Vocals
The rarest and lowest male voice type.
What is bass?
Notation that indicates to play with the bow.
What is arco?
A vocal technique standing in for a drum-set.
What is beatboxing?
Providing a general idea of pacing and flow through scribbles without necessarily being married to pitches or rhythms.
What is sketching?
Another name for a speaker that makes electric instruments louder.
What is an amplifier (amp)?
Though lyrics go below notes in vocal notation, these, in contrast with instrumental music, go above the notes.
What are dynamics?
Italian for plucking the strings, rather than bowing them.
What is pizzicato?
Rhythmic, often aggressive and fast style of spoken word or singing.
What is rapping?
The T in TOP. This is arguably the most important part of research through listening since it's dependent on you.
What is (personal) taste?
The acronym for a digital audio workspace/workstation, where sound can be edited with a variety of different tools.
What is a DAW?
The most common male voice type, right in the middle.
What is baritone?
The large instrument with a "C extension." It has an electric variant, without the extension.
What is the double bass?
A snapping sound, performed by pulling strings so far back that they snap against the fingerboard.
What is snap/Bartok pizz.?
The P in TOP. Something to consider for longevity in your career and good relations with performers.
What is practicality?
Device inlaid on an instrument that turns acoustic sound into electrically processed sounds.
What is a pickup?
A "voices only" passage or work.
What is a cappella?
The most proficient alto clef readers play this instrument.
What is the viola?
Changing the default tuning of a stringed instrument.
What is scordatura? What is alternate tuning?
The O in TOP. Technical things to consider about the instruments' roles before you even write a note.
What is orchestration?
A pedal effect that adds dissonance and noise to an otherwise clean guitar sound.
What is distortion?
The highest, brightest, and most agile operatic sub-category of female vocalists.
What is a coloratura soprano?
The tuning mechanisms that change all the strings for each specific pitch on the harp. Incidentally, guitarists have far too many of them for electronic processing.
What are pedals?
A very low, raspy sound from the voice without much clarity or volume.
What is vocal fry?
A composer/performer process that involves rehearsing, rounds of edits, and an improved overall experience for performer and audience.
What is workshopping?
A processing effect that changes the "depth" a soundwave has. This effect can make the listener perceive the sound as originating anywhere from a small, enclosed room, to a massive, open ampitheatre.
What is reverb?