Vocal music
Vocal music is
music performed by one or more
singers, with or without
instrumental accompaniment, in which
singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered
instrumental music (e.g. the wordless women's choir in the final movement of
Holst's
The Planets) as is music without singing. Music without any instrumental accompaniment is referred to as
a cappella.
Vocal music typically features sung words called
lyrics, although there are notable examples of vocal music that are performed using non-linguistic syllables or noises, sometimes as musical
onomatopoeia. A short piece of vocal music with lyrics is broadly termed a
song.
Vocal music is probably the oldest form of music, since it does not require any instrument besides the
human voice. All musical
cultures have some form of vocal music.
*
Art song**
Lied**
Song cycle*
Choral music**
Anthem**
Cantata**
Madrigal**
Mass**
Motet*
Gregorian Chant*
Opera*
Oratorio*
Barbershop*
Contemporary a cappella*
Doo wop*
Pop standards*
Rock song
*
Musical theater* Jazz
vocalese*
Folk song*
Hymn*
Sacred Harp*
Spiritual*
YodelingWorld traditions
* Elaborate traditions of untexted vocal improvisations was and still is an important element in
Turkish and
Middle Eastern music traditions. Such music existed prior to the
1200s and the
First Crusade into Palestine and the city of
Jerusalem, possibly even before the year
900.
* The modern descendants of the ancient Kung tribes and clans of Southern
Africa utilize similar traditional
music techniques.
* A form of improvisation known as
thillana is a very important feature of
Carnatic music from
South India.
*
Tuvan throat singing often features wordless and improvised song. The
sygyt technique is a particularly good example of this.
* The
Sámi yoik is a predominantly wordless form of vocal expression.
* The musical tradition of
mouth music (
Puirt a Beul) was used in various forms of traditional music in the
Anglo-Saxon and
Gaelic communities.
*
Hasidic Jews use a form of voice improvisation called
nigunim. This consists of wordless tunes vocalized with sounds such as "Bim-bim-bam" or "Ai-yai-yai!", often accompanied by rhythmic clapping and drumming on the table.
European classical vocal music
Solfege, a vocalized musical
scale, assigns various syllables such as
Do-Re-Mi to each note. A variety of similar tools are found in traditional
Indian music, and
scat singing of jazz.
Jazz and popular music
Hip hop music has a very distinct form of vocal percussion known as
beatboxing. It involves creating beats, rhythms, and
vocal scratching.
Icelandic singer/songwriter
Björk album,
Medúlla, is composed entirely of processed and acoustic vocal music. It includes beatboxing,
choral arrangements and
throat singing.
Singer
Bobby McFerrin has recorded a number of albums using only his voice and body, sometimes consisting of a texted melody supported by untexted vocalizations.
A
Honda Civic advertisement used a choir to emulate sounds made by a car.
Extended techniques that involve lyrics
The
Second Viennese School, especially
Alban Berg and
Arnold Schoenberg, pioneered a technique called
Sprechstimme in which singers half-talk, half-sing, and only approximate pitches.
*
Voice registers*
Choir
