Chorus Vocabulary Worksheet

Press Print worksheet to match twelve chorus terms, from soprano and alto to a cappella, to their meanings.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Chorus vocabularysopranoaltotenorbassbaritonemezzo-sopranoharmonyunisona cappellachorusaccompanistdescanta woman's voice lying betweenthe high and low partsthe whole group singing oneidentical line of noteswhoever plays the piano or otherbacking for the singersthe high men's line in four-partchoir musica company of singers trained tomake music togethera second melody floating over thetop of the main onea woman's low voice, or the choirline written for itthe middle male voice, neither thehighest nor lowestthe highest voice part in a choirtwo or more different pitchesblended into one soundthe lowest male voice, or thechoir part it singsmusic made entirely by singers,unaccompanied
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Chorus vocabularyAnswer keysopranoaltotenorbassbaritonemezzo-sopranoharmonyunisona cappellachorusaccompanistdescanta woman's voice lying betweenthe high and low partsthe whole group singing oneidentical line of noteswhoever plays the piano or otherbacking for the singersthe high men's line in four-partchoir musica company of singers trained tomake music togethera second melody floating over thetop of the main onea woman's low voice, or the choirline written for itthe middle male voice, neither thehighest nor lowestthe highest voice part in a choirtwo or more different pitchesblended into one soundthe lowest male voice, or thechoir part it singsmusic made entirely by singers,unaccompanied
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All 36 terms

The chorus and its voices 12

  • a cappella Music made entirely by singers, unaccompanied. "They sang the last verse a cappella."
  • accompanist Whoever plays the piano or other backing for the singers. "The accompanist gave the starting note."
  • alto A woman's low voice, or the choir line written for it. "The altos hold a soft hum under the melody."
  • baritone The middle male voice, neither the highest nor lowest. "His voice settled into baritone over the summer."
  • bass The lowest male voice, or the choir part it sings. "The basses rumble on the last note."
  • chorus A company of singers trained to make music together. "The school chorus meets twice a week."
  • descant A second melody floating over the top of the main one. "A few sopranos float a descant over the final verse."
  • harmony Two or more different pitches blended into one sound. "The second verse splits into three-part harmony."
  • mezzo-soprano A woman's voice lying between the high and low parts. "The solo was written for a mezzo-soprano."
  • soprano The highest voice part in a choir. "The sopranos carry the tune in the first verse."
  • tenor The high men's line in four-part choir music. "Only three tenors signed up this year."
  • unison The whole group singing one identical line of notes. "The song begins in unison and divides at the refrain."
Show all 36 terms (24 more)

Singing technique 12

  • chest voice A full sound at medium or low pitch, felt in the ribcage. "She used her chest voice for the low opening."
  • diaphragm The breathing muscle stretched between chest and belly. "She rested a hand on her belly to feel the diaphragm move."
  • diction The manner of pronouncing a song's text. "Crisp diction let the audience catch every word."
  • enunciate To speak or sing each sound distinctly. "The director asked the choir to enunciate every final t."
  • falsetto A breathy top voice beyond the natural singing range. "He slipped into falsetto for the highest line."
  • head voice The thin, high register, felt as ringing in the head. "The children sang the lullaby in a light head voice."
  • intonation Accuracy of pitch: singing neither sharp nor flat. "The altos fixed their intonation by listening to the piano."
  • phrase A short run of notes that makes sense as one unit. "The director asked for one long phrase with no breath in the middle."
  • posture The way a singer carries the back, neck and shoulders. "The director reminded the back row about posture."
  • resonance The boost a tone gets from the body's air-filled spaces. "Humming helped the choir feel the resonance."
  • vibrato A rapid, repeated rise and fall of pitch within one tone. "The soloist added a little vibrato on the long note."
  • vocal range All the notes a singer can reach, lowest to highest. "The song fits a narrow vocal range of eight notes."

Rehearsal and concert 12

  • audition A short tryout sung to win a place or a part. "For the audition she sang a scale and one short song."
  • cue The signal a performer waits for before coming in. "The singers watched the director for the cue to stand."
  • encore A bonus piece added when the crowd calls for more. "The crowd clapped until the choir sang an encore."
  • medley Several tunes strung together and sung as one number. "The concert closed with a medley of folk tunes."
  • rehearsal A meeting to practice the songs ahead of the concert. "Rehearsal ran long the night before the show."
  • repertoire The full stock of songs a group has learned to perform. "A sea song joined the choir's repertoire this spring."
  • risers Tiered steps a choir stands on so every face is seen. "The tallest singers stand on the top step of the risers."
  • round One melody sung by groups that enter one after another. "The class sang the round in three groups."
  • score The full notation of a piece, with every line included. "Each singer penciled breath marks into the score."
  • sight-read To sing or play new music straight from the page. "The choir had to sight-read a short folk song at the festival."
  • solfège The do, re, mi way of giving each scale note a syllable. "They learned the tune on solfège before adding the words."
  • soloist The one performer who takes a passage alone. "The soloist stepped forward for the second verse."

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day in two references: the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, and the entry in the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/). Risers was read in Wiktionary under riser and sight-read under sight read. Where a dictionary has no entry or no sense of singing, the reference is an article of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Head voice, Chest voice and Vocal range for the terms they are named after; Vocal resonation for resonance; SATB for the four parts of a choir. Vocal range has no entry in either dictionary and rests on its article alone. The answers under the list rest on the articles Choir, SATB, Voice type and Solfège. The sentence in quotation marks after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

This chorus vocabulary worksheet asks singers to match twelve terms to their meanings, printed in another order beside them. Three sets cover the voice parts, singing technique, then rehearsal and concert.

Read the full guide

Chorus terms for the voice parts

Set opens on The chorus and its voices: soprano, alto, tenor, bass, baritone, mezzo-soprano, harmony, unison, a cappella, chorus, accompanist and descant. Singing technique prints posture, diaphragm, diction, enunciate, vibrato, falsetto, head voice, chest voice, intonation, resonance, phrase and vocal range.

Rehearsal and concert words

The third set has rehearsal, risers, score, sight-read, solfège, soloist, audition, repertoire, round, encore, medley and cue. Under the tool each term has a sentence from a choir room, such as "The accompanist gave the starting note."

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a choir and a chorus?

Often none: both words name an ensemble of singers. Choir is very often used for a group tied to a church and chorus for one that sings in theaters or concert halls, but the line between them is not rigid.

What does SATB stand for?

Soprano, alto, tenor and bass, the four voice types that a piece for choir is scored for. Publishers use the same letters for other scorings: SSATB, for one, has divided sopranos.

What are the voice types from highest to lowest?

From highest to lowest, women's voices are typically divided into soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto, and men's into countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass. Choral singers are placed in a voice part by their vocal range.

What are the solfège syllables?

Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la and ti. In fixed do each syllable is tied to one pitch, so do is always C. In movable do the syllables follow the scale, and do is the first note of whichever major scale is sung.

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