1.
Music education
–
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. Music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement with music is considered a component of human culture. Music, like language, is an accomplishment that distinguishes humans as a species, during the 20th century, many distinctive approaches were developed or further refined for the teaching of music, some of which have had widespread impact. The Dalcroze method was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician, the Kodály Method emphasizes the benefits of physical instruction and response to music. The Orff Schulwerk approach to music education students to develop their music abilities in a way that parallels the development of western music. The Suzuki method creates the environment for learning music that a person has for learning their native language. Gordon Music Learning Theory provides the music teacher with a method for teaching musicianship through audiation, conversational Solfège immerses students in the musical literature of their own culture, in this case American. The Carabo-Cone Method involves using props, costumes, and toys for children to basic musical concepts of staff, note duration. The concrete environment of the specially planned classroom allows the child to learn the fundamentals of music by exploring through touch, popular music pedagogy is the systematic teaching and learning of rock music and other forms of popular music both inside and outside formal classroom settings. The MMCP aims to shape attitudes, helping students see music not as static content to be mastered, but as personal, current, American fiddler Mark OConnor developed a method of violin education that is designed to guide students in developing musical techniques necessary to become a proficient violinist. During its tenure, the Mumbai-based Boss School of Music developed a method of education using audio-visual technology, simplified concepts. In primary schools in European countries, children learn to play instruments such as keyboards or recorders, sing in small choirs. In countries such as India, the harmonium is used in schools, students are normally taught basics of Indian Raga music. In some secondary schools, additional classes may also be available. In junior high school or its equivalent, music continues to be a required part of the curriculum. In addition, most North American and European universities offer music ensembles - such as choir, concert band, marching band, most universities also offer degree programs in music education, certifying students as primary and secondary music educators. Advanced degrees such as the D. M. A. or the Ph. D can lead to university employment. The study of art music is increasingly common in music education outside of North America and Europe, including Asian nations such as South Korea, Japan
2.
Singing
–
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist, Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists, Singers may perform as soloists, or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised and it may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice, if practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific genre, such as classical or rock. They typically take voice training provided by teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers. Though these four mechanisms function independently, they are coordinated in the establishment of a vocal technique and are made to interact upon one another. During passive breathing, air is inhaled with the diaphragm while exhalation occurs without any effort, exhalation may be aided by the abdominal, internal intercostal and lower pelvis/pelvic muscles. Inhalation is aided by use of external intercostals, scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles, the pitch is altered with the vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called humming, humans have vocal folds which can loosen, tighten, or change their thickness, and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of the chest and neck, the position of the tongue, any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced. Sound also resonates within different parts of the body and an individuals size, Singers can also learn to project sound in certain ways so that it resonates better within their vocal tract. This is known as vocal resonation, another major influence on vocal sound and production is the function of the larynx which people can manipulate in different ways to produce different sounds. These different kinds of function are described as different kinds of vocal registers. The primary method for singers to accomplish this is through the use of the Singers Formant and it has also been shown that a more powerful voice may be achieved with a fatter and fluid-like vocal fold mucosa. The more pliable the mucosa, the more efficient the transfer of energy from the airflow to the vocal folds, Vocal registration refers to the system of vocal registers within the voice. A register in the voice is a series of tones, produced in the same vibratory pattern of the vocal folds
3.
Classical music
–
Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music, including both liturgical and secular music. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period, Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches, tempo, meter and rhythms for a piece of music. This can leave less room for such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation. The term classical music did not appear until the early 19th century, the earliest reference to classical music recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, the written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them, J. S. The use of written notation also preserves a record of the works, Musical notation enables 2000s-era performers to sing a choral work from the 1300s Renaissance era or a 1700s Baroque concerto with many of the features of the music being reproduced. That said, the score does not provide complete and exact instructions on how to perform a historical work, even if the tempo is written with an Italian instruction, we do not know exactly how fast the piece should be played. Bach was particularly noted for his complex improvisations, during the Classical era, the composer-performer Mozart was noted for his ability to improvise melodies in different styles. During the Classical era, some virtuoso soloists would improvise the cadenza sections of a concerto, during the Romantic era, Beethoven would improvise at the piano. The instruments currently used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century and they consist of the instruments found in an orchestra or in a concert band, together with several other solo instruments. The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for music and includes members of the string, woodwind, brass. The concert band consists of members of the woodwind, brass and it generally has a larger variety and number of woodwind and brass instruments than the orchestra but does not have a string section. However, many bands use a double bass. Many of the used to perform medieval music still exist. Medieval instruments included the flute, the recorder and plucked string instruments like the lute. As well, early versions of the organ, fiddle, Medieval instruments in Europe had most commonly been used singly, often self accompanied with a drone note, or occasionally in parts. From at least as early as the 13th century through the 15th century there was a division of instruments into haut, during the earlier medieval period, the vocal music from the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was monophonic, using a single, unaccompanied vocal melody line. Polyphonic vocal genres, which used multiple independent vocal melodies, began to develop during the medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later 13th
4.
Popular music
–
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training and it stands in contrast to both art music and traditional or folk music. Art music was historically disseminated through the performances of music, although since the beginning of the recording industry. Traditional music forms such as blues songs or hymns were passed along orally, or to smaller. The original application of the term is to music of the 1880s Tin Pan Alley period in the United States, although popular music sometimes is known as pop music, the two terms are not interchangeable. Popular music songs and pieces typically have easily singable melodies, in the 2000s, with songs and pieces available as digital sound files, it has become easier for music to spread from one country or region to another. Some popular music forms have become global, while others have an appeal within the culture of their origin. Through the mixture of genres, new popular music forms are created to reflect the ideals of a global culture. The examples of Africa, Indonesia and the Middle East show how Western pop music styles can blend with local traditions to create new hybrid styles. Sales of recordings or sheet music are one measure, middleton and Manuel note that this definition has problems because multiple listens or plays of the same song or piece are not counted. Manuel states that one criticism of music is that it is produced by large media conglomerates and passively consumed by the public. He claims that the listeners in the scenario would not have been able to make the choice of their favorite music, moreover, understandings of popular music have changed with time. A societys popular music reflects the ideals that are prevalent at the time it is performed or published, david Riesman states that the youth audiences of popular music fit into either a majority group or a subculture. The majority group listens to the commercially produced styles while the subcultures find a minority style to transmit their own values and this allows youth to choose what music they identify with, which gives them power as consumers to control the market of popular music. Form in popular music is most often sectional, the most common sections being verse, chorus or refrain, other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, chorus form *, and twelve-bar blues. Popular music songs are rarely composed using different music for each stanza of the lyrics, the verse and chorus are considered the primary elements. Each verse usually has the melody, but the lyrics change for most verses. The chorus usually has a phrase and a key lyrical line which is repeated
5.
Rock music
–
It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
6.
Gospel music
–
Gospel music is a music genre in Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music varies according to culture. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were repeated in a call and response fashion, most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella, the first published use of the term Gospel Song probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate. Gospel blues is a form of gospel music. Southern gospel used all male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet make-up, progressive Southern gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern gospel over the past couple of decades. Christian country music, sometimes referred to as gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. It peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s, bluegrass gospel music is rooted in American mountain music. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora, some proponents of standard hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, with distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals referencing lyrics of a Christian nature, subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel, Southern gospel, and modern gospel music. Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general
7.
