2007 Fall Choir Final

Review sheet for Choir Comp 1st Semester

(Questions will be mostly multiple choice.)

Music – The organization of sounds with some degree of rhythm, melody, and harmony.

Note – The written symbols of music.

Chest Voice -The low register of the voice.

A cappella – Singing without accompaniment.

Alto – The lowest singing female voice.

Anthem – A choral composition, most often with religious lyric, with or without accompaniment, generally written for performances in churches.

Aria – An air or song for solo voice within an opera or oratorio.

Andantino – A tempo slightly faster than a moderate walking tempo.

Anacrusis – Pick up note

Art Song – A serious vocal composition, generally for voice and piano.

Arrangement – An adaptation of a composition.

Articulation – The degree to which notes are separated or connected, such as staccato or legato.

A Tempo – Return to the original tempo.

Balance – The harmonious adjustment of volume and timbre between instruments or voices.

Bocca Chiusa – Closed mouth. Singing or humming with closed lips.

Baritone – A low male singing voice between tenor and bass.

Bar Line – A vertical line that divides the musical staff into measures or bars.

Baton – The conductor’s stick.

Beats – A pulsation caused by 2 sound waves of slightly different frequency.

Bpm – Beats per minute.
Cantata – “Sung.” A multi-movement vocal work for concert or church performance by chorus and/or soloists and an accompanying instrumental ensemble.

Carol – A joyous song, usually sung at Christmas, and usually containing verses and a refrain.

Choir – A group of singers for sacred music.

Chorale – A German Lutheran hymn tune.

Chorus – A group of singers of secular music.

Close Harmony – Harmony in which notes of the chord are kept as close together as possible, often within an octave.

Coloratura – Elaborate ornamentation of the melodic line, usually by a vocalist. Also a voice type specializing in demanding virtuosity.

Common time – 4/4

Concert – A public performance of music.

Contralto – The lowest female voice

Coro – Choir or chorus

Cut time: 2/2 meter

Cycle – A set of songs meant to be performed as a whole.

Decrescendo – Gradually growing softer

Crescendo – Gradually growing louder

Degree – A note of a scale, identified by number.

Dolce - Sweetly

Doloroso – Sorrowful

Dramatic Soprano – A female singer with a slightly lower range than a Lyric Soprano.

Tenor – A high male voice between alto and baritone.

Soprano – The highest female voice.