GCSE MUSIC - TIMBRE & DYNAMICS

Violin 

• Smallest of the strings, and therefore highest in pitch (soprano).
• Many different tones: bright, dark, mellow, powerful etc.
• Very important in orchestras, often play the melody or harmony.

Viola

• Slightly smaller than the violin, therefore slightly lower in pitch (a fifth, alto).
• Tone is thought to be mellow or sweet.
• Important in an orchestra, usually plays harmony and sometimes melody.

Cello

• Larger than a viola, and therefore lower in pitch (tenor).
• Tone can be described as rich, or deep.
• Important in orchestras, playing a dramatic role, or providing vital accompaniment. Can provide intimate role in chamber music - very versatile instrument.

Double bass 

• The largest of the string family and therefore the lowest in pitch (bass).
• Tone is very deep.
• Many different roles, can play walking bass in a jazz band, pizzacato bass in chmaber music or providing accompaniment in an orchestra.

Piccolo

• Smallest of the woodwind group, and therefore the highest (an octave higher than the flute).
• Tone can be descibed as squeaky, like a bird. Very distinctive sound.
• Often played alongisde the flute or violin in orchestras.
• Often heard in marching bands.

Flute

• Slightly larger than the piccolo, and therefore slightly lower.
• Can be descibed to sound like a bird, light feeling.
• Often the solo instrument in an orchestra, provides 'colour'.

Oboe

• Slightly larger than the flute, and thereofore slightly lower.
• Can sound harsh of sweet, a wide range of moods inbetween.
• Often heard as the solo in emotional sections of music, carries colour.

Clarinet

• Slightly larger than an oboe, and therefore slightly lower.
• Can create many different tones, smooth and creamy, warm and resonant low down, bright and clear up high.
• Important role in bands, orchestras, jazz groups etc.

Bassoon

• Slightly larger than the clarinet, and therefore slightly lower.
• Can be described as deep.
• Usually head in classical music, can make comical sounds, often played very quickly.

Saxophone

• Can sound mellow, deep, smooth, soulful.
• Unless the saxophone is feautured as a solo instrument in an orchestra, it does not have a role in it. Typically it is found in jazz bands and popular music.
• It is a woodwind instrument because it is played with a single - reed mouth piece, similar to that of a clarinet.

Trumpet (very similar to the cornet)

• Smallest of the brass family, and therefore highest in pitch (soprano).
• Many different tones, harsh, smooth, depends on the genre of music.
• Usually plays the lead or harmony in an orhestra.
• There difference between the trumpet and the cornet is that trumpets are designed to be heard sharp and clear over an orchestra, whilst a cornet is much more mellow sounding.

French horn 

• Slightly larger than the trumpet, and therefore slightly lower.
• Can be described as similar sounding to a trumpet, but could be considered less bright sounding.
• Can play the melody in an orchestra.

Trombone

• Slightly larger than the french horn, and therefore slightly lower.
• Can be described as heavy or dark.
• Usually the supporting role in an orchestra. Trombones add some richness to a chord and can give it more colour, but it can also provide added bass or support. 

Tuba

• Largest of the brass family, and therefore the lowest in pitch.
• Can be descibed as sounding almost cartoon like.
• Usually plays the harmony in an orchestra. May play expressive bass melodies, due to its low tone, it can be heard looming over the orchestra.

