Hā

Timbre

Ko te hā te āhua, te wairua rānei o te reo o tētahi taonga puoro, o tētahi kaiwaiata rānei (RTP 2015:53). / The tone is the character or the feel of the sound of a musical instrument or a singer (RTP 2015:53). Te Aka/Māori Dictionary

This describes which instruments are playing, and how they play or sound.

Some things to think about when you are describing the timbre:

Which instruments are playing?

List them in detail:

e.g Electric guitar with distortion, bass guitar played walking style, electric keyboard played in broken chords, male vocal in a high register.

Are there any special playing techniques used?

eg.

· Drums are using brushes

· Electric guitar is using delay

· Piano is using a lot of pedal

Which instruments are more obvious?

Are there any contrasting timbres?

e.g Flute playing with a double bass

Can you hear any interesting or different combinations of instruments?

e.g Clarinet playing counter melody with voice.

Describe the instruments that are playing and how they are playing.

<-- Watch this video for a detailed explanation of timbre, and how you can describe instrumentation in a piece of music

Describing someones singing voice

tessitura

ˌtɛsɪˈtjʊərə/

noun

MUSIC

the range within which most notes of a vocal part fall.
"the tessitura of the part is much more comfortable for a countertenor than for a soprano"

The A - Z of singing voice adjectives

Agile - A light voice which moves easily in terms of pitch, capable of executing complex and fast passages of music.Androgynous - A voice which is capable of sounding either male or female accurately (often applied to countertenors, sopranists and tenore altini).Angelic - Often applied to children voices, and in some cases adult female voices, this voice creates a sense of purity and sacredness.Bright - A voice which is light in terms of vocal weight, and clear, giving off a sense of optimism, with the ability to cut through other voices and music.Breathy - A voice that uses a large amount of breath in its production, in some cases giving it a more intimate quality, and in others obscuring diction.Charismatic - A voice which walks the fine line between being seductive and being charming, this voice has a persuasive quality.Charming - A voice that carries a sense of simplicity and confidence and has a very natural quality.Clear - A voice that carries through music easily, while not sounding forced or pushed, but rather well-balanced in its production.Delicate - A voice that caresses the notes and lyrics that it is singing. Sometimes can include a ‘catch’ in the voice that sacrifices sometimes a certain amount of diction for emotionGolden - A confident voice that ripples with warmth and confidence.Gruff - This voice conveys a sense of earthiness and roughness. Often the sound of experience, it often sounds weathered and troubled.Growling - Often associated with rock music, a singer who uses growl in their vocal production can give the impression of snarling their words and notes, giving them a rougher edge.Haunting - The quality of this voice is one that leaves a lasting effect on the listener. Often quiet and tentative, it sometimes sacrifices diction and breathing technique for emotive expression.Heroic - A voice that is filled with confidence and inspires bravery, it often sounds full and comfortable in the upper chest register.Honest - An open voice that doesn’t sound over-worked or produced, but rather finds its comfortable area easily conveys a sense of truth well.

Husky - A voice that has a rough but appealing nature that contains a certain sex appeal to it. Often a deeper voice associated with baritones and contra/altos respectively.Hypnotic -This soft voice captures the attention of and mesmerizes the listener.Lilting - A lively and cheerful voice, containing a rhythmic quality, which is often associated with Celtic and folk styles of music.Nasal - A voice where the vocal production is unbalanced and pushed too much into the nasal resonating area, instead of opening out.Piercing - Piercing voices are ones which cut cleanly through music as well as other voices. This can sometimes be in a negative sense if it is the result of too much nasality, and as such can be sharp on the ears.Passionate - This voice drips with emotion and fire, allowing the audience to effectively feel whatever the singer wants to express - often used to describe pop, MT and rock voices.Pushed - A voice where the chest/modal part of the voice swells in volume, intensity and pitch to create a sense of pushing its upper limits. In opera often described as SpintoRasping - A voice which has a rasping quality, often found in the vocal production of rock-based vocalists.Regal - Often the sound of reason and nobility, this voice has a commanding, yet relaxed sound, that gives the impression of calm control.Rich - A voice with a full and engaging timbre, that flows easily and contains in it a sense of gravitas and experience.Ringing - A voice which carries easily and can be heard clearly over music and other voices (often used to describe tenor voices in opera).Seductive - A voice that oozes sex appeal and conveys a sense of persuasion.Soulful - This voice conveys a connection between heart and voice. It can be highly emotive and is often capable of executing riffs, runs and fioritura.Twangy - A voice that often incorporates a heavy uses of nasality, which is also generally associated with country and western styles of music.Youthful - A bright and high pitched voice, often associated with child singers, or developed singers whose fach is placed fairly high, such as high tenors, contertenors, high mezzos and sopranos.

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Hā

Timbre

This describes which instruments are playing, and how they play or sound.

Some things to think about when you are describing the timbre:

Which instruments are playing?

Are there any special playing techniques used?

Which instruments are more obvious?

Are there any contrasting timbres?

Can you hear any interesting or different combinations of instruments?

Describe the instruments that are playing and how they are playing.

<-- Watch this video for a detailed explanation of timbre, and how you can describe instrumentation in a piece of music

Describing someones singing voice

tessitura

The A - Z of singing voice adjectives

What is the effect of these different timbres?

Some words you could use to describe the effects of different timbre

Dull

Bright

Breathy

Cold

Warm

Rich

Delicate

Brassy

Thick

Thin

Nasal

Light

Heavy

Distorted

Clean

Piercing