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Chorus Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| pitch | relative “highness” or “lowness” of sounds in music |
| rhythm | the pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music |
| time signature | the 2 numbers at the beginning of a piece of music indicating beats per measure and type of note that gets one beat |
| melody | a pleasing series of musical notes that form the main part of a song or piece of music |
| harmony | combination of musical notes played or sung at the same time to produce a pleasing sound |
| soprano | the highest treble clef singing voice in a typical 4 part chorus |
| alto | the second highest treble clef singing voice in a typical 4 part chorus |
| tenor | the highest bass clef singing voice in a typical 4 part chorus |
| bass | the lowest bass clef singing voice in a typical 4 part chorus |
| baritone | the voice part that lies between the Tenor and the Bass |
| balance | proper blending and all parts are heard equally |
| consonants | letters that are not vowels |
| diphthong | a vowel sound that can be broken into two sound |
| ennunciation | clear pronunciation of all sounds |
| adagio | slowly |
| andante | at a walking speed |
| moderato | moderately |
| allegro | quickly |
| vivace | fast and lively |
| rubato | “robbing” the note values |
| augmentation | a “growing” of the music especially at the end of a section or at the end of a piece |
| pianissimo | very softly |
| piano | softly |
| mezzo piano | medium soft |
| mezzo forte | medium loud |
| forte | loudly |
| fortissimo | very loudly |
| crescendo | gradually get louder |
| decrescendo | gradually get softer |
| diminuendo | become less or play softer |
| form | the structure of a piece of music |
| unison | all voices singing the same pitches and rhythms |
| duet | two voices singing in harmony |
| trio | three voices singing in harmony |
| quartet | four voices singing in harmony |
| descant | vocal line higher than the melody |
| interval | distance between two notes |
| chord | two or more notes sounding at the same time |
| polyphony | many parts singing different pitches and rhythms |
| antiphony | voices singing alternating phrases in a “call and response” style |
| subito | suddenly |
| allegretto | not quite as fast as allegro |
| un poco | a little |
| presto | very fast |
| prestissimo | very, very fast |