File - misswardmusic.com

Y E A R
7
U N I T
1 1
–
V O I C E W O R K S
Name
C H 3
Form
The choir is the oldest of all musical groups. Before human beings even
thought of making musical instruments, they used their own voice to make
music together. Since choral music comes directly from people, it has a
more powerful emotional impact than instrumental music. There is nothing
more moving than hearing an entire football stadium resound to the tune of “You’ll never
walk alone” or an enthusiastic church congregation throwing their hearts and souls into
favourite hymns.
Human voices vary in pitch (some are high and some are low). This makes it possible to
sing harmonies in different layers using different pitched voices.
Soprano a high woman’s voice
Alto low woman’s voice
Counter-tenor a very high male voice (very rare)
Tenor A high male voice
Baritone A low male voice - not as deep as the bass
Bass The lowest male voice
There are also many different ways of singing:
Solo singing - singing on your own
Unison singing - a group of people singing the same thing together
Singing in harmony - a group singing melodies that are different but fit together to make
nice sounds
A capella singing - singing without instruments
Ostinato singing – repeating the same line over and over again as an accompaniment
Call and Response singing – where one singer copies or answers the first phrase
Rounds – where a group of people divide into smaller groups and sing the same melody but
enter the song at different times
ACTIVITIES
1. Arrange the following voice types in order of pitch from LOWEST to HIGHEST
Alto
Baritone
Counter-tenor
Soprano
Bass Tenor
2. For each of the following types of singing, think of a song that you know as an example. It
may be a song that you have sung or learned at school or by one of your favourite singers or
bands.
SOLO SONG
UNISON SONG
SONG IN HARMONY
A CAPPELLA SONG
OSTINATO SONG
CALL AND RESPONSE SONG
ROUND
W W W . M U S I C A L C O N T E X T S . C O . U K