Vocal Music Styles
These are the four primary voice parts in mixed voice choral music.
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
This musical symbol includes five lines and four spaces.
The Staff
In music that 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4, this note gets one beat.
Quarter note
This is the hollow organ which holds the vocal folds which is the source of the voice.
Larynx
This is the system of syllables we use to identify and sing notes.
Solfege
This vocal style features music that tells a story, with formally trained singers who have precise technique and wide vocal ranges.
Opera
This symbol helps you place notes on the staff and is frequently seen in treble or bass varieties.
A clef
In music that is 4/4, this note receives two beats.
Half note
For proper standing, singing posture, these should be held at the sides, not crossed in front of back.
Arms
This note is considered the "home" or "tonic" note in major keys.
Do
This 20th Century era includes rich harmonies, syncopated rhythms, "blue" notes, and improvised solos or scat syllables.
Jazz
This symbol appears at the beginning of the music, after the clef, and contains two important numbers.
The time signature
This symbol indicates silence within music.
Rest
This large, single muscle is located below the lungs and above the stomach and moves up and down to allow air into the lungs.
Diaphraghm
This is the fifth degree of the scale which also feels stable.
So
This style mixes the storytelling of a play alongside songs that help push the story forward, mixing vocal technique with acting and dancing abilities.
Musical Theater
Staccato
In a song in 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4 time, this note takes up half of a beat.
Eighth note
This should be lifted to create space in the throat when singing.
Soft palate
This is the sixth degree of the major and is the basis for the home tone of the minor scale.
La
Choral music from this era is often sung a cappella, and features independent melodic lines sung simultaneriously.
The Renaissance
These symbols lower or a raise a pitch and help determine the key signature of a piece of music.
Sharps and flats
This symbol above a note tells you to hold the note until the conductor signals you to cut off or move on.
Fermata (or Bird's Eye)
In a diphthong, or a sound formed by combining two vowel sounds, this is the vowel that should be held or emphasized.
The first vowel sound
(Example "I" - ah-ee)
This is the "leading tone" which strongly resolves up and half step.
Ti