The domain of vocal instruction is full of unfamiliar and often foreign sounding terms. If you find yourself confused by them, you are not alone. It will take time to get familiar with all the singing terms out there.
I’ve put together a list of most common terms. This is a glossary of must-know singing terms for your reference. Most terms have only a brief description, while others have a more detailed article on them.
Hope this list will help you on your singing journey!
| A | |
| Acapella | Singing without instrumental accompaniment |
| Alto | Low female voice |
| Attack | |
| Arpeggio | When the notes of a chord are played quickly, one after another. Usually used as accompaniment for a song, for example, broken chords. |
| B | |
| Baritenor | Male singer with comfortable singing range between baritone and tenor voices |
| Baritone | Lower male voice |
| Bass | Low male voice |
| Bel Canto | The term is broadly used to refer to an old Italian vocal technique. |
| Break | Sudden shift of tone (and register) caused by excessive air flow |
| Breathy voice | Sounds that results from inadequate closure of the vocal cords, sometimes also called veiled sound |
| Bridge | As a noun is the same as Passaggio, as a verb it refers to navigating the passaggio are and transitioning from register to register |
| C | |
| Chromatic Scale | A musical scale that includes all the notes within an octave, including sharps and flats. Total of 12 distinct notes within a chromatic scale. |
| Coloratura | Fast moving scales or passages |
| Compression | |
| Consonant | |
| Covering | |
| Crescendo | A musical term for dynamics direction; gradually getting louder |
| Chest voice | |
| D | |
| Decrescendo | Gradually getting softer (Same as Diminuendo) |
| Diaphragm | A dome shaped muscle underneath the rib cage that is used to inflate and deflate the lungs |
| Diction | |
| Diphthong | A combination of two or more vowel sounds |
| Dynamics | Loudness or softness of a song. Also refers to the musical terms or symbols defining volume in a song |
| F | |
| Fach | Voice type or vocal classification. Also means “subject” in German. |
| Falsetto | A type of voice production similar to head voice sound produced by men |
| Forte | Loud |
| Fortissimo | Very loud |
| Flat | Below the pitch |
| G | |
| Glottal stop | The sound created when a person presses their vocal folds together before beginning a vocal sound |
| H | |
| Humming | |
| I | |
| Intercostals | Muscles between the ribs that lift the ribcage up and out during inhale |
| Interval | Distance between two notes |
| L | |
| Larynx | Structure of cartliges and musles that houses the vocal cords. Also known as the voice-box. |
| Legato | To be sung or played smoothly |
| M | |
| Messa di Voce | A dynamic technique involving starting a note with a crescendo (quiet to loud) followed by a decrescendo (loud to quiet). |
| Mixed voice | Middle register of the voice that is a blend of chest and head voice |
| N | |
| Nodules | |
| O | |
| Onset | Beginning of the vocal sound |
| Open Throat | |
| P | |
| Passaggio | The parts of a singing voice where register transitions occur |
| Pharynx | The back of the throat. Region above larynx. |
| Phrasing | |
| Pianissimo | Very soft |
| Piano | Soft, gently |
| Ping | Brilliant and resonant tone of the singing voice |
| R | |
| Range | |
| Release | Free and unrestricted operation of the vocal mechanism |
| Register | A particular section of the range of an instrument or a voice produced by the same vocal mechanics |
| S | |
| Soft Palate | Soft portion of the palate to which uvula is attached |
| Soprano | High female voice |
| Staccato | To sing or play in a short or detached manner |
| Support | Balance of air flow and vocal cords tension |
| Sustain | To sing or play a specific note for the specified duration |
| Sharp | Just bove the pitch |
| Semi-occluded phonation | |
| T | |
| Tenor | High male voice |
| Tessitura | The most comfortable singing range of a singer |
| Thyroid Tilt | A phenomenon that occurs inside the larynx that changes the set up of the vocal cords and allows for free vibrations in the higher registers |
| Timbre | Tone color and quality of sound that distinguishes an instrument or singer from another |
| Tone | |
| Twang | |
| U | |
| Unvoiced consonants | Consonants that do not have an element of voice in them (p, f, s, t) |
| V | |
| Vibrato | Slight and regular fluctuation in the sustained singing voice |
| Vocal Cords | |
| Vocal Fry | An effect produced by relaxed and relatively slow vibration of the vocal cords |
| Voiced consonants | Consonants that have an element of voice in them (b, v, z, d) |
| Vowel | A specific resonance space which defines a distint and recognizable sound (vowel sounds: ah, eh, ee, oh, oo) |
| W | |
| Windpipe | Trachea, the air channel to the lungs |
| Y | |
| Yodelling | A rapid switching between falsetto and any other register. Used for style as well as an execise tool |
