Voices
- Soprano
Female voice of high range.
- Mezzo-soprano
Female voice lower than a soprano and higher than an alto.
- Alto (or contralto)
Female voice of low range.
- Tenor
Male voice of high range.
- Baritone
Male voice lower than a tenor and higher than a bass.
- Bass
Male voice of low range.
Musical Instruments
- Register
Part of the total range of an instrument or voice. The tone color of the instrument or voice may vary with the register in which it is played or sung.
String Instruments
Instrument whose sound is produced by the vibration of strings.
- Violin
String instrument with the highest range of the string famiily.
- Viola
String instrument with a lower range than the violin and a higher range than the cello.
- Cello (violoncello)
String instrument with a range lower than that of the viola and higher than that of the double bass.
- Double bass
Largest string instrument, having the lowest range of the string family.
- Plectrum (plectra)
- Harp
Plucked string instrument, consisting of strings stretched within a triangular frame.
- Guitar
Plucked string instrument with six strings stretched along a fretted fingerboard.
- Bow
Slightly curved stick strung tightly with horse hair, used to play string instruments.
- Pizzicato
Means of playing a string instrument by which the strings are plucked, usually with a finger of the right hand.
- Stop (double, triple, quadruple)
Means of playing a string instrument by which the bow is drawn across two, three, or four strings at the same, or almost the same, time.
- Vibrato
Small fluctuations of pitch which make the tone warmer, produced in string instruments by rocking the left hand while it presses the string down.
- Mute
Device used to veil or muffle the tone of an instrument. In string instruments, the mute is a clamp which fits onto the bridge; in brass instruments, it is a piece of wood, metal, or plastic which fits into the bell.
- Tremolo
Rapid repitition of a tone, produced in string instruments by quick up-and-down strokes of the bow.
- Harmonics
Very high-pitched tones, like a whistle's, produced in bowed string instruments by lightly touching the string at certain points while bowing.
Woodwind Instruments
Instrument whose sound is produced by vibrations of air in a tube; holes along the length of the tube are opened and closed by the fingers, or by pads, to control the pitch.
- Piccolo
mallest woodwind instrument, having the highest range; a smaller version of the flute.
- Flute
Woodwind instrument, usually made of metal, with a high range, whose tone is produced by blowing across the edge of a mouth hole.
- Recorder
Family of woodwind instruments whose sound is produced by blowing into a "whistle" mouthpiece, usually made of wood or plastic.
- Reed
Very thin piece of cane, used in woodwind instruments to produce sound as it is set into vibration by a stream of air.
- Single-reed woodwinds
Instruments whose sound is produced by a single piece of cane, or reed, fastened over a hole in the mouthpiece, which vibrates when the player blows into it.
- Clarinet
Single-reed woodwind instrument with a beak-shaped mouthiece, cylindrical in shape with a slightly flared bell.
- Bass clarinet
Member of the clarinet family, having a low range. Its shape is curved at the end before flaring into a bell.
- Saxophone
Family of single-reed woodwind instruments.
- Double-reed woodwinds
Instruments whose sound is produced by two narrow pieces of cane held between the player's lips; these pieces vibrate when the player blows between them.
- Oboe
Double-reed woodwind instrument with a relatively high range, conical in shape with a small flared bell.
- English horn
Double-reed woodwind instrument, slightly larger than the oboe and with a lower range, straight in shape with an egg-shaped bell.
- Bassoon
Double-reed woodwind instrument, made of wood, having a low range.
- Contrabassoon
Double-reed woodwind instrument with a register one octave lower than the bassoon's. |
Brass Instruments
Instrument, made of brass or silver, whose sound is produced by the vibrations of the player's lips as he or she blows into a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece. The vibrations are amplified and colored in a tube that is flared at the end.
- Trumpet
Brass instrument with the highest range, commonly used in symphony orchestras, bands, and jazz and rock groups.
- Cornet
Brass instrument similar in shape to the trumpet, with a mellower tone.
- French horn (horn)
Brass instrument of medium range, whose tube is coiled into a roughly circular shape and fitted with valves; commonly used in symphony orchestras and in bads. (Sometimes called simply a horn.)
- Trombone
Brass instrument of moderately low range, whose tube is an elongated loop with a movable slide, commonly used in symphony orchestras, bands, and jazz ensembles.
- Baritone horn
Brass instrument mainly in concert and marching bands.
- Euphonium
Brass instrument used mainly in concert and marching bands.
