Bel
noun
A unit of sound level that shows how strong a sound is.
The lawnmower is rated at 90 bels, it's very noisy.
Usage tips
Technical
noun
A minor deity in ancient Semitic religion.
The ancient city of Babylon was known for its worship of the deity Bel.
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
A unit of sound level that shows how strong a sound is.
The lawnmower is rated at 90 bels, it's very noisy.
Usage tips
Technical
noun
A minor deity in ancient Semitic religion.
The ancient city of Babylon was known for its worship of the deity Bel.
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Sound Measurement
Bel is rarely used alone; its decimal subdivision 'decibel' is more common for measuring sound.
Her piano playing peaked at 70 decibels, not bels.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical Context
Use 'bel' in technical or scientific discussions about acoustics or electronics.
The signal-to-noise ratio is often measured in bels.
Pro Tip 3/3Practical Scale
Understand 'bel' as a logarithmic scale; each increase of 1 bel means a sound is ten times louder.
A rock concert can be 3 to 4 bels louder than a vacuum cleaner.
Pro Tip 1/3Sound Measurement
Bel is rarely used alone; its decimal subdivision 'decibel' is more common for measuring sound.
Her piano playing peaked at 70 decibels, not bels.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical Context
Use 'bel' in technical or scientific discussions about acoustics or electronics.
The signal-to-noise ratio is often measured in bels.
Pro Tip 3/3Practical Scale
Understand 'bel' as a logarithmic scale; each increase of 1 bel means a sound is ten times louder.
A rock concert can be 3 to 4 bels louder than a vacuum cleaner.
Pro Tip 1/3Sound Measurement
Bel is rarely used alone; its decimal subdivision 'decibel' is more common for measuring sound.
Her piano playing peaked at 70 decibels, not bels.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical Context
Use 'bel' in technical or scientific discussions about acoustics or electronics.
The signal-to-noise ratio is often measured in bels.
Pro Tip 3/3Practical Scale
Understand 'bel' as a logarithmic scale; each increase of 1 bel means a sound is ten times louder.
A rock concert can be 3 to 4 bels louder than a vacuum cleaner.
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Video examples
What’s a squillo, and...
While bel canto singers require versatile vocal folds to vault through acrobatic arias. Biology also sets some limits— not every technique is feasible for every set of muscles, and voices change as singers age.
Video examples
Borneo: Paradise Under...
immediately like lead so if you put it in water just drops to the bottom it's so the quality of it is incredible it's called bel Yin so what they need to do is to to get it
Video examples
What’s a squillo, and...
While bel canto singers require versatile vocal folds to vault through acrobatic arias. Biology also sets some limits— not every technique is feasible for every set of muscles, and voices change as singers age.
Video examples
Borneo: Paradise Under...
immediately like lead so if you put it in water just drops to the bottom it's so the quality of it is incredible it's called bel Yin so what they need to do is to to get it
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Stephen Hough
British Composer
They both changed the way we hear the sound of the piano, both of them inventors of sonority: Chopin took bel canto singing lines and reproduced them on the keyboard above richly upholstered counterpoint; Debussy somehow preserved vibrations in the air, blending their ephemeral magic into music that reaches far back into deep memory.
Quote examples
Juan Diego Florez
Peruvian Musician
When I'm doing sports, I always think of how it's related to singing, and when I watch tennis, I learn a lot for my singing: how the players are focused, how they use their technique, and, in the case of Roger Federer, how effortless it is and how beautiful it is to watch - like bel canto, in a way. That's how singing should be.
Quote examples
Anna Netrebko
Russian Musician
I prefer it when the conductor follows me. It is more difficult to work with a conductor who does not listen - even if I understand that sometimes it makes sense when one person is ruling everything. But for bel canto, I have to have a conductor who listens and supports me.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
When you do a 'messa di voce,' that means you start soft, you crescendo into loud - and then you go back to soft again. Some people call it circus tricks, but in bel canto, it's really written into the music.
Quote examples
Sebastian Bach
Canadian Musician
My vocal style is called bel canto, which is an old Italian vocal style going back hundreds of years.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
Singing bel canto is like walking on a tightrope - especially with a larger voice like mine.
Quote examples
Juan Diego Florez
Peruvian Musician
I wouldn't be me if my repertoire wasn't bel canto.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.
Quote examples
Stephen Hough
British Composer
They both changed the way we hear the sound of the piano, both of them inventors of sonority: Chopin took bel canto singing lines and reproduced them on the keyboard above richly upholstered counterpoint; Debussy somehow preserved vibrations in the air, blending their ephemeral magic into music that reaches far back into deep memory.
Quote examples
Juan Diego Florez
Peruvian Musician
When I'm doing sports, I always think of how it's related to singing, and when I watch tennis, I learn a lot for my singing: how the players are focused, how they use their technique, and, in the case of Roger Federer, how effortless it is and how beautiful it is to watch - like bel canto, in a way. That's how singing should be.
Quote examples
Anna Netrebko
Russian Musician
I prefer it when the conductor follows me. It is more difficult to work with a conductor who does not listen - even if I understand that sometimes it makes sense when one person is ruling everything. But for bel canto, I have to have a conductor who listens and supports me.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
When you do a 'messa di voce,' that means you start soft, you crescendo into loud - and then you go back to soft again. Some people call it circus tricks, but in bel canto, it's really written into the music.
Quote examples
Sebastian Bach
Canadian Musician
My vocal style is called bel canto, which is an old Italian vocal style going back hundreds of years.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
Singing bel canto is like walking on a tightrope - especially with a larger voice like mine.
Quote examples
Juan Diego Florez
Peruvian Musician
I wouldn't be me if my repertoire wasn't bel canto.
Quote examples
Sondra Radvanovsky
American Musician
For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.
Example 1 of 8
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