Main Act Artist · Music reference
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Look up the concepts inside voice, songwriting, and repertoire. Every definition ends with one thing to hear, one move to try, and one line worth remembering.
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7 terms found
Vocal Range
The span from the lowest to the highest note a singer can comfortably produce, typically measured in octaves or semitones.
Remember
Range is a repeatable span under stated conditions-not a voice type and not a dare.
Passaggio
A transition region where a singer changes registration or resonance strategy; its boundaries and labels vary by voice, task, and teaching tradition.
Remember
The passaggio is a transition to coordinate, not a note to overpower.
Head Voice vs Chest Voice
Common teaching labels for contrasting register qualities: chest voice is typically fuller and speech-adjacent, while head voice is typically lighter and used higher.
Remember
Register labels describe useful coordinations; teachers and traditions do not all define them identically.
Vibrato
A regular oscillation heard around a sustained pitch; its rate, extent, onset, and expressive use vary by singer and style.
Remember
Vibrato is coordinated variation, not a motion to manufacture with the jaw.
Prosody
The art of aligning lyrics, melody, and rhythm so the music supports what the words are saying, the right syllables stressed, the right phrases lifted.
Remember
Let the musical emphasis agree with the verbal meaning.
Hook
The most memorable phrase, melody, or lyric in a song, the part listeners can't stop singing after one listen.
Remember
A hook is the part memory keeps after the music stops.
Chord Progression
A sequence of chords that supports a melody. A handful of progressions (I-V-vi-IV, I-IV-V, ii-V-I) anchor most popular music.
Remember
Function creates expectation; sequence turns expectation into motion.
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