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Here are some less commonly used sing-y words, and their definitions, that feature in the resources. 

 

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[vocal] range — all the pitches that you can sing, from the low grumbly notes to the high squeaky ones

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[vocal] register(s) — all the pitches you can sing whilst your vocal folds are vibrating in a certain pattern. These generally include low register, middle register, and high register, sometimes referred to as chest voice, head voice, and falsetto/flute register. Vocal fry also is a vocal register!

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vocal fry — the lowest vocal register, that produces a deep ‘creaky’ sound. This happens when the vocal chords are slack/loose, like the strings on a guitar before they’re tightened.

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vocal cords/folds — two bands of muscle tissue inside the larynx, that vibrate as air passes through them to produce the sound of your voice

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larynx/voicebox — the organ in your neck used for breathing, swallowing, and producing sound

 

soft palate — the fleshy part on the roof of your mouth, towards the back

 

lip trills/tongue trills/blowing raspberries — placing the lips against each other/placing the tongue between the lips, and blowing air, to create vibrations 

 

 

 

pitch — the highness or lowness of a sound

 

resonance — when we talk about resonance in singing, we usually mean the vibrations/buzzing you feel in different places when you sing. This might be in your chest for a low note, or in your lips/nose when humming. Another definition of resonance is the continuation of a sound, after it has stopped being made, like an echo. This is more to do with what sort of space you are making sounds in!

 

dynamics — the softness or loudness of a sound

 

texture — how many layers of different sound within a piece of music interact with each other

 

 

 

vowel — a speech sound produced with an open vocal tract, e.g. a, e, i, o, u

 

consonant — a speech sound produced with a closed/partially closed vocal tract, e.g. b, c, d, f, g etc.

 

syllable — part of a word pronounced as a unit; how we can break down a word into its parts. E.g. ‘book’ has one syllable, whereas ‘reading’ has two syllables (‘read-ing’)

 

plosive — a consonant sound by stopping air flow through the mouth, then suddenly releasing it. Rylan likes to think of it as a puff of air behind a sound, stressing the consonant. Example consonants are b, t, k, d, and g, with example words being pack, bag, and pop

 

sibilance — a hissing sound created through the repetition of ’s’s, or ‘sh’ sounds