Drum Kit

• Piano (percussion)
• Keyboard
• Harpsichord - sounds 'twangy'
• Organ (woodwind)

• Sitar - can be high pitched and usually sounds 'buzzy', natural reverb 
• Tabla (drums) - made up of two parts, (bayan - bis bass drum) and (dayan), a rhythmic instrument
• Sarangi (bowed instrument used for accompanying singing) 'hums' or 'cries'
• Bandura (Indian flute) - strings plucked
• Shenhai (Indian oboe) - creates a sense of sanctity and auspiciousness

• Djembe drums 
• Conga drums
• Bongos
• Xylophone

• Steel pans

Female Voices:

• Soprano - highest
• Mezzo soprano - moderately high
• Alto - low

Male Voices:

• Treble - unbroken, high male voice (boys)
• Tenor - high, broken voice (adult)
• Baritone - medium male voice
• Bass - low male voice

• Con arco (arco) - with the bow.
• Pizzicato (pizz) - plucked.
• Con sordino - with a mute (sounds quiter and thinner).
• Double stopping - playing two notes at the same time.
• Tremolo/tremolando - wobbling the bow quickly up and down so it sounds shimmery.
• Glissando - sliding from one note to another.
• Vibrato - making the note wobble in pitch by moving the left hand. This creates a warmer sound.

• Glissando - sliding from one note to another.
• Flutter tonging - rolling your 'r' while blowing down a flute to create a fluttering effect.

• Glissando - sliding from one note to another (can only be done on a trombone)
• Mute - makes a more piercing sound. This is used a lot in jazz music.

• Drum roll - rapidly alternating sticks to create a continous sound.
• Drum fill - a break from the main beat during gaps on the vocals/melody.

• Glissando - sliding from one note to another
• Pitch bend - using the left hand finger to bend the string to change the pitch of the note.
• Hammer-on - using the force of the left hand to sound a new note father than plucking it again.
• Power chord - a chord which only has the root and fifth (no third) which is used in rock music and sounds aggressibe and bassy.

• Glissando - sliding from one note to another.
• Susatin pedal - holding down a pedal so that all notes sustain into one another.

• Falsetto - when a male finger sings very high (much higher than their normal range).
• Vibrato - making the note wobble in pitch to create a warmer sound.
• Glissando/portamento - sliding from one note to another.

• Distortion - often used in rock music on the guitar, this effect makes the sound fuzzy and aggressive.
• Reverb - created the effect of performing in a large space like a hall of cathedral. The sound lasts longer.
• Chorus - a reocrded voice or instrument in multiplied electronically so that is sounds like many.
• Vocoder - works like auto-tune and can be used to change the character of the sound to make it sound more elctronic and robotic.
• Multi-tracking - a recording technique where the different instruments are recorded seperately on different tracks.
• Sequencer - an electronic device used to record, edit and play back music using MIDI.
• Compression - boosts the leve of the quiter sounds in a piece to create a more balanced sound.
• Panning - the sound is passed from one speaker to another or separated into different speakers.
• Looping - patterns are recorded and then played on repeat.

• Orchestra - combines strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.
• String Quartet - violin, violin, viola, cello.
• String Ensemble - a larger group of string plaers with more than one player per part.
• Wind Quintet - flute, clarinet, oboe, french horn and bassoon.
• Brass Band - brass and woodwind instruments often with percussion.
• Barbershop - a small male voice group (usually four people) which sing in close harmony.
• Female voice choir - choir of women
• Male voice choir - choir of men (and sometimes boys with unbroken voices)
• Mixed choir - choir of female and male voices.
• A cappella - means that is is unaccompanied i.e. just voices with no instruments.

• Piano (p) - soft
• Forte (f) - loud
• Mezzo-piano (mp) - moderately soft
• Mezzo-forte (mf) - moderately loud
• Pianissimo (pp) - very soft
• Fortissimo (ff) - very loud
• Pianississimo (ppp) - very very soft
• Fortississimo (fff) - very very loud

• Fortepiano (fp) - loud then immediately soft.
• Sforzando (sfz/fz/sf) - accented, forced.
• Sforzando piano (sfp) - suddenly accenting a note floowed by immediately playing quietely.
• Molto - much/more e.g. molto crescendo means get much quiter.
• Poco a poco - little by little (i.e. change very slowly).
• Crescendo or cresc or cres - gradually getting louder.
• Diminuendo or dimin or dim - gradually getting quiter.