Voices/ Ensembles/ Timbre Flashcards
What is a male soprano called?
A supr-man-o
Ha, terrible joke to keep you going. It’s actually:
A treble
What is the range for a soprano?
As it is a high female voice, it is roughly around middle C to the C 2 octaves above
What do you call the female vocalist halfway between a soprano and an alto?
A mezzo-soprano
List the different vocalist ranges with the highest at the top
Soprano/ Treble - high Mezzo-soprano ?Tenor ?Baritone ?Alto/ Counter-tenor Bass - very low
A baritone vocalist is higher than an alto, but lower than a counter tenor. True or false?
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
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
b) Soprano
e) Mezzo-soprano
a) Alto
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
d) Treble
c) Tenor
g) Baritone
f) Counter-tenor
h) Bass
What is a counter-tenor?
A male alto
What is the range of a bass vocalist?
Roughly from F below the bass clef to the E above middle C (also, this is a male part)
What is the range of a tenor, and what gender is this for?
It is a male part, with the range being roughly from the C below middle C to the G above
Which vocalist group is this range for?
The F below middle C to the F at the top of the treble clef stave
The Alto (a low female)
What is a word painting?
When the usic matches the words being sung. E.g. the word “crying” could be sung to a descending pattern of notes
What is a jazz style of singing which uses incomplete, nonsense syllables to give the voice more instrumental quality?
Scat
Who is the lead singer in Salsa music?
What is the choir know as?
The sonero
The choro
What is the difference between melismatic and syllabic?
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
Instruments in the same family have what?
Similar timbres
How would you describe the sound of these instruments?
a) Strings
b) Brass
c) Woodwind
a) Warm sound
b) Bright, metallic sound
c) Soft, mellow sound
How can singers change their sound/ timbre?
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
How does the timbre between woodwind instruments vary?
Edge-tone instruments (e.g. flutes) make a softer, breathier sound than reed instruments (e.g. clarinets)
What does the technique “bells up” mean?
When clarinets and oboes point the end of their instrument upwards, producing a harsher sound
How can brass players alter their timbre?
Con sordino - with a mute
How can the piano have it’s timbre altered?
When you press keys, a hammer hits the strings inside making it vibrate. The timbre can change by using the soft or sustain pedals
How can string instruments alter their their timbre?
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
Define these words:
a) Con arco
b) Con sordino
c) Sul ponticello
d) Bells up
e) Pizzicato
f) Double stopping
g) Tremelo
h) Vibrato
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)
How can you change the timbre of percussion instruments?
What you hit them with - sticks, brushes, hands
What is timbre?
The type of sound an instrument makes. Also known as tone colour
What can affect the timbre in general?
How the strings vibrate
The size
The material
Talk about these electronic effects:
a) Distortion
b) Reverb
c) Chorus
d) Phaser
e) Flanger
f) Pitch shifting
g) Octave effects
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
What is the flanger effect?
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
What’s the main difference between real and synthesized sounds?
The timbre changes depending on the volume of the real instrument, but on a synthesizer it remains the same sound
What is sampling?
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
Name 3 types of guitar
Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar
