Voices/ Ensembles/ Timbre

Question 1

What is a male soprano called?

Answer 1

A supr-man-o
Ha, terrible joke to keep you going. It’s actually:
A treble

Question 2

What is the range for a soprano?

Answer 2

As it is a high female voice, it is roughly around middle C to the C 2 octaves above

Question 3

What do you call the female vocalist halfway between a soprano and an alto?

Answer 3

A mezzo-soprano

Question 4

List the different vocalist ranges with the highest at the top

Answer 4

Soprano/ Treble - high
Mezzo-soprano
?Tenor
?Baritone
?Alto/ Counter-tenor
Bass - very low

Question 5

A baritone vocalist is higher than an alto, but lower than a counter tenor. True or false?

Answer 5

False, as a counter tenor is a male alto.

A baritone vocalist is a male voice lower than a tenor, but higher than an alto

Question 6

Which of the vocal ranges are for females?

a) Alto
b) Soprano
c) Tenor
d) Treble
e) Mezzo-soprano
f) Counter-tenor
g) Baritone
h) Bass

Answer 6

b) Soprano
e) Mezzo-soprano
a) Alto

Question 7

Which of these vocal ranges are for males?

a) Alto
b) Soprano
c) Tenor
d) Treble
e) Mezzo-soprano
f) Counter-tenor
g) Baritone
h) Bass

Answer 7

d) Treble
c) Tenor
g) Baritone
f) Counter-tenor
h) Bass

Question 8

What is a counter-tenor?

Answer 8

A male alto

Question 9

What is the range of a bass vocalist?

Answer 9

Roughly from F below the bass clef to the E above middle C (also, this is a male part)

Question 10

What is the range of a tenor, and what gender is this for?

Answer 10

It is a male part, with the range being roughly from the C below middle C to the G above

Question 11

Which vocalist group is this range for?

The F below middle C to the F at the top of the treble clef stave

Answer 11

The Alto (a low female)

Question 12

What is a word painting?

Answer 12

When the usic matches the words being sung. E.g. the word “crying” could be sung to a descending pattern of notes

Question 13

What is a jazz style of singing which uses incomplete, nonsense syllables to give the voice more instrumental quality?

Answer 13

Scat

Question 14

Who is the lead singer in Salsa music?

What is the choir know as?

Answer 14

The sonero

The choro

Question 15

What is the difference between melismatic and syllabic?

Answer 15

Syllabic is when the syllables of the lyrics is sung to a single notes.
Melismatic is the opposite- a single syllable is sung over a succession of notes

Question 16

Instruments in the same family have what?

Answer 16

Similar timbres

Question 17

How would you describe the sound of these instruments?

a) Strings
b) Brass
c) Woodwind

Answer 17

a) Warm sound
b) Bright, metallic sound
c) Soft, mellow sound

Question 18

How can singers change their sound/ timbre?

Answer 18

Falsetto singers have a much thinner sound
Vibrato gives a much richer sound
The speed that the vocal chords vibrate changes the pitch and the timbre

Question 19

How does the timbre between woodwind instruments vary?

Answer 19

Edge-tone instruments (e.g. flutes) make a softer, breathier sound than reed instruments (e.g. clarinets)

Question 20

What does the technique “bells up” mean?

Answer 20

When clarinets and oboes point the end of their instrument upwards, producing a harsher sound

Question 21

How can brass players alter their timbre?

Answer 21

Con sordino - with a mute

Question 22

How can the piano have it’s timbre altered?

Answer 22

When you press keys, a hammer hits the strings inside making it vibrate. The timbre can change by using the soft or sustain pedals

Question 23

How can string instruments alter their their timbre?

Answer 23

Tremelo - moving the bow back and forth very quickly, sounds like trembling
Double stopping - when 2 strings are presssed at the same time, so 2 notes are played at once
Con arco - with a bow
Con sordino - mute
Sul ponticello - close to the bridge
Pizzicato - plucked

Question 24

Define these words:

a) Con arco
b) Con sordino
c) Sul ponticello
d) Bells up
e) Pizzicato
f) Double stopping
g) Tremelo
h) Vibrato

Answer 24

a) With a bow (strings)
b) Muted (strings and brass)
c) Close to the bridge (strings)
d) (clarinets and oboes) playing with the ends pointed up - harsh sound
e) Plucked (strings)
f) Playing 2 strings at once (strings)
g) Making the bow move back and forth quickly (strings)
h) Making the note wobble (singers)

Question 25

How can you change the timbre of percussion instruments?

Answer 25

What you hit them with - sticks, brushes, hands

Question 26

What is timbre?

Answer 26

The type of sound an instrument makes. Also known as tone colour

Question 27

What can affect the timbre in general?

Answer 27

How the strings vibrate
The size
The material

Question 28

Talk about these electronic effects:

a) Distortion
b) Reverb
c) Chorus
d) Phaser
e) Flanger
f) Pitch shifting
g) Octave effects

Answer 28

a) Distorts the sound
b) Adds an echo
c) Makes it sound like there’s more then one player/ singer. Copies of the original sound are mixed together, with slight timing and pitch changes
d) Creates a “whooshing” effect (like an aeroplane)
e) Similar to a phaser, but more intense. It combines the original sound with a copy, varying the delay between them. Used lots in sci-fi
f) Bends the natural note or adds another harmony
g) Creates octaves above or below the played note

Question 29

What is the flanger effect?

Answer 29

Similar to a phaser (creates a “whooshing, aeroplane sound), but more intense. It combines the original sound with a copy, varying the delay between them. Used lots in sci-fi

Question 30

What’s the main difference between real and synthesized sounds?

Answer 30

The timbre changes depending on the volume of the real instrument, but on a synthesizer it remains the same sound

Question 31

What is sampling?

Answer 31

Recording an instrument and use the recording in your music. They can be altered with lots of computer programs, they can be looped, and other samples can be played over the top

Question 32

Name 3 types of guitar

Answer 32

Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar