Glossary
alto: a female singer with a low range
ancestor: a person who is related to someone, but lived in the distant or very distant past
aria: a song sung in an opera, usually by one person
baritone: a male singer with a medium range
basers: in the ring shout, the group who sings a response to the songster
bass: a male singer with a low range
bluegrass: a genre of American music, originating in the mid-20th century, following the improvisational form of jazz and influenced by traditional Irish and Scottish music
blues: a genre of music originating in African American communities in the southern United States, characterized by narrative lyrics, 12-bar form, and blues scale
call and response: a common way to learn music in which one person sings part of the song (call), and another person repeats it (response)
chorus: the part of a song that repeats throughout
contour: the shape of the music
dynamics: volume (loud or quiet)
emotions: feelings
emphasis: special importance
explorer: a person who uses his or her senses to learn about something
expression: the way someone says something to communicate emotion or feeling
gospel music: a genre of American folk music with influences from African American spirituals, folk, and call and response church music. The music is often repetitive with dominant vocals and strong harmonies
gourd: large fruit with a hard shell, sometimes hollowed out to hold things (such as water)
Gullah Geechee: direct descendants of Africans brought to the United States as slaves, living in the Lowcountry and the Georgia Sea Islands
harmony: when more than one note is heard at a time, often creating harmonious or pleasing sound
humming: singing without opening one’s lips
improvisation: the act of making up something on the spot
interpretation: when a performing artist, such as a musician or dancer, brings his or her own ideas to the way he or she performs the piece
legato: playing or singing without breaks between the notes; smooth and connected
lyrics: the words in a song
melody: the tune in a piece of music, made up of pitches that go up and down
mezzo-soprano: a female singer with a medium range
mood: the feeling of a piece of music
opera: a theatrical art form where everything is sung and set to music
opposite: things that are related but are very different from each other
pattern: a distinct arrangement of visual designs or sounds, often repeating
phrase: a short portion of a melody
pitch: how high or low a sound is
range: the distance between the lowest and the highest note played or sung
rhythmic pattern: pattern of sound and silence
ring shout: musical practice of American slaves of West African origin characterized by call and response and counter-clockwise shuffling
scat: improvising with the voice using “nonsense” syllables
songster: in the ring shout, the person who leads the rest of the musicians in call and response
soprano: a female singer with a high range
spirituals: music originally sung by African American slaves as a way to express their emotions during times of difficulty, often contained coded messages
staccato: playing or singing with short, disconnected notes
steady beat: the pulse in music
stickman: in the ring shout, the person that keeps the steady beat
tempo: the speed of music
tenor: a male singer with a high range
Underground Railroad: a network of secret routes and safe houses that helped slaves escape to free states and Canada in the 19th century
verse: the part of a song that is different each time and tells the story of the song
vibrations: the movement of air