Four-part harmony
–
The four main voices are typically labelled as, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Because most singers have a limited range, the upper notes of the soprano or tenor part cannot be sung by a bass singer. Conversely, the notes of the bass part typically cannot be reached by a soprano voice, with some notes so low that alto. Even groups of just four people, singing as quartets, can perform in four-part harmony, in the baroque era, a set of rules developed for voice leading in four-part harmony. The bass voice would be assigned the root of the chord, if the chord is a triad, the root is generally double by one of the other voices. Voices never cross, that is, the part would always be the highest in pitch, the next highest would be the alto, next the tenor. When two voices harmonized in perfect intervals, they were forbidden from staying in the perfect harmony in the next chord. In such cadences, the tones are required to resolve to the tone a half step away. That is, the voice that plays the 7th must also play the resolution up to the tonic, and if the chord is a dominant seventh. These rules are still obeyed now in four part harmonizations. Barbershop quartets, originally from English-speaking North America, usually consist of four men or women who sing first tenor, second tenor, baritone, and bass parts. A barbershop quartet typically sings with extra focus on emphasizing or exaggerating the harmonies in a piece of music, the supporting voices can provide counter-melodies, close harmonies, or a walking bass to the melody line, which is sung in a middle voice. The harmonies are typically rooted in the aesthetics of early 20th-century popular music. Cantu a tenore is a Sardinian style, traditionally sung by men, wherein the second highest voice sings the melody, the gospel quartet of the United States sings Christian material of a similar style to barbershop quartets, but may also include spirituals and traditional hymns. A Croatian klapa consists of four parts, sometimes doubled. Some music is written, in harmony, for small groups of only four instruments, such as a string quartet. For instance, string quartets sometimes feature four part harmonizations, with the playing the top two parts, the viola playing the tenor part, and the cello taking the bass part. Similar to vocal music, the first part for a section of instruments typically plays the melody line, in passages of a composition
8.
Ghostwriter
–
Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, memoirs, magazine articles, or other written material. In music, ghostwriters are often used to write songs, lyrics, screenplay authors can also use ghostwriters to either edit or rewrite their scripts to improve them. Usually, there is a confidentiality clause in the contract between the ghostwriter and the author that obligates the former to remain anonymous. Ghostwriting also occurs in other creative fields, ghosting also occurs in popular music. A pop music ghostwriter writes lyrics and a melody in the style of the credited musician, in hip hop music, the increasing use of ghostwriters by high-profile hip-hop stars has led to controversy. In the visual arts, it is not uncommon in either fine art or commercial art such as comics for a number of assistants to do work on a piece that is credited to a single artist. However, when credit is established for the writer, the acknowledgement of their contribution is public domain, a consultant or career-switcher may pay a ghostwriter to write a book on a topic in their professional area, to establish or enhance her credibility as an expert in their field. Public officials and politicians employ correspondence officers to respond to the volume of official correspondence. A number of papal encyclicals have been written by ghostwriters, some university and college students hire ghostwriters from essay mills to write entrance essays, term papers, theses, and dissertations. This is largely considered unethical unless the actual ghostwriting work is just light editing, ghostwriters are hired for numerous reasons. In many cases, celebrities or public figures do not have the time, discipline, or writing skills to write and research a several-hundred page autobiography or how-to book. Even if a celebrity or public figure has the skills to pen a short article, they may not know how to structure and edit a several-hundred page book so that it is captivating. Ghostwriters may have varying degrees of involvement in the production of a finished work, some ghostwriters are hired to edit and clean up a rough draft or partially completed work, while others are hired to do most of the writing based on an outline provided by the credited author. For some projects, such as creating an autobiography for a celebrity, ghostwriters are also hired to write fiction in the style of an existing author, often as a way of increasing the number of books that can be published by a popular author. Ghostwriters will often spend a period from several months to a year researching, writing. Ghostwriters are paid either per page, per each word or via total word count, with a fee, with a percentage of the royalties of the sales. The division of work between the ghostwriter and the credited author varies a great deal, in some cases, the ghostwriter is hired to edit a rough draft of a mostly completed manuscript. In this case, the outline, ideas and much of the language in the book or article are those of the credited author
9.
Lied
–
Lied originally denoted in classical music the setting of German poems to music, beginning in the late-fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries. It later came especially to refer to settings of Romantic poetry during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Examples include settings by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, among English speakers, however, Lied is often used interchangeably with art song to encompass works that the tradition has inspired in other languages. The poems that have made into Lieder often center on pastoral themes or themes of romantic love. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a singer and piano. Some of the most famous examples of Lieder are Schuberts Der Tod und das Mädchen, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Schubert and Schumann are most closely associated with this genre, mainly developed in the Romantic era. For German-speakers, the term Lied has a long history ranging from twelfth-century troubadour songs via folk songs, the word Lied for song first came into general use in German during the early fifteenth century, largely displacing the earlier word Gesang. The poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein is sometimes claimed as the creator of the Lied, because of his innovations in combining words and music. The late-fourteenth-century composer known as the Monk of Salzburg wrote six two-part Lieder which are older still, in Germany, the great age of song came in the nineteenth century. Schubert wrote over 600 songs, some of them in sequences or song cycles that relate an adventure of the rather than the body. The tradition was continued by Schumann, Brahms, and Hugo Wolf, and on into the 20th century by Strauss, Mahler, partisans of atonal music, such as Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, composed Lieder in their own style. England too had a flowering of song, more closely associated, however, with folk songs than with art songs, as represented by Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Ivor Gurney, and Gerald Finzi. At the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century, alphons Diepenbrock and Henk Badings composed Dutch, German, English, and French songs, as well as songs in Latin for choirs. Böker-Heil, Norbert, David Fallows, John H. Baron, James Parsons, Eric Sams, Graham Johnson, grove Music Online, edited by Deane L. Root. Oxford University Press, accessed December 26,2016, a Multitude of Voices, The Lied at Mid Century. In The Cambridge Companion to the Lied, edited by James Parsons, Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press. The Circulation of the Lied, The Double Life of an Art Form, in The Cambridge Companion to the Lied, edited by James Parsons, 301–14. Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press, the Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham
10.
Richard Wagner
–
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works and he described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and his advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music, Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, until his final years, Wagners life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century, his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, Richard Wagner was born to an ethnic German family in Leipzig, where his family lived at No. 3, the Brühl in the Jewish quarter and he was baptized at St. Thomas Church. He was the child of Carl Friedrich Wagner, who was a clerk in the Leipzig police service, and his wife, Johanna Rosine. Wagners father Carl died of typhus six months after Richards birth, afterwards his mother Johanna lived with Carls friend, the actor and playwright Ludwig Geyer. In August 1814 Johanna and Geyer probably married—although no documentation of this has found in the Leipzig church registers. She and her family moved to Geyers residence in Dresden, until he was fourteen, Wagner was known as Wilhelm Richard Geyer. He almost certainly thought that Geyer was his biological father, Geyers love of the theatre came to be shared by his stepson, and Wagner took part in his performances. In his autobiography Mein Leben Wagner recalled once playing the part of an angel, in late 1820, Wagner was enrolled at Pastor Wetzels school at Possendorf, near Dresden, where he received some piano instruction from his Latin teacher. He struggled to play a scale at the keyboard and preferred playing theatre overtures by ear. Following Geyers death in 1821, Richard was sent to the Kreuzschule, at the age of nine he was hugely impressed by the Gothic elements of Carl Maria von Webers opera Der Freischütz, which he saw Weber conduct. At this period Wagner entertained ambitions as a playwright and his first creative effort, listed in the Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis as WWV1, was a tragedy called Leubald. Begun when he was in school in 1826, the play was influenced by Shakespeare
11.
Yoga
–
Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga, the chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra. Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th, in the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more physical exercise, it has a meditative. One of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as an intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma. On December 1,2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage, in Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means to add, to join, to unite, or to attach in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, all further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as exertion, endeavour, zeal, there are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on such as connection, contact, union, method, application, addition. In simpler words, Yoga also means combined, thus, bhaktiyoga means devoted attachment in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a sense, meaning connection with a verb. But the same compound is given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras, designating the practical aspects of the philosophy. In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau is considered by commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras, according to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga or yuj samādhau. Someone who practices yoga or follows the philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini
12.
