I came across a choir doing an outdoor performance recently.
They were really good, but were let down by the balance between backing tracks and the voices.
The most important thing for a successful choral sound is always balance.
Balance comes up in all sorts of places.
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backing tracks – it’s so easy to crank these up too loud as it can
support the singers and give them confidence. Unfortunately, it means that
the audience won’t be able to hear their beautiful singing.
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amplification – the choir I saw performing outdoors had a great men’s
section who were often given the main melody. Unfortunately, there were only
two microphones and they were placed in front of the altos and sopranos.
This meant that the harmonies came out strong and loud, but we couldn’t hear
the tune.
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loudness of voice parts – even if your choir isn’t being amplified,
it’s important to balance the volume between parts. Make sure that the
melody comes through clearly and the harmonies are balanced and supportive.
If the song arrangement moves the melody around the different voice
sections, then you have to be even more on the ball.
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suit the song arrangement to the voices – don’t choose a song
arrangement where the melody is being sung by the smallest or weakest voice
part. If you have loads of sopranos, don’t give them a harmony.
-
tessitura and timbre – on paper, you might think the voice parts in
your choir are well-balanced. There might be roughly the same number of
singers in each section, and all the singers have similar experience.
However, depending on tessitura and vocal timbre, some parts might easily
dominate others. You’ll need to work a lot on vocal blend across the parts.
-
song choices and repertoire – unless your choir covers a very
specific genre, e.g. a Bach choir or madrigal group, make sure you have a
balance of different types and genres of songs in your repertoire. This will
make it easier to …
-
have variety in your concert programmes – it’s far more interesting
for a concert audience to be hearing a range of different types of songs.
High energy, quiet songs, short songs, longer numbers, unison, SATB, etc.
-
keep rehearsals varied and interesting – it ‘s always good in
rehearsals to have a balance of old well-known songs and the new ones you’re
working on. Also, mix difficult songs with easier material in each session.
There are plenty of other areas where balance is important for a choir, but I’m hoping these examples will inspire you to consider balance overall. Do drop by and leave a comment if you have other examples. We’d love to hear from you!
other posts
Here are some older posts that might be of interest.
We’ve come to sing, not to learn!
Singing in a choir – balancing individual freedom with the demands of the team
Fit the song arrangement to your singers and not the other way round
The 7 elements of vocal blend and how to control them
What is the right balance between new and old songs in your annual concert?
In a choir, it’s not about singing loud vs. soft – it’s about balance
Novelty vs. familiarity – how to keep things fresh without alienating your singers
Chris Rowbury
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