Vocal vs. Instrumental

Vocaladjective

Of or pertaining to the voice or speech

‘vocal problems’;

Instrumentaladjective

essential or central; of great importance or relevance.

‘He was instrumental in conducting the business.’;

Vocaladjective

Having a voice

Instrumentaladjective

(music) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice).

‘instrumental music’; ‘An instrumental part’;

Vocaladjective

Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral

‘vocal melody’; ‘vocal prayer’; ‘vocal worship’;

Instrumentaladjective

(grammar) Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally indicated in English by by or with with the objective.

‘the instrumental case’;

Vocaladjective

Of or pertaining to a voice sound; spoken

Instrumentalnoun

(grammar) The instrumental case.

Vocaladjective

(phonetics) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See voice, and vowel

Instrumentalnoun

(music) A composition written or performed without lyrics, sometimes using a lead instrument to replace vocals.

Vocaladjective

(phonetics) Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the character of a vowel; vowel

‘a vocal sound’;

Instrumentalnoun

The backing track of a song. The audio of a song without the vocal track.

Vocaladjective

loud; getting oneself heard.

‘The protesters were very vocal in their message to the mayor.’;

Instrumentaladjective

Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; as, he was instrumental in conducting the business.

‘The head is not more native to the heart,The hand more instrumental to the mouth.’;

Vocalnoun

(phonetics) A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal

Instrumentaladjective

Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, esp. a musical instrument; as, instrumental music, distinguished from vocal music.

‘Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds.’;

Vocalnoun

(Roman Catholic Church) A man who has a right to vote in certain elections.

Instrumentaladjective

Applied to a case expressing means or agency; as, the instrumental case. This is found in Sanskrit and Russian as a separate case, but in Greek it was merged into the dative, and in Latin into the ablative. In Old English it was a separate case, but has disappeared, leaving only a few anomalous forms.

Vocaladjective

Of or pertaining to the voice or speech; having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices.

‘To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade,Made vocal by my song.’;

Instrumentaladjective

relating to or designed for or performed on musical instruments;

‘instrumental compositions’; ‘an instrumental ensemble’;

Vocaladjective

Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody; vocal prayer.

Instrumentaladjective

serving or acting as a means or aid;

‘instrumental in solving the crime’;

Vocaladjective

Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, spoken with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; - said of certain articulate sounds.

Instrumental

An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instrumentals.

Vocaladjective

Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, 199-202.

Vocalnoun

A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; - distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal.

Vocalnoun

A man who has a right to vote in certain elections.

Vocaladjective

relating to or designed for or using the singing voice;

‘vocal technique’; ‘the vocal repertoire’; ‘organized a vocal group to sing his compositions’;

Vocaladjective

having or using the power to produce speech or sound;

‘vocal organs’; ‘all vocal beings hymned their praise’;

Vocaladjective

using the voice in song;

‘vocal music’;

Vocaladjective

given to expressing yourself freely or insistently;

‘outspoken in their opposition to segregation’; ‘a vocal assembly’;

Vocaladjective

using the voice in speech;

‘vocal communication’; ‘either silent or vocal prayers’; ‘vocal noises’;

Vocaladjective

full of the sound of voices;

‘a playground vocal with the shouts and laughter of children’;