Singing is something that many of us enjoy for leisure. If you are a professional singer or are interested in becoming a professional singer there are a lot of techniques and styles to become accustomed with. To help you get to grips with some of these terms we have prepared a short glossary.

• A Capella is the term used to describe singing without musical accompaniment.
• Breath Support is a term used to describe effective use of the diaphragm to control breathing whilst singing.
• Contralto is the lowest female singing voice. Contralto is the least common form of singing.
• Diction is the way in which you pronounce your words. In singing a lot of care is required especially the with the difference between vowels and consonants.
• Falsetto is a male high pitch singing style which imitates the female range.
• Glottis is alternate name for the voice box.
• Head Voice is a style of singing which focuses on high singing often in a major key.
• Intonation is a term used to describe the quality of a pitch produced by a vocalist.
• The Larynx is the part of the throat that vibrates to produce sounds (otherwise known as the voice box).
• Marking is when a vocalist sings without using their full voice. Marking should be used infrequently or avoided altogether if possible.
• Nasal is a tone of voice produced by using the nose.
• Overtones are harmonies that are marginally higher than the main singing tone.
• Patter means light conversation and is used to describe brief exchanges of dialogue from singers in between songs in a performance. Patter is also a form of singing with a many lyrics sung quickly.
• A singer's Range is the range of pitch they can sing comfortably.
• Sight Singing is the ability to sing notes accurately from sheet music. Few people possess this gift.
• Tenor is the highest vocal range for male singers.
• Vibrato is a singing technique used to create sustained notes with an modulated ("wobbly") pitch.
• A singers Warm Up consists of vocal techniques and is designed to ease the strain on the singers voice.