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Home > Westminster Choir College > Undergraduate Majors & Programs > Voice > Voice Teacher Help Center > Glossary > A - E
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A - E

A

  • A CAPPELLA. Singing without instrumental accompaniment.
  • ALTO. The lowest pitched female singing voice; CONTRALTO.
  • APHONIA. No voice; loss of voice.
  • ARIA. Song, especially an operatic solo.
  • ARPEGGIO. Notes of a chord sung (or played) in succession.
  • ART SONG. Song, usually composed to erudite poetry, generally intended for formal performance.
  • ARTICULATION. Pronunciation of vowels and consonants.
  • ASPIRATE. Breathy.
  • ATROPHY. Withering or wasting away of a tissue or organ, as may occur in paralysis or aging.
  • ATTACK. Beginning of the vocal tone; ONSET.

B

  • BARITONE. A male voice having a lighter tonal quality than a bass and extending a few notes higher.
  • BASS. The lowest pitched male voice.
  • BEL CANTO. A style of singing prevalent in the 17th-18th centuries, characterized by beautiful tone, lyricism, and brilliant, florid vocal technique.
  • BELTING. Style of singing that uses an adjustment producing heavy tones throughout the vocal range.
  • BILATERAL. Pertaining to two (or both) sides.
  • BLEND. 1. The combination of voices in group singing so that individual performers are indistinguishable. 2. Smooth transitions between the registers of the singing voice.
  • BRAVURA. Brilliant style or technique in performance.
  • BOGART-BACALL SYNDROME. A syndrome of vocal misuse, occurring most commonly in professional voice users and characterized by pitching the speaking voice too low.
  • BOTOX. A popular acronym for Botulinum toxin.
  • BOTULINUM TOXIN. A neuromuscular toxin that frequently is used to treat dystonias, specifically spasmodic dysphonia, by being injected into the affected muscles.
  • BREAK. A sudden shift in vocal registration; "crack" in the voice.
  • BREATH SUPPORT. Efficient and appropriate use of the breath stream for phonation.
  • BREATH STREAM. Column of exhaled air released from the lungs and used to activate the vocal cords to produce phonation.
  • BREATH SUPPORT. Efficient and appropriate use of the breath stream for singing.
  • BRIGHT. Tone abundant in high harmonic partials.

C

  • CANTOR. The official soloist or chief singer of the liturgy in a church or synagogue.
  • CARCINOMA. A generic term for some forms of cancer arising from the lining membranes of the body. See also squamous cell carcinoma.
  • CASTRATO. Male singer castrated in boyhood in order to retain his alto or soprano voice (18th century or earlier).
  • CHEST REGISTER/TONE/VOICE. Adjustment that produces heavy tones suitable for loud singing and the lower range of the voice.
  • CLAVICULAR BREATHING. Inhaling by means of the muscles which normally move the shoulders; does not provide adequate control over exhalation.
  • COLORATURA. 1. Ornate embellishment in vocal music. 2. A singer specializing in coloratura, i.e., "coloratura soprano."
  • CONVERSION REACTION. Transformation of an emotion into a physical manifestation, as in conversion hysteria (e.g., conversion aphonia).
  • COUNTER-TENOR. A male singer who sings at the same pitch as an alto, either by extending his tenor voice or by singing falsetto.
  • COVERING. The technique of "darkening" the tone (increasing pharyngeal space), especially at register
    transition points.
  • CROONING. Style of singing popular during the "Big Band Era," characterized by a "smooth" tone that is light in intensity and depends upon a microphone for projection.

D

  • DARK. Tone lacking high harmonic partials.
  • DEPRESSED LARYNX. Adjustment produced by dropping the jaw and pressing it against the larynx, used to artificially deepen the voice.
  • DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING. Technique of breath support in which the muscles of the lower back and abdomen are consciously engaged, in conjunction with the lowering of the diaphragm.
  • DIPLOPHONIA. A double-tone, usually associated with differential tension of the vocal folds, as in unilateral vocal cord paralysis.
  • DRAMATIC. A term used to designate a large operatic voice, especially suited to the performance of Verdi or Wagner; i.e., "dramatic soprano."
  • DYNAMICS. Variations in amplitude, or loudness/softness in musical performance.
  • DYSPHAGIA. Difficulty swallowing.
  • DYSPHONIA. Abnormal voice; a disorder of phonation; hoarseness.
  • DYSRESONANCE. A disorder of phonation characterized by reduced or abnormal resonance.
  • DYSTONIA. A disorder of muscle tonicity; spasmodic dysphonia is a focal laryngeal dystonia.

E

  • ELECTROMYOGRAPHY. A laboratory test in which the electrical activity of a muscle or of muscle groups is measured. Useful in determining the prognosis of vocal cord paralysis.