Music Lingo

Everybody loves music, right? It’s the international language.
So you better get up to scratchto be prepared:

People in Music

A bassist - Someone who plays bass guitar.
A guitarist - Someone who plays a guitar.
A lead singer - The main singer in the band.
A drummer - The person who plays percussion and the drums.
A programmer - Someone who creates music by mixing different bits or samples of others.
A singer songwriter - Someone who writes and sings their own songs, eg Paul McCartney.

Types of Music

A boy band - A group of young men brought together by a record company. Trance - DJ Quicksilver, Nomad, etc.
Ambient - Tangerine Dream to Brian Eno, Aphex Twin to Penguin Cafe Orchestra, etc.
Disco - Modern Talking, Steps, etc.
Techno - David Holmes, Laurent Garnier, Dave Clarke, etc.
Heavy metal - Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Guns n Roses, Nirvana, Limp Bizkit, etc.
Indie [abbrev. Independent ie not mainstream] - Coldplay, Muse, Stereophonics, etc.
Dance - Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Leftfield, etc.
Drum and bass - Roni Size, Grooverider, etc.
Jungle - Goldie, Digital, Photek, etc.
Hip hop - Grandmaster Flash, Wu Tang Clan, Dr Dre, Eminem, etc.
UK Garage - Truesteppers, Artful Dodger, Wookie, etc.
Britpop - mid 90s British pop / rock - Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Suede, Elastica, etc.

In the Studio

In the studio William Orbit mixed some of the tracks on Madonna's last CD. - He worked on the sound and arranged the music.
Chinn and Chapman produced a lot of the famous bands from the 1970s. - They decided on the songs and the sound of the bands so the music had a distinctive sound.
Most bands record many demo versions of their music. - Recordings of songs before their final production.

Making the Music

They got a really good deal with Warner Brothers. - They've been signed up by a major record company.
She did vocals on Radiohead's latest release. - She sang on Radiohead's last CD.
The concert's been sold out for weeks. - All the tickets were sold weeks ago.
They were headlining at Glastonbury. - They were the main band at Glastonbury [a festival often held on a farm in the south west of England].
Paul McCartney is a great singer-songwriter - He writes his own songs and performs them.
Maria Callas was a famous soprano. One of her greatest performances was as Violetta. She was accompanied by the famous tenor Arrigo Pola - These are terms often used in the description of operatic performers.
The orchestra at the Royal Opera House was conducted by Bernard Heitink. - The conductor is the person who leads the orchestra.

Musical Ability

I can play the trumpet but I'm not very good at the piano. My brother can't play anything! - Thee are tems using play to describe what instruments you can use.
I wish Jemima wouldn't sing - she's tone deaf! - Jemima is someone who can't sing in tune or recognise different tunes.
I've been able to sightread since I was six. - I can play music the first time I see it on a page.
She was born to sing. - She is very talented at singing.