Barbershop quartet
–
A barbershop quartet is a quartet of singers who sing music in the barbershop genre. The baritone can sing either above or below the lead singer, quartets can be male or female, but are generally not mixed. Barbershop singing originated in the late 1800s and early 1900s of America, the African American influence is sometimes overlooked, although these quartets had a very formative role in the development of this style of singing. Some researchers view the style as a tradition based on the early musical features. The tenor generally harmonizes above the lead, making the part the highest in the quartet, notable examples of barbershop quartets which made use of the full-voiced tenor include The Buffalo Bills and Boston Common. The range of a tenor in barbershop music does not necessarily correspond to that of a tenors range in Classical repertoire. Lead usually sings the main melody, baritone often completes the chord with a medium voice. Bass always sings and harmonizes the lowest notes, gospel quartet Barbershop chorus Barbershop Harmony Society List of Barbershop Harmony Society quartet champions Media related to Barbershop quartets at Wikimedia Commons
13.
Recording studio
–
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties. The engineers and producers listen to the music and the recorded tracks on monitor speakers and/or headphones. Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, Isolation booths are small sound-insulated rooms with doors, designed for instrumentalists. This equipment may interfere with the recording process, Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with precision and accuracy. This will consist of both room treatment and soundproofing to prevent sound from leaving the property. Even though sound isolation is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see other, to see cue gestures. As such, the room, isolation booths, vocal booths. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments need to be maintained. However, it makes it convenient for recording artists, as they do not have to bring in large. As well, less costly studio time is spent moving in gear, drummers bring their own snare drum, cymbals and sticks/brushes. The types and brands of equipment owned by a studio depends on the styles of music for the bands. A studio that mainly records heavy metal music will be likely to have large, powerful guitar amp heads, in contrast, a studio which mainly records country bands will likely have a selection of small, vintage combo amps. A studio that records a lot of 1970s-style funk may have an electric piano. General purpose computers have rapidly assumed a role in the recording process. A computer thus outfitted is called a Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, other software applications include Ableton Live, Mixcraft, Cakewalk Sonar, ACID Pro, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, Auto-Tune, Audacity, and Ardour. While Apple Macintosh is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of available for Microsoft Windows. If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, the OTB is used when mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software
14.
Microphone
–
A microphone, colloquially nicknamed mic or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Several different types of microphone are in use, which employ different methods to convert the air pressure variations of a wave to an electrical signal. Microphones typically need to be connected to a preamplifier before the signal can be recorded or reproduced, in order to speak to larger groups of people, a need arose to increase the volume of the human voice. The earliest devices used to achieve this were acoustic megaphones, some of the first examples, from fifth century BC Greece, were theater masks with horn-shaped mouth openings that acoustically amplified the voice of actors in amphitheatres. In 1665, the English physicist Robert Hooke was the first to experiment with an other than air with the invention of the lovers telephone made of stretched wire with a cup attached at each end. German inventor Johann Philipp Reis designed an early sound transmitter that used a strip attached to a vibrating membrane that would produce intermittent current. Better results were achieved with the transmitter design in Scottish-American Alexander Graham Bells telephone of 1876 – the diaphragm was attached to a conductive rod in an acid solution. These systems, however, gave a poor sound quality. The first microphone that enabled proper voice telephony was the carbon microphone and this was independently developed by David Edward Hughes in England and Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US. Although Edison was awarded the first patent in mid-1877, Hughes had demonstrated his working device in front of many witnesses some years earlier, the carbon microphone is the direct prototype of todays microphones and was critical in the development of telephony, broadcasting and the recording industries. Thomas Edison refined the carbon microphone into his carbon-button transmitter of 1886 and this microphone was employed at the first ever radio broadcast, a performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1910. In 1916, E. C. Wente of Western Electric developed the next breakthrough with the first condenser microphone, in 1923, the first practical moving coil microphone was built. The Marconi Skykes or magnetophon, developed by Captain H. J. Round, was the standard for BBC studios in London and this was improved in 1930 by Alan Blumlein and Herbert Holman who released the HB1A and was the best standard of the day. Also in 1923, the microphone was introduced, another electromagnetic type, believed to have been developed by Harry F. Olson. Over the years these microphones were developed by companies, most notably RCA that made large advancements in pattern control. With television and film technology booming there was demand for high fidelity microphones, electro-Voice responded with their Academy Award-winning shotgun microphone in 1963. During the second half of 20th century development advanced quickly with the Shure Brothers bringing out the SM58, digital was pioneered by Milab in 1999 with the DM-1001. The latest research developments include the use of optics, lasers and interferometers
15.
Multitrack recording
–
Multitracking became possible in the mid-1950s when the idea of simultaneously recording different audio channels to separate discrete tracks on the same reel-to-reel tape was developed. Prior to the development of recording, all of the singers, band instrumentalists, and/or orchestra accompanists had to sing. Multitracking allowed the engineer to adjust the levels and tone of each individual track, as well, different electronic effects such as reverb could be applied to specific tracks, such as the lead vocals, while not being applied to other tracks where this effect would not be desirable. In the 1980s and 1990s, computers provided means by which sound recording and reproduction could be digitized, revolutionizing audio recording and distribution. Though magnetic tape has not been replaced as a recording medium. Even in the 2010s, with digital multitracking being the dominant technology, with the introduction of SMPTE timecode in the early 1970s, engineers began to use computers to perfectly synchronize separate audio and video playback, and or multiple audio tape machines. In this system, one track of each carried the timecode signal. Some large studios were able to link multiple 24-track machines together, an extreme example of this occurred in 1982, when the rock group Toto recorded Toto IV on three synchronized 24-track machines. This setup theoretically provided for up to 69 audio tracks, which is far more than necessary for most recording projects. For computer-based systems, the trend in the 2000s is towards unlimited numbers of tracks, although issues such as RAM memory. Moreover, on computer-based systems, the number of available recording tracks is limited by the number of sound card discrete analog or digital inputs. At any given point on the tape, any of the tracks on the device can be recording or playing back using sel-sync or Selective Synchronous recording. They might then record a version on track 4 while listening to the other tracks. All the tracks can then be played back in perfect synchrony and this can be repeated until all of the available tracks have been used, or in some cases, reused. During mix down a set of playback heads with higher fidelity are used. Before all tracks are filled, any number of existing tracks can be bounced into one or two tracks, and the original tracks erased, making room for more tracks to be reused for fresh recording. In 1963, The Beatles were using twin track for Please Please Me, the Beach Boys Pet Sounds also made innovative use of multitracking with 8-track machines of the day. Motown also began recording with 8-track machines in 1965 before moving to 16-track machines in mid-1969, a recording engineer can record only the section being worked on, without erasing any other section of that track
16.
Audio engineer
–
An audio engineer works on the recording, manipulating the record using equalization and electronic effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the. technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the physical recording of any project is done by an engineer. Many audio engineers creatively use technologies to produce sound for film, radio, television, music, electronic products and computer games. Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using an audio console, research and development audio engineers invent new technologies, equipment and techniques, to enhance the process and art of audio engineering. They might also be referred to as acoustic engineers, audio engineers in research and development usually possess a bachelors degree, masters degree or higher qualification in acoustics, physics, computer science or another engineering discipline. They might work in consultancy, specializing in architectural acoustics. Alternatively they might work in companies, or other industries that need audio expertise. Some positions, such as faculty require a Doctor of Philosophy, in Germany a Toningenieur is an audio engineer who designs, builds and repairs audio systems. The listed subdisciplines are based on PACS coding used by the Acoustical Society of America with some revision, audio engineers develop algorithms to allow the electronic manipulation of audio signals. These can be processed at the heart of audio production such as reverberation. Alternatively, the algorithms might carry out echo cancellation on Skype, or identify, architectural acoustics is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a room. For audio engineers, architectural acoustics can be about achieving good speech intelligibility in a stadium or enhancing the quality of music in a theatre, architectural Acoustic design is usually done by acoustic consultants. Electroacoustics is concerned with the design of headphones, microphones, loudspeakers, sound reproduction systems, examples of electroacoustic design include portable electronic devices, sound systems in architectural acoustics, surround sound in movie theater and vehicle audio. Musical acoustics is concerned with researching and describing the science of music, in audio engineering, this includes the design of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, the human voice, computer analysis of audio, music therapy, and the perception and cognition of music. Psychoacoustics is the study of how humans respond to what they hear. At the heart of audio engineering are listeners who are the final arbitrator as to whether a design is successful. The production, computer processing and perception of speech is an important part of audio engineering, ensuring speech is transmitted intelligibly, efficiently and with high quality, in rooms, through public address systems and through mobile telephone systems are important areas of study. Producer, engineer, and mixer Phil Ek has described audio engineering as the aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, the turning of pre-amp knobs
17.