- Tuba
Largest brass instrument, having the lowest range, commonly used in symphony orchestras, bands, and jazz and rock groups.
- Mute
Device used to veil or muffle the tone of an instrument. In string instruments, the mute is a clamp which fits onto the bridge; in brass instruments, it is a piece of wood, metal, or plastic which fits into the bell.
Percussion Instruments: definite pitch
Instrument whose sound is produced by striking by hand, or with a stick or hammer, or by shaking or rubbing.
- Timpani (kettledrums)
Percussion instruments of definite pitch, shaped like large kettles with calfskin or plastic stretched across the tops, usually played with sticks with felt heads.
- Glockenspiel
Percussion instrument of definite pitch, made up of flat metal bars set in a frame and played by striking with small metal hammers.
- Xylophone
Percussion instrument of definite pitch, consisting of flat wooden bars set in a frame and played by striking with hard plastic or wooden hammers.
- Celesta
Percussion instrument of definite pitch, with metal bars that are struck by hammers controlled by a keyboard.
- Chimes
Percussion instrument of definite pitch, with suspended metal tubes that are struck with a hammer.
Percussion Instruments: indefinite pitch
Instrument whose sound is produced by striking by hand, or with a stick or hammer, or by shaking or rubbing.
- Snare drum (side drum)
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, in the shape of a cylinder with stretched skin at either end. A "snare" of gut or metal is stretched below the lower skin and produces a rattling sound when the drum is struck.
- Bass drum
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, the largest of the orchestral drums.
- Tambourine
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a skin stretched across a shallow cylinder, with small circular plates set into the cylinder which jingle when the skin is struck or the cylinder is shaken.
- Triangle
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a triangular length of metal suspended from a hook or cord, played by striking with a metal rod.
- Cymbals
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a pair of metal plates, played by striking the plates against each other.
- Gong (tam-tam)
Percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, made up of a large flat metal plate that is suspended and struck with a mallet.
Keyboard Instruments
Instrument-such as the piano, organ, or harpsichord-played by pressing a series of keys with the fingers.
- Piano
Widely used keyboard instrument of great range and versatility, whose sound is produced by felt-covered hammers striking against steel strings.
- Harpsichord
Keyboard instrument, widely used from about 1500 to 1775, whose sound is produced by plectra which pluck its wire strings. The harpsichord has been revived during the twentieth century.
- Pipe organ
Keyboard instrument with many sets of pipes controlled from two or more keyboards, including a pedal keyboard played by the organist's feet. The keys control valves from which air is blown across or through openings in the pipes. (The electric organ is an elecronic instrument that is sometimes designed to imitate the sound of a pipe organ.)
- Accordion
Instrument consisting of a bellows between two keyboards (pianolike keys played by the right hand, and buttons played by the left hand) whose sound is produced by air pressure which causes free steel reeds to vibrate.
Electronic Instruments
Instruments whose sound is produced, modified, or amplified by electronic means.
- Tape studio
Studio with tape recorders and other equipment used to create electronic music by modifying and combining recorded sounds.
- Synthesizer
System of electronic components which can generate, modify, and control sound; used to compose music and to perform it.
- Analog synthesis
The earliest of the synthesizer technologies, which predominated until about 1980-uses a mixture of complex sounds that are shaped by filtering. Like all analog technology, analog synthesis is based on representing data in terms of measurable physical quantities, in this case sound waves.
- Digital frequency modulation (FM)
synthesis
Invented by John Chowning, was patented by Yamaha and has been associated with Yamaha instruments. Like all digital technology, it is based on representing physical quantities-here, points on sound waves-as numbers.
- Effects devices
Include reverberators, echo devices, and stereo splitters, are often integrated into synthesizers and the synthesis process. They are used in almost all recorded music (especially popular music) and in some live music.
- Sampling
Considered a synthesizer technology; since it involves placing brief digital recordings of live sounds under the control of a synthesizer keyboard; but although the sounds can be modified during playback, no actual synthesis is present. An advanced form of composing by tape splicing: it lets the composer record short segments of sounds (the "samples") digitally and then manipulate them. One of the most important aspects of today's electronic music making.
- Musical instrument digital interface (MIDI)
A significant development in synthesizing technology. MIDI has allowed the device actually played on to be separated from tone generation.
- Computer
Tool used to synthesize music, to help composers write scores, to store samples of audio signals, and to control synthesizing mechanisms. |
