower of the male voice parts

Solfeggio

A system of syllables designed to aid in sight-reading and teaching music

Crescendo

To gradually get louder

Decrescendo

To gradually get softer

Diminuendo

To gradually get softer

Fermata

The prolongation of a tone, chord, or rest beyond its indicated time value

Legato

Smoothly and connected, without a discernible break in the sound

Staccato

Short and detached; “.”

Pianissimo

very soft; “pp”Piano

Mezzo-piano

medium soft; “mp”

Mezzo-forte

medium loud; “mf”

Forte

Loud; “f”

Fortissimo

very loud; “ff”

Homophony

The texture where all voices sing the same rhythm but different notes

Monophony

The texture where all voices are singing in unison

Polyphony

The texture where all voices are singing different notes and different rhythms

Major Scale

Pitches from Do-Do

Natural Minor Scale

Pitches from La-La with no alterations

Harmonic Minor Scale

Pitches from La-La with a raised 7th scale degree (Si)

Melodic Minor Scale

Pitches from La-La with a raised 6th and 7th scale degrees (Fi, Si) while ascending and no alterations descending

Sharp

Raises a pitch by ½ step (#)

Flat

Lowers a pitch by ½ step (b)

Natural

Cancels out a sharp or a flat (♮)

Musical Alphabet

Letters A through G

Word Stress

Choral technique to bring out important words/syllables in a phrase

Text Painting

Technique used by composers to illustrate musically the meaning of the words

Augmentation

term used to describe when a melody, theme or motif is presented in longer note values than were previously used

“Landmarks” in solfege

DMS

Purple

Mr. Knight’s favorite color

Enharmonic Equivalent

Two notes that sound the same but are written differently