In music, a solo (from the Italian solo, meaning alone) is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context.
The word is also used for the act of performing a solo, and sometimes for the performer (more often a soloist).
The plural is 'soli' or 'solos'. In some context these are interchangeable, but 'soli' tends to be restricted to classical music, and tends to refer to either the solo performers or the solo passages in a single piece: it would not often be used to refer to several pieces that happen to be for single performers.
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Classical music
Solo pieces
A piece written for a single performer is referred to as a solo, often qualified by instrument, as piano solo or flute solo. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its These are common for polyphonic instruments such as the piano, organ, harpsichord or harp. Polyphony is the property of an Electronic musical instrument which describes how many notes it can sound at one time The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each A harpsichord is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. Monophonic instruments such as flutes or violins are more often accompanied by piano or other instruments, but there are still plenty of solo works for such instruments, such as the violin partitas and the cello suites of J S Bach. The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member This is an article about the Musical Genre. For the game see Tarocchini. The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise"
Solo is not usually part of title of a piece, except sometimes in a phrase such as '. . . for piano solo'.
Concertos
A Concerto is a piece written for generally one but occaisionally more instrumental musicians and is intendid to be performed accompanied by an orchestra: the distinguished part is referred to as the solo (soli or solos if there are several). The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well
Although there may be passages where only the soloist is playing, generally the solo part is accompanied by the orchestra: its distinctiveness and prominence are what makes it a solo, not whether or not it is played with or without accompaniment.
Solo passages
In a similar way to a Concerto, any ensemble piece may have portions where a single instrumentalist is particularly prominent, and these are often referred to as solos.
Solos in a section
The strings in an orchestra are usually grouped in sections, where several players are playing the same music most of the time. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well But sometimes the music will direct that only one player in the section is to play, or that one player in the section is to play something different from the rest of the section. These are also referred to as solos.
Vocal and Choral music
All the types of solo mentioned above in instrumental music have their parallels in vocal and choral music. For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers There are pieces for solo singers, possibly accompanied; there are pieces for soloist and chorus (like concertos, but that word is not usually used); and there are solo passages in choral works.
Jazz
In many Jazz performances, each number will alternate ensemble sections with solo sections where one performer is playing either completely alone, or with unobtrusive accompaniment from the others. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Common examples are the rhythm section of jazz bands, and quiet background music by other wind instruments. Such solos are most often improvised.
Popular music
In popular music a solo refers to a "crowd-pleasing" improvised melody[1] played by a single or featured performer and may also refer to a drum solo. Musical Improvisation is the creative activity of immediate Musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental Guitar solos are a melodic passage section or entire piece of music written for an Electric guitar or an Acoustic guitar. A drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a Drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised and of any length up to being the main performance Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more Use of the term "solo" appears to follow from jazz and, though they are often pre-composed or originally improvised, the expectation that solos be improvised continues, especially in certain genres.
See also
Sources
- ^ Miller, Michael (2004). Tutti is an Italian word literally meaning all or together. As a musical term it is used in various ways In Music, a cadenza (Italian for cadence) is generically an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists usually The Complete Idiot's Guide to Solos & Improv. ISBN 1592572103.
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