Coffeehouse
–
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment which primarily serves hot coffee, related coffee beverages, tea, and other hot beverages. Some coffeehouses also serve cold beverages such as iced coffee and iced tea, many cafés also serve some type of food, such as light snacks, muffins, or pastries. Coffeehouses range from owner-operated small businesses to multinational corporations. A coffeehouse may share some of the characteristics of a bar or restaurant. Many coffee houses in the Middle East and in West Asian immigrant districts in the Western world offer shisha, espresso bars are a type of coffeehouse that specializes in serving espresso and espresso-based drinks. Since the development of Wi-Fi, coffeehouses with this capability have also become places for patrons to access the Internet on their laptops, a coffeehouse can serve as an informal club for its regular members. As early as the 1950s Beatnik era and the 1960s folk music scene, coffeehouses have hosted singer-songwriter performances, coffeehouses in Mecca became a concern as places for political gatherings to the imams, who banned them, as well as the drink, for Muslims between 1512 and 1524. In 1530, the first coffeehouse was opened in Damascus and not long there were many coffeehouses in Cairo. About that year, a fellow called Hakam from Aleppo and a wag called Shams from Damascus came to the city, they opened a large shop in the district called Tahtakale. Various legends involving the introduction of coffee to Istanbul at a Kiva Han in the late 15th century circulate in culinary tradition, resembling checkers, hopscotch, and chess, are played. In addition, mollas, dervishes, and poets take turns telling stories in verse or in prose, the narrations by the mollas and the dervishes are moral lessons, like our sermons, but it is not considered scandalous not to pay attention to them. No one is forced to give up his game or his conversation because of it. It often happens that two or three people talk at the time, one on one side, the other on the opposite, and sometimes one will be a preacher. The most common English spelling, café, is the French, Portuguese and Spanish spelling, thus the spelling cafe has become very common in English-language usage throughout the world, especially for the less formal, i. e. greasy spoon variety. The Italian spelling, caffè, is sometimes used in English. In southern England, especially around London in the 1950s, the French pronunciation was often altered to /ˈkæf/. The English words coffee and café both descend from the Italian word for coffee, caffè—first attested as caveé in Venice in 1570— and in turn derived from the Arabic qahuwa. The Arabic term qahuwa originally referred to a type of wine but after the ban by Mohammed
18.
Skype
–
Skype is an instant messaging app that provides online text message and video chat services. Users may transmit both text and video messages and may exchange digital documents such as images, text, Skype operate based on a freemium model. Much of the service is free, but Skype Credit or a subscription is required to call a landline or a phone number. At the end of 2010, there were over 660 million worldwide users, at one point in February 2012, there were thirty four million users concurrently online on Skype. In September 2005, eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion, Microsoft bought Skype in May 2011 for $8.5 billion. Skype division headquarters are in Luxembourg but most of the development team and 44% of all the employees are still situated in Tallinn and Tartu. Skype allows users to communicate over the Internet by voice using a microphone, by using a webcam. Skype-to-Skype calls to other users are free of charge, while calls to landline telephones, Skype originally featured a hybrid peer-to-peer and client–server system. Skype has been powered entirely by Microsoft-operated supernodes since May 2012, the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures revealed that Microsoft had granted intelligence agencies unfettered access to supernodes and Skype communication content. The name for the software is derived from Sky peer-to-peer, which was abbreviated to Skyper. However, some of the names associated with Skyper were already taken. Dropping the final r left the current title Skype, for domain names were available. Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström, from Sweden, the Skype software was created by Estonians Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan Tallinn. The first public version was released on 29 August 2003. In June 2005, Skype entered into an agreement with the Polish web portal Onet. pl for an offering on the Polish market. On 10 May 2011, Microsoft Corporation acquired Skype Communications, S. à r. l for US$8.5 billion, the company was incorporated as a division of Microsoft, which acquired all Its technologies with the purchase. This was completed on 13 October 2011 and this app became downloadable from the Windows Store when the new OS launched on 26 October 2012. When the company introduced Office 2013 on 27 February 2013, it was announced that 60 Skype world minutes per month would be included in Office 365 consumer plans, on 11 November 2014, Microsoft announced that in 2015 Lync would be replaced by Skype for Business
19.
FaceTime
–
FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime Audio is an audio-only version, FaceTime is available on supported mobile devices that run on iOS and Macintosh computers that run Mac OS X10.6.6 onwards. The video version of FaceTime supports any iOS device with a camera and any Macintosh computer equipped with a FaceTime Camera. FaceTime Audio is available on any iOS device that supports iOS7 or newer, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced FaceTime on June 7,2010, in conjunction with the iPhone 4, in a keynote speech at the 2010 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Support for the fourth generation iPod Touch was announced in conjunction with this release on September 8,2010. Apple bought the FaceTime name from FaceTime Communications, who changed their name to Actiance, FaceTime for Mac OS X was announced on October 20,2010 at the Back to the Mac Media event on the Apple Campus. On February 24,2011, FaceTime left beta and was listed in the Mac App Store for $0.99, the free beta is still available for download from the Apple servers. FaceTime is included for free in OS X from Mac OS X Lion onwards, on March 2,2011, FaceTime support was announced for the newly introduced iPad 2, which gained forward- and rear-facing cameras. AT&T allowed customers to use FaceTime as long as they were tiered and they were brought before the Federal Communications Commission for net neutrality violations. On May 2011, it was found that FaceTime would work seamlessly over 3G on all iPhone, iPad, even though FaceTime worked only over 3G at that time, it now supports 4G LTE calls on networks all over the world, availability being limited to operators GSM plans. FaceTime works by connecting an iPhone 4 or later, a fourth generation iPod Touch or later, FaceTime is currently incompatible with non-Apple devices or any other video calling services. Mac models introduced in 2011 introduced high-definition video FaceTime, which devices use automatically when both ends have a FaceTime HD camera, unlike Mac OS Xs iChat, FaceTime does not support group conferencing. The application is a one-on-one video chat—only two people can talk at once, if a second user calls and the user answers, the video chat with the previous user ends and a new video session begins with the second caller. In iPhone, if a call is pending and the user attempts to answer, the video call ends. Unlike Skype, a multi-person video chatting application, FaceTime specializes in one-to-one video chatting, in particular, when FaceTiming with someone and you receive messages, emails, or other notifications, when you look at them the FaceTime chat will be paused. On the iPhone, a user can activate FaceTime during a call by pressing the FaceTime button. IOS7 and newer also provide a separate FaceTime app, as there always has been on Apples non-telephony devices, iPad, iPod Touch, until the release of iOS6, FaceTime required a WiFi connection to work. FaceTime Audio uses about three megabytes of data for five minutes of conversation, with FaceTime Video using significantly more
20.
