Before we dive into singing lessons, I will like you to understand some common singing terms, and make these useful singing terms a part of you as you progress in your musical journey.
1. Cappella
A cappella is a musical performance style that features only voice without an instrumental.
2. Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch is the ability to recognize a note just by hearing it play with no relative pitch to compare it to.
3. Accelerando
“Accelerando” is an Italian term indicating that a singer should speed up.
4. Accidental
An accidental is a marking that accompanies a note on a sheet music staff that indicates a flat, a sharp, a double-flat, or a double-sharp. You can also use a "natural" accidental, which cancels out a previous accidental.
5. Adagio
“Adagio” indicating a slow tempo or a relaxed section in a larger piece. It is an Italian term.
6. Airflow
Airflow is the air that flows through a person's trachea and larynx to produce vocal sounds.
7. Allegro
“Allegro” is an Italian term indicating a brisk tempo or a brisk section in a larger piece.
8. Alto
Also called “contralto,” alto is a low vocal register of a female voice.
9. Andante
“Andante” is an Italian term indicating a "walking pace" tempo or section in a larger piece.
10. Aria
An aria is a solo vocal piece that serves as a standalone song where a singer displays his/her vocal skills.
11. Atonal
Atonal music is a type of music that is not connected to any diatonic key. It's more or less a music that does not make an actual sens
12. Ballad
A ballad is a slow song or a type of song that tells a story.
13. Back phrasing
Back phrasing is a vocal technique where a singer intentionally sings behind the beat, rather than exactly on the beat.
14. Baritone
Baritone is a male singing voice that sits above the bass register and below the tenor register.
15. Bass
Bass is the lowest range for male singers.
16. Bel canto
Bel canto is an Italian term meaning "beautiful singing.” It is a popular opera technique.
17. Belting
Belting is a form of vocal projection that emphasizes short, thick vocal folds and a blend of chest voice and head voice.
18. Blending
Blending is a term in choral music that involves the meshing of voices into a single unified sound.
19. Cadence
A cadence comes at the end of a musical phrase, the end of a movement, or the end of an entire piece.
20. Cadenza
A cadenza is an elaborate section of an aria or vocal solo that accents the technical skill of a vocalist.
21. Cantata
A cantata is a musical piece for voice and orchestra that is common in sacred music.
22. Capo
“Capo” is an Italian term meaning the "head" or beginning of a piece.
23. Chant
A chant involves singing in unison in a free rhythm.
24. Chest voice
Chest voice is the "main" range of a person's singing voice. A chest register tends to be lower, resonant, and full of vocal overtones.
25. Chiaroscuro
“Chiaroscuro” is a term that translates as "light-dark" and describes the range of human vocal timbres from chiaro (bright) to scuro (dark).
26. Chorale
A chorale is a choral composition for human voices and instruments.
27. Chord
Chords are notes played simultaneously or as part of the same musical passage.
28. Coda
The coda is the closing section of a piece or a musical movement.
29. Coloratura
A coloratura is a musical passage filled with trills and vocal flourishes.
30. Concerto
A concerto is a classical music piece that highlights a solo instrumentalist who trades passages with an orchestra.
31. Crescendo
A crescendo indicates that the player or singer should get louder.
32. Decrescendo
A decrescendo, or diminuendo, indicates that the player or singer should get softer.
33. Diaphragm
The diaphragm is the muscle that sits below your lungs and helps people push airflow through their vocal tract.
34. Diction
Diction is the precise pronunciation of words in both singing and speaking.
35. Diminuendo
A synonym for “decrescendo,” diminuendo is an instruction for a musician to get gradually softer.
36. Diphthong
Diphthong is the term for two vowel sounds in the same syllable. Examples include "cloud," "coin," and "law."
37. Dolce
“Dolce” is an Italian term meaning "sweet.” In the context of music, it means to play softly or with a light touch.
38. Downbeat
The downbeat is the first beat of a musical piece or musical measure.
39. Duet
A duet is a piece of music written for two performers or two vocalists.
40. Enunciation
Enunciation is a synonym for diction that means careful articulation of words.
41. Espressivo
“Espressivo” is an Italian term meaning "expressive." In the context of music, it is an instruction for the musician to play with an emphasis on physical expression.
42. Étude
“Étude” is a French term that means "study." Études are practice pieces, but many are written to sound beautiful and even fit for concerts.
43. Falsetto
Falsetto is a term that means "false singing." It refers to notes sung above a person's natural chest voice range. Some people use the term as a synonym for "head voice," but the two terms are slightly different as head voices can blend with chest voices. A true falsetto cannot do this.
44. Fermata
A fermata is a musical marking that instructs a singer or a player to hold a note until they are ready to proceed or a conductor instructs them to proceed.
45. Forte
“Forte” is an Italian term instructing players or singers to perform loudly and powerfully.
46. Fortissimo
“Fortissimo” is an Italian term meaning “extremely loud.”
47. Glissando
Glissando is a sliding technique connecting two notes.
48. Head voice
Head voice is the highest part of a singer’s range. Falsetto singing is in a head voice, but not all head voice performances are falsetto. In some cases, a person's head voice can blend with their core chest voice.
