Chapter 9: Voices and Instrument Families Flashcards
Tone Color
See timbre. (page 35)
Instrument
Mechanism that generates musical vibrations and transmits them into the air. (page 35)
Register
Specific area in the range of an instrument or voice. (page 35)
Soprano
Highest-ranged voice, normally possessed by women and boys. (page 35)
Mezzo-soprano
Female voice of middle range. (page 35)
Alto
Lowest of the female voices. Also contralto. (page 35)
Tenor
Male voice of high range. Also a part, often structural, in polyphony. (page 35)
Baritone
Male voice of moderately low range. (page 35)
Bass
Lowest of the male voices. (page 35)
Vibrato
Small fluctuation of pitch used as an expressive device to intensify a sound. (page 36)
Aerophone
Instruments such as a flute, whistle, or horn that produce sound by using air as the primary vibrating means. (page 37)
Bagpipe
Wind instrument popular in Eastern and Western Europe that has several tubes, one of which plays the melody while the others sound the drones, or sustained notes; a windbag is filled by either a mouth pipe or a set of bellows. (page 37)
Chordophone
Instrument that produces sound from a vibrating string stretched between two points; the string may be set in motion by bowing, striking, or plucking. (page 37)
Idiophone
Instrument that produces sound from the substance of the instrument itself by being struck, blown, shaken, scraped, or rubbed. Examples include bells, rattles, xylophones, and cymbals. (page 37)
Membranophone
Any instrument that produces sound from tightly stretched membranes that can be struck. (page 37)