Accompaniment
–
Accompaniment is the musical parts which provide the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music, in homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords. In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the beat for the music, the accompaniment for a vocal melody or instrumental solo can be played by a single musician playing an instrument such as piano, pipe organ, or guitar. A solo singer can accompany herself by playing guitar or piano while she sings, and in rare cases. With choral music, the accompaniment to a vocal solo can be provided by other singers in the choir, accompaniment parts range from so simple that a beginner can play them to so complex that only an advanced player or singer can perform them. An accompanist is a musician who plays an accompaniment part, accompanists often play keyboard instruments (e. g. piano, pipe organ, synthesizer or, in folk music and traditional styles, a guitar. A number of classical pianists have found success as accompanists rather than soloists, arguably the best known example is Gerald Moore, the accompaniment instrumentalists and/or singers can be provided with a fully notated accompaniment part written or printed on sheet music. This is the norm in Classical music and in most large ensemble writing, chord-playing musicians can improvise chords, fill-in melodic lines and solos from the chord chart. It is rare for chords to be written out in music notation in pop. Some guitarists, bassists and other stringed instrumentalists read accompaniment parts using tabulature, drummers can play accompaniment by following the lead sheet, a sheet music part in music notation, or by playing by ear. In some cases, an arranger or composer may give a bassist a bass part that is written out in music notation. Comping Counter-melody Figure Figured bass Guitar picking Hauptstimme Strum The dictionary definition of accompaniment at Wiktionary
21.
Bassline
–
It is also used sometimes in classical music. In solo music for piano and pipe organ, these instruments have an excellent lower register that can be used to play a deep bassline, on organs, the bass line is typically played using the pedal keyboard and massive 16 and 32 bass pipes. Basslines in popular music often use riffs or grooves, which are simple, appealing musical motifs or phrases that are repeated, with variation. The bass differs from other voices because of the role it plays in supporting and defining harmonic motion. It does so at levels ranging from immediate, chord-by-chord events to the harmonic organization of a entire work. Bassline riffs usually emphasize the chord tones of each chord, which helps to define a songs key, at the same time, basslines work along with the drum part and the other rhythm instruments to create a clear rhythmic pulse. The type of rhythmic pulse used in basslines varies widely in different types of music, in swing jazz and jump blues, basslines are often created from a continuous sequence of quarter notes in a mostly scalar, stepwise part called a walking bass line. In Latin, salsa music, jazz fusion, reggae, electronica, in bluegrass and traditional country music, basslines often emphasize the root and fifth of each chord. In classical music such as string quartets and symphonies, basslines play the same harmonic and rhythmic role, however, most popular musical ensembles include an instrument capable of playing bass notes. In the 1890s, a tuba was often used, from the 1920s to the 1940s, most popular music groups used the double bass as the bass instrument. Starting in the 1950s, the bass guitar began to replace the bass in most types of popular music, such as rock and roll, blues. By the 1970s and 1980s, the bass was used in most rock bands. The double bass was used in some types of popular music that recreated styles from the 1940s and 1950s such as jazz, traditional 1950s blues, jump blues, country. In some popular bands, keyboard instruments are used to play the bass line. In organ trios, for example, a Hammond organ player performs the basslines using the pedal keyboard. In some types of music, such as hip-hop or house music. Basslines are especially important in many forms of dance and electronic music, such as electro, drum and bass, dubstep, and most forms of house and trance. In these genres, basslines are almost always performed on synthesizers, either physical, such as the Minimoog, chinese orchestras use the zhōng ruǎn and dà ruǎn for creating basslines
22.
Chord (music)
–
A chord, in music, is any harmonic set of pitches consisting of two or more notes that are heard as if sounding simultaneously. In everyday use by musical ensembles such as bands and orchestras, however, the notes of a chord do not have to be played together at the same time, arpeggios and broken chords may, for many practical and theoretical purposes, also constitute chords. Other chords with more than three notes include added tone chords, extended chords and tone clusters, which are used in classical music, jazz. Triads commonly found in the Western classical tradition are major and minor chords, the descriptions major, minor, augmented, and diminished are referred to collectively as chordal quality. Chords are also classified by their root note—for instance, a C major triad consists of the pitch classes C, E. While most chords have at least three notes, power chords, which are used in rock music, particularly in hard rock. An ordered series of chords is called a chord progression, one example of a widely used chord progression in Western traditional music and blues is the 12 bar blues progression, the simplest versions of which include tonic, subdominant and dominant chords. To describe this, Western music theory has developed the practice of numbering chords using Roman numerals which represent the number of steps up from the tonic note of the scale. Common ways of notating or representing chords in Western music include Roman numerals, figured bass, macro symbols, the chords in a song or piece are also given names which refer to their function. The chord built on the first note of a scale is called the tonic chord. The chord built on the note of a major scale is called the subdominant chord. The chord built on the degree of the major scale is called the dominant chord. There are names for the built on every note of the major scale. Chords can be played on instruments, including piano, pipe organ, guitar. Chords can also be performed when multiple musicians play together in an ensemble or when multiple singers sing in a choir. The English word chord derives from Middle English cord, a shortening of accord in the sense of agreement and later. A sequence of chords is known as a progression or harmonic progression. These are frequently used in Western music, a chord progression aims for a definite goal of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord
23.
Melody
–
A melody, also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively and it may be considered the foreground to the background accompaniment. A line or part need not be a foreground melody, melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms. Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion or the pitches or the intervals between pitches, pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, the true goal of music—its proper enterprise—is melody. All the parts of harmony have as their purpose only beautiful melody. Therefore, the question of which is the significant, melody or harmony, is futile. Beyond doubt, the means is subordinate to the end, given the many and varied elements and styles of melody many extant explanations confine us to specific stylistic models, and they are too exclusive. Paul Narveson claimed in 1984 that more than three-quarters of melodic topics had not been explored thoroughly, melodies in the 20th century utilized a greater variety of pitch resources than ha been the custom in any other historical period of Western music. While the diatonic scale was used, the chromatic scale became widely employed. Composers also allotted a structural role to the dimensions that previously had been almost exclusively reserved for pitch. Kliewer states, The essential elements of any melody are duration, pitch, and quality, texture, for example, Jazz musicians use the term lead or head to refer to the main melody, which is used as a starting point for improvisation. Rock music, melodic music, and other forms of popular music, indian classical music relies heavily on melody and rhythm, and not so much on harmony, as the music contains no chord changes. Balinese gamelan music often uses complicated variations and alterations of a melody played simultaneously. In western classical music, composers often introduce an initial melody, or theme, classical music often has several melodic layers, called polyphony, such as those in a fugue, a type of counterpoint. Often, melodies are constructed from motifs or short melodic fragments, richard Wagner popularized the concept of a leitmotif, a motif or melody associated with a certain idea, person or place. Appropriation Hocket Parsons code, a notation used to identify a piece of music through melodic motion—the motion of the pitch up. Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. p. 517–19, the Art of Melody, p. xix–xxx. A Textbook of Melody, A course in functional melodic analysis, a History Of Melody, Barrie and Rockliff, London
24.
Choir
–
A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical repertoire, which spans from the Medieval era to the present. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, a body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is often applied to groups affiliated with a church and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls. Choirs may sing without instrumental accompaniment, with the accompaniment of a piano or pipe organ, with a small ensemble, choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Other than four, the most common number of parts are three, five, six, and eight, choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is called a cappella singing, many choirs perform in one or many locations such as a church, opera house, or school hall. In some cases choirs join up to become one mass choir that performs for a special concert, in this case they provide a series of songs or musical works to celebrate and provide entertainment to others. Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as a concert, by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face. The primary duties of the conductor or choirmaster are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble. The conductor or choral director typically stands on a raised platform, many choral conductors use their hands to conduct. In the 2010s, most conductors do not play an instrument when conducting, although in earlier periods of music history. In Baroque music from the 1600s to the 1750s, conductors performing in the 2010s may lead an ensemble while playing a harpsichord or the violin, conducting while playing a piano may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras. Communication is typically non-verbal during a performance, however, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be sung. Conductors act as guides to the choirs they conduct and they choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments, work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the singers. Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as if the choir is singing a piece for choir. They may also attend to matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions
25.
Opera
–
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
26.
