Concert Vocabulary Words
by Carol Braun
August 13, 2009
| Concert Choir Vocab | |
| 2009-2010 | |
| VOCAB | DEFINITIONS |
| 1. Decrescendo | gradually get softer |
| 2. Crescendo | gradually get louder |
| 3. Unison | everyone sings or plays the same part at the same time |
| 4. Tempo | the speed of the music |
| 5. Range | distance from the highest to the lowest note in a song |
| 6. Text | words in a song |
| 7. Dynamics | groups of terms referring to the louds and softs in music |
| 8. Ritard or rit. | gradually get slower |
| 9. Accelerando or accel. | gradually get faster |
| 10. Sacred text | religious words in a song |
| 11. Secular music | music with a non-religious text |
| 12. Soft palate | the roof of the mouth |
| 13. Diction | the clarity of speech in a song, consonants and vowels |
| 14. Choreography | planned movement |
| 15. Melody | main idea or theme in music |
| 16. Harmony | musical notes which are played or sung at the same time,stacked notes, chords |
| 17. Ensemble | group of people playing or singing together |
| 18. Spiritual | a song from the African-American culture |
| 19. Libretto | printed words or text of a poem or story set to music |
| 20. Chromatic scale | move up and down the scale in half steps |
| 21. Balance | equal voices |
| 22. Rubato | flexible tempo or flexible speed |
| 23. Legato style | smooth, and connected |
| 24. Marcato | detached and separated |
| 25. Articulators | lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue |
| 26. Expressive music | meaningful, emotional |
| 27. Forte (f) | loud |
| 28. Piano (p) | soft |
| 29. Mezzo | medium |
| 30. Fortissimo (ff) | very loud |
| 31. Pianissimo (pp) | very soft |
| 32. Repertoire | a list of music that a person is capable of performing |
| 33. Mask | facial area where the tone sits and feeling of tone originates |
| 34. Larynx | voice box behind the Adam's apple |
| 35. Diaphragm | group of muscles in the stomach area |
| 36. Scat singing | using nonsense syllables instead of words to sing an improvised melody |
| 37. Interval | the distance between two notes |
| 38. Poco a poco | little by little |
| 39. Da Capo al fine (D.C. al Fine) | go back to the beginning and sing until reaching the Fine |
| 40. Moderato | tempo marking, medium speed |
| 41. A Tempo | Italian term for 'in time ' or original tempo(speed) |
| 42. Tutti | everyone in a section plays or sings, not a solo passage |
| 43. Grave | tempo marking, deadly slow |
| 44. Mezzo forte (mf) | medium loud |
| 45. Mezzo piano (mp) | medium soft |
| 46. Allegro | tempo marking, fast, quick and lively speed |
| 47. Meticulous | plan every detail in advance |
| 48. Tenacious | keeps trying, never give up |
| 49. A cappella | unaccompanied voices, no piano |
| 50. Amateur | lack the skill of a professional, performs an activity for pleasure, not for money |
