Musical Forms, Voice Physiology and Renaissance Vocal Music

Musical Forms

Musical form refers to the overall structure of a piece. Common forms and examples below are corrected and clarified while preserving the original content.

• Refrain (refrein): a - a′ - a″.
• Binary: a - b or aa - bb.
• Ternary: a - b - a′.
• Ostinato: from Italian meaning "obstinate"; in English it is a repeating motif.
• Echo: it is the repetition, usually performed more quietly.
• Lied: literally means "song"; often in the form a - b - a′.
• Rondo: example pattern a - b - a - c - a - d - a.

The Phonatory System

The phonatory system involves several interacting parts:

• Air transport: requires a pump provided by the muscles of respiration, mainly the diaphragm.
• Larynx: acts as a vibrator (source of voiced sound).
• Chest and head cavities: function as amplifiers (resonators).
• Articulators: the tongue, together with the palate, teeth, and lips, articulate and impose consonants and vowels on the amplified sound.

The pitch is altered by the vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called humming.

Types of Respiration

Respiration for singing can be classified into three types:

• High breathing (clavicular): the relevant neck muscles mainly activate the top parts of the lungs.
• Diaphragmatic breathing: the lower portions of the lungs are activated through movement of the diaphragm.
• Complete breathing: in this type, the entire lungs are used to their fullest capacity.

Styles of Music

Major styles include:

• Secular music: non-sacred music used for enjoyment at celebrations and social events.
• Sacred music: compositions with religious themes that are performed for church services.
• Classical music: the term is commonly used to refer broadly to art music from the Baroque through the late-Romantic eras (though strictly speaking "Classical" denotes a specific historical period).
• Popular music: in current usage this term applies to rock, pop, country, and other mass-market genres.

Renaissance Music and Villancicos

Time for carols (villancicos). Renaissance music covers roughly the 15th–16th centuries (XV–XVI). Secular music—non-religious music—became more popular during this time. There was a rise in instrumental and dance music as well. Music was performed in chapels, and the printing press allowed music to be printed quickly; before the Renaissance, music had to be copied by hand.

Vocal Music: Sacred and Secular

A cappella: the golden age of singing often featured unaccompanied voices.

Secular vocal music — madrigals: Madrigals were songs for small groups of voices without instruments. They were sung with much imitation, which means the voices take turns singing the same melody. Madrigals were usually love songs. In France, the madrigal is called the chanson, and in Spain it is called the villancico.

Villancico: a Spanish musical and poetic form consisting of several coplas linked by an estribillo, associated with popular themes; it was cultivated in the late 15th and 16th centuries.