Voice type
–
Other considerations are physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal register. A singers voice type is identified by a known as voice classification, by which the human voice is evaluated. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing, voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. Voice classification is a tool for singers, composers, venues, while useful, voice classification systems have been used too rigidly, i. e. a house assigning a singer to a specific type and only casting him or her in roles they consider belonging to this category. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits his or her instrument, many different voice types are used in vocal pedagogy in a variety of voice classification systems. Most of these types, however, are grouped into seven major categories that are, for the most part. Women are typically divided into three groups, soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto, men are usually divided into four groups, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. Some women fall into the tenor or baritone groups, while men identified as countertenors can be grouped as contralto, mezzo-soprano, when considering the pre-pubescent voice, an eighth term, treble, is applied. Within each of these categories, subcategories identify specific vocal qualities such as coloratura facility. The vocal range of classical performance covers about five octaves, from a low G1 to a high G6, any individuals voice can perform over a range of one and a half to more than two octaves. Vocal ranges are grouped into overlapping types that each span two octaves. Many singers fall between groups and can perform some parts in either type, soprano range, The soprano is the highest singing voice. The typical soprano voice lies between C4 and C6, the low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3. Most soprano roles do not extend above C6 although there are several standard soprano roles that call for D6, at the highest extreme, some coloratura soprano roles may reach to F6. Soprano tessitura, The tessitura of the soprano voice lies higher than all the other voices except the sopranino, in particular, the coloratura soprano has the highest tessitura of all the soprano subtypes. Soprano subtypes, As with all types, sopranos are often divided into different subcategories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of voice. Sopranos are often broken down into five subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the Dugazon and the Falcon, which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano. A Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico
27.
Bass (voice type)
–
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C. Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the basso cantante, basso buffo, the American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German fach system offers further distinctions, Spielbaß, Schwerer Spielbaß, Charakterbaß, rare is the performer who embodies a single fach without also touching repertoire from another category. Cultural influence and individual variation create a variation in range. Many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass that center far higher than the bass tessitura as implied by the clef, the Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C. The bass has the lowest vocal range of all voice types, the low extreme for basses is generally C2. However, several extreme bass singers, referred to as basso profondos, within opera, the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D2, sung by the character Osmin in Mozarts Die Entführung aus dem Serail, but few roles fall below F2. The high extreme, a few roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F♯ or G. In the operatic repertoire, the highest notes are a G♯4 and, in the aria Fra lombre e glorrori in Handels serenata Aci. Basso cantante is a higher, more lyrical voice and it is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, the bass-baritone. Hoher Bass or high bass or often a dramatic bass-baritone, jugendlicher Bass denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the fool in bel canto operas. English equivalent, dramatic bass Basso profondo is the lowest bass voice type, steane in Voices, Singers & Critics, the basso profondo voice derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato. Dramatic basso profondo is a basso profondo voice
28.
Baritone
–
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice types. It is the most common male voice, the baritone voice type is generally divided into the baryton-Martin baritone, lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone. The first use of the term baritone emerged as baritonans, late in the 15th century, at this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices, but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the average male choral voice. Baritones took roughly the range as it is today at the beginning of the 18th century. Indeed, many works of the 18th century have roles marked as bass that in reality are low baritone roles. Examples of this are to be found, for instance, in the operas, the greatest and most enduring parts for baritones in 18th-century operatic music were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They include Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in The Magic Flute and these included the likes of Filippo Galli, Giovanni Inchindi, and Henri-Bernard Dabadie. The basse-taille and the bass were commonly confused because their roles were sometimes sung by singers of either actual voice part. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in the early 19th century supplanted the castrato-dominated opera seria of the previous century and it led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains, the principal composers of bel canto opera are considered to be, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and the young Giuseppe Verdi. Figaro in Il barbiere is often called the first true baritone role, however, Donizetti and Verdi in their vocal writing went on to emphasize the top fifth of the baritone voice, rather than its lower notes—thus generating a more brilliant sound. The major international baritone of the first half of the 19th century was the Italian Antonio Tamburini and he was a famous Don Giovanni in Mozarts eponymous opera as well as being a Bellini and Donizetti specialist. Commentators praised his voice for its beauty, flexibility and smooth tonal emission, Tamburinis range, however, was probably closer to that of a bass-baritone than to that of a modern Verdi baritone. His French equivalent was Henri-Bernard Dabadie, who was a mainstay of the Paris Opera between 1819 and 1836 and the creator of several major Rossinian baritone roles, including Guillaume Tell. Dabadie sang in Italy, too, where he originated the role of Belcore in Lelisir damore in 1832, the most important of Tamburinis Italianate successors were all Verdians. In France, Paul Barroilhet succeeded Dabadie as the Paris operas best known baritone, like Dabadie, he also sang in Italy and created an important Donizetti role, in his case, Alphonse in La favorite. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian buffo baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I, reveling in comic roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer. In 1893, he created the part of Ford in Verdis last opera, notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle, Victor Maurel, Paul Lhérie, and Maurice Renaud
29.
Tenor
–
Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenors vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and A4, the A above middle C, in solo work, this range extends up to C5, or tenor high C. The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2, at the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The tenor voice type is divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor. The name tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means to hold, in medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, until the late 16th century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts, thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked tenor indicated the parts role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the century, partbooks labelled tenor might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is one of the highest of the voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the tenor repertoire is probably A♭2 in Rossinis rarely performed La donna del lago in the role of Rodrigo di Dhu. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2, a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a tenor C. Some of the few top Cs in the operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, in the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of concert pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura, the typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E♭5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3, voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas, The lyric tenor is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy
30.
Countertenor
–
Countertenors often are baritones or tenors at core, but rarely use this vocal range in performance. The term first came into use in England during the mid-17th century, however, the use of adult male falsettos in polyphony, commonly in the alto range, was common in all-male sacred choirs for some decades previous, as early as the mid-16th century. Modern-day ensembles such as The Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen maintain the use of male altos in period works, during the Romantic period, the popularity of the countertenor voice waned and few compositions were written with that voice type in mind. Although the voice has been considered largely an early music phenomenon, in polyphonic compositions of the 14th and early 15th centuries, the contratenor was a voice part added to the basic two-part contrapuntal texture of discant and tenor. Though having approximately the range as the tenor, it was generally of a much less melodic nature than either of these other two parts. Later the term became obsolete, in Italy, contratenor altus became simply altus, in France, haute-contre, though originally these words were used to designate a vocal part, they are now used to describe singers of that part, whose vocal techniques may differ. In the Catholic Church during the Renaissance, St Pauls admonition mulieres in ecclesiis taceant still prevailed, countertenors, though rarely described as such, therefore found a prominent part in liturgical music, whether singing a line alone or with boy trebles or altos. However, countertenors were never used for roles in early opera, for example, they took several roles in the first performance of Monteverdis LOrfeo. Castrati were already prominent by this date in Italian church choirs, in Italian opera, by the late seventeenth century castrati predominated, while in France, the modal high tenor, called the haute-contre, was established as the voice of choice for leading male roles. In England Purcell wrote significant music for a male voice that he called a counter-tenor, for example. These lines have often challenged modern singers, who have been unsure whether they are high tenor parts or are meant for falsettists. Such is the case in Hail, bright Cecilia in which the solo, Tis Natures Voice, has the range F3 to B♭4, whereas, in the duet, Hark each tree, the countertenor soloist sings from E4 to D5. In parallel, by Handels time, castrati had come to dominate the English operatic stage as much as that of Italy and they also sang the alto parts in Handels choruses. It was as choral singers within the Anglican church tradition that survived as performers throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Otherwise they largely faded from public notice, the most visible person of the countertenor revival in the twentieth century was Alfred Deller, an English singer and champion of authentic early music performance. Deller initially identified as an alto, but his collaborator Michael Tippett recommended the term countertenor to describe his voice. In the 1950s and 60s, his group, the Deller Consort, was important in increasing awareness of Renaissance. Deller was the first modern countertenor to achieve fame, and has had many prominent successors, benjamin Britten wrote the leading role of Oberon in his setting of A Midsummer Nights Dream especially for Deller
31.
