Study Guide for HS Choir EOC
CHORAL TECHNIQUE
Posture
o Correct singing posture
Breath support
o Proper breathing
o Proper posture
Individual Sound
o Range
o Chest Voice
o Head Voice
o Resonance
o Timbre
Ensemble Sound
o Intonation
o Blend and Balance
o Good diction
CLASSIFICATION/ENSEMBLE
The six primary voice classifications
o Soprano
o Mezzo-soprano
o Alto
o Tenor
o Baritone
o Bass
Solo
Duet
Trio
Quartet
Tutti
Divisi
SKILL SET THREE: THE MUSIC SCORE
Rhythm
o Time signature
o Pulse
o Sub-division
o Whole note
o Half note
o Quarter note
o Eight note
o Sixteenth notes
o Whole rest
o Half rest
o Quarter rest
o Eighth rest
o Sixteenth rest
.
Pitch
o Treble clef
o Bass Clef
o Flat
o Sharp
o Natural
Markings
o Dynamic Markings
o Crescendo
o Decrescendo
o Dynamic levels:
· pianissimo (pp)
· piano (p)
· mezzo-piano (mp)
· mezzo-forte (mf)
· forte (f)
· fortissimo (ff)
Tempo Markings:
o Fermata
o Ritard (rit.)
o Accelerando (accel.)
Phrase Markings and Articulations:
o Phrase marking
o Legato
o Dolce
o Cantabile
o Maestoso
Percussive and Pressure Accents:
Percussive Accents (1-4) / Pressure Accent (5)Staccato / Staccatissimo / Strong Accent
Marcato / Normal Accent / Legato Accent
Tenuto
Light Accents / Strong Accent / Medium Accents
Accent Name / Description
Staccato Accent / short and separated from the following note
Staccatissimo Accent / an exaggerated short duration of the note
Strong Accent / generally meant for attacks at loud dynamic levels of forte or louder
Normal Accent / moderately sharp attack that can be used at any dynamic level from pianissimo to fortissimo
Legato Accent / this can be used at any dynamic level and is a slight stress without a noticable attack and held to the full duration of the note
Miscellaneous Markings
o Repeat signs
o Subito (s
SKILL SET FOUR: SIGHT-READING
o Half step
o Whole step
o The Major Scale
o Whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole
Solfege:
This passage would be sight-read as follows:
SKILL SET FOUR: MAINTAINING VOCAL HEALTH
o Students should be able to identify practices that maintain vocal health
Vocal Use Practices
o Students should be able to identify practices for vocal use.
Common Signs of Significant Vocal Abuse
o Students should be able to identify common signs of significant vocal abuse.