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Year 11 - Music

Vocal types, styles and techniques

Timbre and texture in music around the world

Unit Summary

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Lesson Summary

You will learn to identify common voice types, styles and techniques.

Key Notes

  • Vocals are very diverse, with numerous voice types, styles and techniques.
  • An SATB choir is made up of the following female and male vocal types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
  • Some common vocal techniques include melisma, vibrato and rapping.
  • In some styles, microtonal singing, scat singing and beatboxing can also be heard.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • SATB: a type of choir consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers
  • vibrato: a vocal or instrumental technique in which the pitch 'wobbles' slightly
  • melismatic: when there are syllables with more than one note sung to them
  • beatboxing: a vocal technique that imitates drum kit and percussion sounds
  • falsetto: a technique in which male voices can sing much higher than their normal range; it has a distinct, thin, airy timbre

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Female voices are always higher pitched than male voices.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Vocals are very diverse, with numerous voice types, styles and techniques. An SATB choir is made up of the following female and male vocal types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'SATB'

a type of choir consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: Female voices are always higher pitched than male voices. Correction: While this is mostly true, alto and tenor ranges overlap. A low alto voice can be as low as a tenor. Alongside this, men can use the falsetto technique to sing much higher than their normal range, in some cases higher than female voices.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 Music guide library.