What Is Vocal Music?
Many of us have favorite songs or singers to whom we love to listen. You might belong to a church choir, or maybe you've had a role in a high school musical. And you've probably sung ''Happy Birthday'' to a family member or friend. But what do these things have in common? They're all examples of vocal music.
Vocal music is music that uses and emphasizes the human voice. Sometimes instruments are used, but the voice is the most important part. Vocal music is the opposite of instrumental music, which uses any combination of instruments, such as strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion, usually without the human voice.
People have used voices to make music for thousands of years, and vocal music is found in cultures around the globe. It's a fundamental part of human expression.
But what are some types of vocal music?
Western Vocal Music
Western music, the kind with which we're most familiar, developed in Europe and includes many types of vocal music. Some of the music is monophonic, meaning it has a single line of melody. An early example of monophonic vocal music is Gregorian chant, dating back to around 900 A.D.
Other Western vocal music is polyphonic, meaning several melodies are sung at the same time. Another term you might hear related to vocal music is a cappella, which means music that uses just human voices with no instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' is Italian, and it means ''in the manner of the chapel,'' a reference back to early religious music that was done with voices only.
Some types of Western vocal music are created specifically for groups of people. These include choral works, pieces sung by many singers divided into different voice ranges, such as bass, tenor, alto, and soprano. Famous European composers like Bach and Handel wrote large multi-movement choral works.
People who pursue vocal music as a career might also perform in productions like operas and musicals, in which stories are told through singing with vocalists playing different dramatic or comedic roles. Operas and musicals tend to include vocal performances and instrumental musical elements.
Western vocal music also includes religious hymns and gospel tunes, works that have a sacred connection. Other types of secular, or non-religious, vocal music include jazz vocal works and popular music like funk and rock. Pop songs by recent stars, such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga, as well as famous songs done by the Beatles and Frank Sinatra, are all examples of vocal music.
Non-Western Vocal Music
Vocal music is also found in non-Western cultures like India, Africa, and China, places with many ethnic groups that have rich traditions of using the voice to make music. Some cultures have vocal styles that sound very unexpected from what we usually hear because they use different styles of melodies and harmonies.