Contralto
–
A contralto is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto voice type is divided into the coloratura, lyric. Contralto is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, the term contralto is only applied to female singers, men singing in a similar range are called countertenors. A true contralto is often regarded as the rarest of the female voices, some vocal theorists have found that the vocal folds are thicker than those present in other female voices. Studies have used cameras to photograph visible differences which are found in countertenors. The contralto has the lowest vocal range of the voice types. The contralto voice range is between tenor and mezzo-soprano, although tenors and baritones are usually male singers, some women can sing as low and are called female tenors or female baritones. With the exception of very rare female singers, such terms are usually informal, more formal terminology would be contralto profundo and contralto basso or oktavistka but these are not traditionally named among the fach system. Some of the rare contraltos that can sing the female equivalent of tenor and baritone include Zarah Leander, Ruby Helder, within the contralto voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories, coloratura contralto, lyric contralto, and dramatic contralto. Given its deviations from the norms, this voice type is quite rare. The lyric contralto voice is lighter than a dramatic contralto but not capable of the ornamentation and this class of contralto, lighter in timbre than the others, is the most common today and usually ranges from the E below middle C to the second G above middle C. The dramatic contralto is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest contralto voice, usually having a heavier tone, singers in this class are rare. True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them, a common saying among contraltos is that they may play only witches, bitches, or britches. Examples of contralto roles in the operatic repertoire include the following. * indicates a role that may also be sung by a mezzo-soprano, category of contraltos List of operatic contraltos Fach, the German system for classifying voices Voice classification in non-classical music List of contraltos in non-classical music Coffin, Berton. Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol.1, vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Media related to Contralto vocalists at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of Contralto at Wiktionary
32.
Mezzo-soprano
–
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-sopranos vocal range extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above. In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C, the mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano. Mezzo-sopranos are well represented in music, early music. Some roles designated for lighter soubrette sopranos are sung by mezzo-sopranos, such roles include Despina in Mozarts Così fan tutte and Zerlina in his Don Giovanni. Mezzos sometimes play dramatic soprano roles such as Santuzza in Mascagnis Cavalleria rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdis Macbeth, the vocal range of the mezzo-sopranos lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos, the mezzo-soprano voice resonates in a higher range than that of a contralto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, usually men singing within the female range are called countertenors since there is a lighter more breathy tonal quality difference. Within the mezzo-soprano voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories, coloratura mezzo-soprano, lyric mezzo-soprano, and dramatic mezzo-soprano, a coloratura mezzo-soprano has a warm lower register and an agile high register. The roles they sing often demand not only the use of the register but also leaps into the upper tessitura with highly ornamented. They have a range from approximately the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C, some coloratura mezzo-sopranos can sing up to high C or high D, but this is very rare. What distinguishes these voices from being called sopranos is their extension into the register and warmer vocal quality. Although coloratura mezzo-sopranos have impressive and at times thrilling high notes, they are most comfortable singing in the middle of their range, many of the hero roles in the operas of Handel and Monteverdi, originally sung by male castrati, can be successfully sung today by coloratura mezzo-sopranos. Rossini demanded similar qualities for his heroines, and Vivaldi wrote roles frequently for this voice as well. Coloratura mezzo-sopranos also often sing lyric-mezzo-soprano roles or soubrette roles, coloratura mezzo-soprano roles in operas, The lyric mezzo-soprano has a range from approximately the G below middle C to the A two octaves above middle C. This voice has a smooth, sensitive and at times lachrymose quality. Lyric mezzo-sopranos do not have the agility of the coloratura mezzo-soprano or the size of the dramatic mezzo-soprano. The lyric mezzo-soprano is ideal for most trouser roles and this voice has less vocal facility than the coloratura mezzo-soprano
33.
Soprano
–
A soprano is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The sopranos vocal range is from approximately middle C =261 Hz to high A =880 Hz in choral music, in four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto. The lyric soprano is the most common female singing voice, the word soprano comes from the Italian word sopra, as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. The term soprano is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, the word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types, a soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3 or B♭3, within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F3. Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, however, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is soprano C, a couple of roles have optional E♭6s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E♭6 on up to F6, in rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G6 or G♯6, such as Mozarts concert aria Popoli di Tessaglia. Or the title role of Jules Massenets opera Esclarmonde, while not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, a singers tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, the coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura, Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately low B to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, the soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre
34.
Fach
–
The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries, the Fach system is a convenience for singers and opera houses. It prevents a singer from being asked to sing roles which they are incapable of performing, below is a list of Fächer, their ranges as written on sheet music, and roles generally considered appropriate to each. When two names for the Fach are given, the first is in common use today. Where possible, an English and/or Italian equivalent of each Fach is listed, however, in addition, roles traditionally more difficult to cast may be given to a voice other than the traditional Fach. For instance, the Queen of the Night is more traditionally a dramatic coloratura role, therefore, the role is often sung by a lyric coloratura. English equivalent, coloratura soprano or lyric coloratura soprano Range, From about middle C to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C Description, can often have small voices lacking the richness and resonance of a dramatic soprano. Must be able to do fast acrobatics with easy high notes, many have extremely high ranges, but there are also singers in this Fach who do not regularly sing higher than the high E-flat. Often heavier and more lyrical than a coloratura soprano, must also be able to do fast vocal acrobatics and reach high notes, such as the F6 of the Queen of the Night. A singer that sings Konstanze, Donna Anna or Fiordiligi can not necessarily sing the Italian dramatic coloratura parts, imogene, Leonora and Violetta require a dramatic soprano voice and are most often sung by dramatic sopranos with an agile voice that can easily produce coloratura and high notes. Giuseppe Verdi wrote many parts like this in his early years, the range is usually intermediate between that of a coloratura and lyric soprano. Most sopranos start out as soubrettes, changing fach as the voice matures, the voice is very common, thus the purity and character of the basic timbre is essential. However, there are several lyric sopranos that possess a quantity of many of these vocal attributes, nevertheless, the core of the true fundamentally lyric voice does not encompass such traits. Innocence, vulnerability and pathos are usually conveyed in the music written for the characters portrayed by the lyric soprano because of this endearing simplicity and this fach is also famous because the voices usually remain especially fresh until advanced age. However this is not accurate in terms of these singers vocal production, a lyric dramatic soprano has a lyric instrument that can also create big sounds, cutting through an orchestral or choral climax. This voice is sometimes referred to as a young or youthful dramatic soprano although this doesnt necessarily refer to the singers age. This fach is more clearly delineated in the German system than in the American system, depending on the singer, however, this voice type can be versatile, as it lies at neither extreme of the soprano spectrum. Spintos are occasionally able to take on lighter mezzo roles, or, conversely, lyric, dramatic sopranos are not expected to have the vocal flexibility of the lighter Fächer
35.
Coloratura
–
The word Coloratura is originally from Italian, literally meaning coloring, and derives from the Latin word colorare. It is also now used to refer to passages of such music, operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part. In these early texts the term is dealt with briefly and always with reference to Italian usage, the term coloratura is most commonly applied to the elaborate and florid figuration or ornamentation in classical and romantic vocal music. In the modern musicological sense the term is used to refer to florid music from all periods of music history. Despite its derivation from Latin colorare, the term coloratura does not apply to the practice of coloring the voice, the term is not restricted to describing any one range of voice. All female and male voice types may achieve mastery of coloratura technique, there are coloratura parts for all voice types in different musical genres. Nevertheless, the coloratura, when used without further qualification. A coloratura soprano has the ability to produce notes above high C. Examples of coloratura music for different voice ranges include, Mozarts Allelujah may be arranged for and sung by a properly trained contralto, the piece was written for soprano castrato. The aria Every valley shall be exalted from Handels Messiah is an example of a piece for tenor. Each singer of a role in Rossinis operas must have a secure coloratura technique. Osmin, a character in Mozarts The Abduction from the Seraglio, is a role for a bass. A modern example is I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung, sung by the part of Jiang Qing in the John Adams opera Nixon in China. Glitter And Be Gay from Leonard Bernsteins comic operetta, Candide Agitata da due venti a coloratura mezzo-soprano aria, medieval coloration Apel, Willi, ed. Harvard Dictionary of Music, second edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, randel, Don Michael, ed. Apel, Willi, ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
36.