49. Hymn
A hymn is a sacred song of praise and devotion.
50. Intermezzo
An intermezzo is a short interlude connecting two parts of a piece.
51. Larynx
The larynx is the section of your vocal tract that contains your vocal cords.
52. Legato
A legato is a performance technique that involves a fluid transition between notes. Unlike staccato notes, legato notes extend for the maximum duration indicated in sheet music notation.
53. Libretto
The libretto is the "book" or set of lyrics in an opera or musical theater piece.
54. Melisma
Melisma is a vocal technique that extends a single syllable over multiple notes.
55. Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano is the middle vocal range for female vocalists. This voice type sits above an alto range and below a soprano range.
56. Modulation
Modulation is a transition from one musical key to another.
57. Motif
A motif is a musical phrase that establishes a recurring theme in a piece.
58. Movement
A movement is a section in a larger piece. This term is commonly used in classical music but is considered pretentious in rock or pop music, where the term "section" is more common.
59. Nasal
Singing that sounds confined to the area around the nasal cavity, creating a pinched sound with minimal overtones, is often described as “nasal.”
60. Nodule
A nodule is a polyp that develops on vocal cords as a result of poor singing practices.
61. Obbligato
An obbligato is an instrumental solo that comes along with an aria.
62. Oratorio
An oratorio is a long-form cantata written for voice and instrumental accompaniment.
63. Ostinato
Ostinato is a repeated musical phrase.
64. Overtone
An overtone is a musical tone that resonates alongside a fundamental pitch. Rich, sonorous voices tend to produce more overtones.
65. Passaggio
Passaggio is an Italian term that describes the transition zone between two vocal ranges.
66. Patter
A patter song is a song featuring a steady, rapid succession of lyrics.
67. Perfect pitch
Perfect pitch is the ability to name a note when given a reference pitch to compare it to. This is different from absolute pitch, which does not require a reference note.
68. Phrasing
Phrasing is the way a singer or instrumentalist performs a passage, including note durations and short rests.
69. Piano
While most know the word “piano” to describe the instrument, it is also an Italian term meaning "soft."
70. Pianissimo
“Pianissimo” is an Italian term meaning "very soft."
71. Portamento
Portamento is a mild slide from one note to another, like a subtle glissando.
72. Presto
“Presto” is an Italian term meaning "very fast."
73. Pure note
A pure note is a sustained note that is sung or performed without added vibrato.
74. Recitative
Words sung in a steady, conversational singing style are described as recitative. This is the common format for an opera libretto between formal singing sections like arias.
75. Register
“Register” is a descriptor for a vocal range or a type of singing.
76. Reprise
A reprise is a repeated section of a piece. In pop music, it is often called the chorus.
77. Requiem
A requiem is a musical piece that honors the dead.
78. Resonance
Resonance is a series of vibrations that create a deep, harmonically rich sound. A singer's resonance may come from deep vibrations of their trachea and soft palate.
79. Ritardando
“Ritardando” is an Italian term and instruction for a musician to slow down.
80. Ritenuto
“Ritenuto” is an Italian term instructing performers to hold back, slow down, and potentially sustain notes.
81. Rubato
“Rubato” is an Italian term instructing musicians to delve beyond a fixed tempo and to perform a bit faster or a bit slower depending upon their artistic inspiration.
82. Scoop
Scoop is a type of singing or playing where you approach a note from a lower pitch and then slide up to the correct pitch.
83. Sforzando
“Sforzando” is an Italian term meaning loud, powerful, and accented.
84. Slur
A slur is a marking in musical notation that indicates one note should slide into the other in the style of legato.
85. Solar plexus
The solar plexus is the section of your lower rib cage where the diaphragm is housed.
86. Soprano
Soprano is the highest female vocal range.
87. Staccato
Staccato is a musical performance style where notes cut off quickly, leaving small pockets of silence between each note attack.
88. Strophic
“Strophic” is a descriptor for a musical passage where the same instrumental accompaniment repeats but the melody changes in terms of words or phrasing.
89. Tenor
Tenor is the highest male vocal range. It sits above the baritone range but below the alto range for women. It is sometimes referred to as a countertenor.
90. Tessitura
“Tessitura” is an Italian term that describes the typical range of notes in a piece. For instance, a piece for tenor vocals with a low tessitura means the tenor singer will mostly perform at the low end of his range.
91. Tie
A tie is a musical notation mark that connects two notes together, indicating they should be performed continuously without silence between them.
92. Timbre
“Timbre” describes the tonal characteristics of a musical instrument—including the human voice. Timbre is often determined by the relationship between a fundamental pitch and harmonic overtones.
93. Transpose
To transpose is to change a piece of music to a new key.
94. Trill
A trill is a rapid shift back and forth between two notes. Typically, a trill will fluctuate up and down by a half-step (a semitone) or a whole step (two semitones).
95. Tremolo
Tremolo is the rapid repetition of a single note.
96. Unison
When two or more singers are singing the exact same notes, they are singing in unison.
97.Vibrato
Vibrato is a vocal and instrumental technique where instead of holding a single sustained note, a performer wavers ever so slightly between two pitches. This creates a sense of continuous motion.