Timbre Flashcards
Strings
Violin Viola Cello Double Bass Harp Guitar
Timbre
Timbre refers to the tone colour or sound quality of the music - what instruments are playing it and how it sound.
Woodwind
Flute Clarinet Piccolo Saxophone Oboe Bassoon
Brass
Trumpet
Trombone
Horn
Tuba
Percussion
Xylophone Timpani Glockenspiel Bass drum Snare drum
Keyboard instruments
Piano
Organ
Harpsichord
Voice
Soprano Treble Mezzo soprano Alto Countertenor Tenor Baritone Bass
Arco
Bow the strings
Pizzicato
Pluck the strings
Con sordino
Play with a mute (as direction so used for brass players)
Tremolo
Rapidly and continuously repeat a note
Double stopping
Play two or more notes at once (to create a chord)
Slurred
Notes are played smoothly
Tongued
Notes are played separately
Fills
A short passageway music that fills in a gap between different phrases of a melody
Falsetto
A technique used by men to sing in a high range
Vibrato
A technique that makes the pitch of a note waver for expressive effect
Drum machine
An electronic instrument that replicates the sound of different percussion instruments
Mixing desk
An electronic device used to combine (or ‘mix’) different audio signals, which can then be manipulated
Samples
A sample is a short portion take from an existing recording, which is then included in a new track.
Synthesiser
An electronic instrument that can be controlled through a keyboard, which allows you to manipulate the sounds produced and add digital effects.
Reverb
Makes the music sound as if it was recorded in a resonant space
Delay
Creates the effect if an echo
Distortion
Alters the sound of an instrument so it becomes rougher and harsher
Chorus
Thicken the skin by superimposing similar versions of the same track
Panning
Alter the placement of a sound from left to right of the listener
Quantising
A process that fixes notes into a rhythmic grid, increasing rhythmic accuracy.
