An organized ensemble of singers, typically one that takes part in church services or performs regularly in public.
Questions tagged [choir]
54 questions
21
votes
6 answers
Is it ok for a choir to learn by listening?
I'm in a high school choir and we just got a new teacher. He is adamant that we don't listen to rehearsal tracks or recordings, because "real musicians don't." Is there merit to this? Is it better to learn a piece by working on rhythms and notes…
Nicole
- 211
- 2
- 3
18
votes
3 answers
Why is my choir director telling a bunch of rednecks to drop their Rs as though they were Londoners?
I currently live in the American South, where every English speaker within a hundred miles speaks with a rhotic accent. Recently, I spent an afternoon with a local choir in practice, and was somewhat perturbed by the instructions given by the…
Nathan Tuggy
- 299
- 3
- 9
13
votes
2 answers
How to improve the blend between male and female voices on the same part in a choir?
I sing in a small volunteer choir (12-15 people) in which we have women and men singing together on some parts. (Aside from the common tenor-shortage problem, sometimes we sing three-part songs, and lower altos and higher tenors end up together.) …
Monica Cellio
- 1,932
- 1
- 15
- 30
10
votes
1 answer
Why choirs consistently go flat or sharp in certain keys
As a long-time chorister, I've always wondered what drives choirs to flat or sharp out of certain keys. For instance, the choir I sing with consistently fails to remain in the key of F, whereas shifting the music to F# fixes our tonality issues…
Babu
- 6,208
- 2
- 29
- 36
10
votes
2 answers
Which clef is used for the tenors here?
In modern typesetting, tenors usually have an F clef (or an octaving C clef, with the 8 indicated or omitted).
Consider following clef from Bellini's Norma (p. 125):
It looks like an (octaving) G clef with a C clef superimposed (as shown in this…
Karlo
- 1,299
- 11
- 20
8
votes
3 answers
What is this curve going upwards to a note that's also detached from the previous note?
In Cedric Dent's "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, this symbol appears attached to the note on "-ands." From first glance, it seems like a poorly drawn legato, but there is a perfectly good one at the note just before it, so what is this thing…
Cardin Tran
- 91
- 3
7
votes
4 answers
Choosing a song for choir acceptance audition
I have been singing in choir for 7 years by now, mostly in school and student choirs during study years (I have no professional training whatsoever). Now I applied for a better choir in our city (composed mostly of professionals, but they take…
Akabelle
- 201
- 3
- 9
7
votes
5 answers
The Musical Effect of a Unison Ensemble
Upon reading sheet music for black spirituals, I discovered something unusual:
As you might notice, the bass, tenor, alto, and soprano parts are all singing the exact same notes throughout the majority of the melody (with the exception of the…
Aryeh
- 599
- 4
- 10
7
votes
1 answer
What does the marking "Tempo" mean in the middle of a piece of music?
In Hubert Parry's (1848-1918) choral work "There is an Old Belief", there is a marking in a few places that just reads "Tempo". The first time it happens after a ritard, following a fermata. At the same time as the "Tempo" marking, there is a time…
Steven
- 97
- 4
6
votes
2 answers
Vocal fach and passaggio
I am somewhat of a newbie singer and wondering what my voice type is. Most singers are probably aware of the passaggio locations chart for men. But how exactly do you determinate these passaggio points, since they depend a lot on the volume and…
Tony
- 161
- 1
- 4
5
votes
1 answer
How to manage a choir and school without destroying them?
I'm asking a question about music school management and choir, important to me and more people. I'm in the way to - probably - become president of an institution who have both an amateur choir and a musical school. The institution have little more…
Joao M
- 81
- 2
5
votes
1 answer
How to get good legato from a choir sample library?
Recently, I have bought a choir sample library from a major manufacturer. The samples themselves are top-notch, the dynamic crossfading excellent. However, I'm a bit disappointed by the quality of the (monophonic) legato that I've been able to get…
Kim Fierens
- 2,317
- 1
- 12
- 20
5
votes
2 answers
Piano Questions From a Former Brass Player
Hey everyone so I have kind of a loaded question here. And I can understand if there's no easy answer to it, but I've been asked to learn to play the piano by my church so we can get a choir started in our branch. I already know how to read the…
Macario
- 51
- 1
5
votes
1 answer
How can I arrange a children's song for choir, to make it more interesting?
Our church choir would like to perform some children's songs. (I won't go into the reasons why, right now.) How can I make the songs more interesting? The kids are so cute when they sing them, that the arrangement doesn't really matter. But with…
Jean Chance
- 51
- 2
5
votes
1 answer
Why would food or drinks affect the vocal folds?
It is often mentioned that eating certain food or drinking certain liquids would affect one's singing.
However, it seems to me that neither food nor drinks ever touch the vocal folds since the latter are part of the repiratory system.
Looking for…
LarryG001
- 53
- 1
- 4