Chest voice
–
Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles. The term was later redefined during the bel canto period when it was identified as the lowest of three registers, the chest, passaggio and head registers. This approach is still taught by some vocal pedagogists today, however as knowledge of human physiology has increased over the past two hundred years, so has the understanding of the physical process of singing and vocal production. As a result, many vocal pedagogists have redefined or even abandoned the use of the term chest voice, for this reason, many vocal pedagogists argue that it is meaningless to speak of registers being produced in the chest. The vibratory sensations which are felt in these areas are resonance phenomena and should be described in terms related to vocal resonance and these vocal pedagogists prefer the term chest voice over the term chest register. These vocal pedagogists also hold many of the problems which people identify as register problems are really problems of resonance adjustment. This helps to explain the controversy over this terminology, also, the term chest register is not used within speech pathology and is not one of the four main vocal registers identified by speech pathologists. For the purposes of article, the term chest voice is adopted as it is less controversial. The contemporary use of the term chest voice often refers to a kind of vocal coloration or vocal timbre. In classical singing, its use is limited entirely to the part of the modal register or normal voice. Chest timbre can add an array of sounds to a singers vocal interpretive palette. The introduction of chest timbre is common to singers trained in the historic Italian school, such approval or disapproval is largely an aesthetic decision. However, the use of overly strong chest voice in the registers in an attempt to hit higher notes in the chest can lead to forcing. Forcing can lead consequently to vocal deterioration, as the opinions on what exactly chest voice is vary greatly, there is no one consensus on the physiological production of chest voice. This closure cuts off the escaping air, when the air pressure in the trachea rises as a result of this closure, the folds are blown apart, while the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilages remain in apposition. This creates an oval shaped gap between the folds and some air escapes, lowering the pressure inside the trachea, rhythmic repetition of this movement a certain number of times a second creates a pitched note. This is how the chest voice is created and this view believes that the chest voice is a product not of vocal registration but vocal resonation
37.
Crooner
–
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of jazz standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, backed by either a full orchestra, a big band or a piano. Originally it was a term denoting a sentimental singing style made possible by the use of microphones. Some performers, such as Russ Columbo, did not accept the term and this dominant popular vocal style coincided with the advent of radio broadcasting and electrical recording. Before the advent of the microphone, popular singers like Al Jolson had to project to the seats of a theater, as did opera singers. The microphone made possible the more personal style and he could be heard by anyone with a phonograph or a radio. His first film, The Vagabond Lover, was promoted with the line, while his success brought press warnings of the Vallee Peril, this punk from Maine with the dripping voice required mounted police to beat back screaming, swooning females at his vaudeville shows. Even The New York Times predicted that crooning would be just a passing fad, the newspaper printed, They sing like that because they can’t help it. Their style is begging to go out of fashion…, crooners will soon go the way of tandem bicycles, mah jongg and midget golf. Voice range shifted from tenor to baritone, still, a 1931 record by Dick Robinson, Crosby, Columbo & Vallee, called upon men to fight these public enemies brought into homes via radio. There were female crooners, including Annette Hanshaw, Mildred Bailey and their performances had a variety of influences including ballads and swing and was included in popular film soundtracks. The term is used to describe a female singer, although Mildred Baileys pre-swing records as well as Helen Rowland are often considered part of the crooning style. Due to the country songs popularized by Bing Crosby, the style of singing became an enduring part of country music. Bing Crosby achieved a million seller with his 1940 rendition of the song San Antonio Rose, eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves and Ray Price are especially well known for their country crooner standards. Dean Martin is rather famous for the music he recorded in the period when he was working for Reprise Records. Fellow Italian-American crooner Perry Como recorded several albums with country producer Chet Atkins in Nashville, list of crooners Gary Giddins, Bing Crosby, A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903–1940. Boston, Little, Brown and Co.2001, allison McCracken, Real Men Dont Sing, Crooning in American Culture. Durham, NC, Duke University Press,2015
38.
Falsetto
–
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the edges of the vocal cords. Commonly cited in the context of singing, falsetto, a characteristic of phonation by all genders, is one of four main spoken vocal registers recognized by speech pathology. The term falsetto is most often used in the context of singing to refer to a type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the range of the normal or modal voice. The modal voice, or modal register, and falsetto register differ primarily in the action of the vocal cords, production of the normal voice involves vibration of the entire vocal cord, with the glottis opening first at the bottom and then at the top. Production of falsetto, on the hand, vibrates only the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds while leaving each folds body relatively relaxed. Transition from modal voice to falsetto occurs when each vocal cords main body, or vocalis muscle, relaxes, william Vennard describes this process as follows, With the vocalis muscles relaxed it is possible for the cricothyroids to place great longitudinal tension upon the vocal ligaments. The tension can be increased in order to raise the pitch even after the length of the cords has been reached. This makes the vocal folds thin so that there is negligible vertical phase difference, the vocalis muscles fall to the sides of the larynx and the vibration take place almost entirely in the ligaments. In the modal register, the folds are seen to contact with each other completely during each vibration. This closure cuts off the escaping air, when the air pressure in the trachea rises as a result of this closure, the folds are blown apart, while the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilages remain in apposition. This creates a gap between the folds and some air escapes, lowering the pressure inside the trachea. Rhythmic repetition of this movement creates the note, in skilled countertenors, however, the mucous membrane of the vocal folds contact with each other completely during each vibration cycle. The arytenoid cartilages are held in firm apposition in this register also. The length or size of the oval orifice or separation between the folds can vary, but it is known to get bigger in size as the pressure of air pushed out is increased, the folds are made up of elastic and fatty tissue. The folds are covered on the surface by laryngeal mucous membrane which is supported deeper down underneath by the innermost fibres of the thyroarytenoid muscle. In falsetto the extreme membranous edges, i. e. the edges furthest away from the middle of the gap between the folds, appear to be the only parts vibrating, the mass corresponding to the innermost part of the thyro-arytenoid muscle remains still and motionless. Some singers feel a sense of relief when they change from the modal register to the falsetto register
39.
Lead vocals
–
The lead vocalist, lead vocals or lead singer in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer either leads the ensemble, or sets against the ensemble as the dominant sound. In vocal group performances, notably in soul and gospel music, and early rock and roll, as an example in rock music, Mick Jagger is the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. Similarly in soul music, Smokey Robinson was the singer of The Miracles. The practice of using a lead singer in vocal groups, however, has a longer history, songs of the late nineteenth century frequently used a leading solo voice, followed by a choral response by other singers. From these various points - including Motown - it went on to become a device in much rock. In some bands - most famously, The Beatles - the role of lead singer alternated, while in others - for example, there are as many types and styles of lead singer as there are styles and genres of music. However, the singer of a group or band is usually the main focus of audiences attention. The lead vocalist of a band is called the front man or front woman. Pink Floyd also can be considered a band with two front men, as both the guitarist David Gilmour and the bassist Roger Waters sang and wrote most of the songs. In the beginning of the career, however, Pink Floyds lead singer and guitarist was Syd Barrett. Particularly before the 1970s, many bands were named for the leader or founder, rather than the lead singer, examples include the Dave Clark Five and Harold Melvin. In modern rock music, the singer is often, but not always, also the bands leader. While lead singers or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a front man, since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the front man for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. In many bands, such as The Who, Fall Out Boy, Led Zeppelin, Living Colour, Queen and Oasis, usually, this is derived from that guitarists specific role as a co-songwriter, co-founder and/or co-vocalist. Also in some cases, there are two frontmen, such as Underoath, with singers Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie sharing vocal duties, another example is Blink-182, in which vocal duties are split between bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge. Hoppus usually carries out most media either by himself or together with DeLonge, linkin Park has two vocalists as well, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, both considered as frontmen. Another example is the metal band Metallica, in which James Hetfield
