"Tavern" Singing Workshop St Florian A&S 22/01/98

Here are a few words you might like to know the meanings of.

A CHORUS is made up of words (or LYRICS) set to a piece of music. Both the words and the music of each verse is the same all the way through the song, making them the easiest parts of a song to learn.

A VERSE is also lyrics set to a piece of music. Whereas the chorus of a song repeats both music and lyrics, each verse repeats the music but with different lyrics. A verse is to a song as a paragraph is to a story.

A BRIDGE is a contrasting piece of music to the regular piece or pieces of music of a song. A verse, or a chorus, could be sung to a bridge.

A MONOPHONY is a piece of music with only one voice.

A POLYPHONY is a piece of music with more than one voice.

Here are a few song forms, and some examples of each which have been sung in St Florian.

The BALLAD - A series of verses without a chorus. However, each verse might include a repeated refrain which acts as a (partial) chorus. Eg. The Battle of the River Dyle, For My Lady's Eyes, The Horns Of Hattin

The CHORUS SONG - A series of verses alternating with a chorus. The verse and chorus are of roughly equal length, and might have the same or different pieces of music. Eg. Axe Time, Three Jolly Coachman, The Chastity Belt.

The LEADER & FOLLOWER SONG - Like a chorus song, except that the chorus consists of a leader section (sung as a sub verse) and a follower section (sung as a sub chorus). Eg. The Keeper, Green Grow The Rushes O, Ilky Moor Ba'at Ha'at.

The ROUND - A song whose music forms a polyphony with itself if sung in a staggered fashion. Eg. Heigh Ho Nobody Home, Heigh Ho What Can I Say, Go To Joan Glover.

The PART SONG - A song which uses different lines to form a polyphony. Eg. Sumer Is I-Cumen In, Alle Psalite, Heigh Ho - Rose Red - Ah Poor Bird. (The latter is in fact three rounds which can be sung together as a part song).