Timbre

Question 1

Name two composers well known for choosing instruments for the quality of their sound.

Answer 1

Debussy and Ravel

Question 2

instrumentation

Answer 2

the instruments or voices used in a composition

specific instrumental techniques

Question 3

orchestration

Answer 3

how the instruments are arranged together/scored - which instruments play the melody & which play the accompaniment

Question 4

techniques

Answer 4

ways in which an instrument can be played

Question 5

glissando

Answer 5

sliding from one note to another

Question 6

pizzicato

Answer 6

plucking the strings

Question 7

tremolando

Answer 7

a very quick playing of a single note

Question 8

distortion

Answer 8

a special sound on the electric guitar

Question 9

mute/con sord

Answer 9

a device which is put in the bell of a brass instrument to make a specific sound

Question 10

arco

Answer 10

bowed

Question 11

vibrato

Answer 11

subtle change in pitch

Question 12

sitar

Answer 12

a long-necked plucked string instrument with movable frets and a gourd resonator
6/7 main strings and 12+ sympathetic strings with resonate in sympathy
characteristic shimmering sound

Question 13

sarod

Answer 13

a plucked string instrument, shorter than the sitar and without frets
played by plucking with a large wooden plectrum
has main and sympathetic strings
slides are much easier on the sarod than on the sitar

Question 14

sarangi

Answer 14

a fret less bowed instrument, held in the lap

3 main strings & 36 sympathetic strings

Question 15

esraj

Answer 15

a bowed string instrument played sitting on the floor
has frets, like the sitar
has a number of sympathetic and drone strings

Question 16

How is the ‘wah wah’ effect produced on a brass instrument?

Answer 16

by moving a hand or plunger mute in and out of the bell

Question 17

Name 3 drums used in African drumming.

Answer 17

hand drum, don-don & djembe

Question 18

talking drums

Answer 18

drums that imitate the rhythms and intonations of speech

Question 19

tabla

Answer 19

a pair of small drums (dayan & bayan) mainly used to keep time in Indian classical music

Question 20

dhol

Answer 20

a large traditional North Indian drum played with cane sticks in Bhangra music

Question 21

dholak

Answer 21

a double-headed hand drum in Bhangra music

Question 22

four-to-the-floor

Answer 22

four crotchets in 4/4 on the bass drum

Question 23

back beat

Answer 23

when the snare drum plays on beats 2 and 4 of 4/4

Question 24

drum roll

Answer 24

a rapid succession of beats sounded on a drum

Question 25

rim shot

Answer 25

a drum stroke where the stick hits the rim and the head (usually of a snare drum) at the same time

Question 26

bottleneck

Answer 26

sliding a tube of metal or glass along the guitar strings to alter the pitch

Question 27

natural harmonic

Answer 27

reducing or amplifying overtones on a guitar string, producing a higher pitched overtone

Question 28

pinch harmonic

Answer 28

when the player's thumb or index finger cancels the fundamental tone of the string, but not the overtones, producing a high pitch squeal

Question 29

pull off

Answer 29

picking one note and then quickly using a finger on the left hand to pull off the next note

Question 30

palm mute

Answer 30

when a player places the side of the picking hand across the strings to be plucked, very close to the bridge, muting the sound by dampening the strings

Question 31

synthesiser

Answer 31

an electronic musical instrument which produces a wide variety of sounds by combining signals of different frequencies

Question 32

drum machine

Answer 32

a synthesiser designed to reproduce the sounds of a drum kit

Question 33

vocoder

Answer 33

a machine that synthesises the human voice

Question 34

turntable

Answer 34

a circular revolving plate on which records are played

Question 35

treble

Answer 35

a boy's high unbroken voice

Question 36

soprano

Answer 36

a high female voice

Question 37

mezzo-soprano

Answer 37

a medium high female voice

Question 38

counter-tenor

Answer 38

male alto or soprano, sometimes falsetto

Question 39

alto

Answer 39

a high male or low female voice

Question 40

tenor

Answer 40

a high male voice

Question 41

baritone

Answer 41

a medium male voice

Question 42

bass

Answer 42

the lowest male voice

Question 43

a cappella ensembles

Answer 43

unaccompanied choruses

Question 44

lieder

Answer 44

german art songs from the Romantic period

Question 45

aria

Answer 45

a solo song found in operas and oratorio

Question 46

ballads

Answer 46

slow, often sentimental, love songs

Question 47

folk songs

Answer 47

often simple strummed guitar accompaniment usually in verse form (strophic) sometimes have choruses emphasise lyrics that tell a story/have a political message

Question 48

falsetto

Answer 48

when a male singer sings in the soprano or alto range

Question 49

belting

Answer 49

when a singer uses their chest voice and pushes out the sound

Question 50

scat

Answer 50

a type of vocal improvisation using wordless or nonsense syllables

Question 51

rap

Answer 51

when an artist speaks words rhythmically and quickly

Question 52

beatboxing

Answer 52

when a voice imitates the sounds of a drum machine

Question 53

sonority

Answer 53

another word for timbre