It has been suggested by research that the threat to vocal health in choral singing lies in the fact that singers must sing loud enough to hear themselves over their neighbor, but this author claims the biggest threat lies in asking training musicians so sing at the technical level of amateur voices. In reality, the choral director should create a learning environment that allows less-proficient singers to sing more effectively. The three areas that should be focused on in choral exercises are:
1) Breath Management (onset, release, breath renewal),
2) Free Laryngeal Function, and
3) Resonance Balancing
The author suggests that choral directors should focus at least 5 minutes a day to each of these categories. While it can be difficult, at times, to rationalize 'giving up' rehearsal time to focus on these things, it is impossible for a director to expect excellent musicianship if (s)he does not teach it.
I had a bittersweet reaction to this article. On the one hand, he is giving bigger voices with vibrato the go-ahead to not modify their voices. This is great! However, I personally love the sound of that perfectly blended, English soprano boy, hooty pure quality in the women's voices. I don't enjoy singing that way, as it does in fact tire me out and seems to put strain on my voice; however, I think it sounds lovely for a lot of choral music genres.
ReplyDeleteI would struggle as a director to not ask my women singers to cut out some vibrato in hopes of lining everything up. I would be interested to try the approach of teaching everyone excellent technique, though it's hard for me to imagine it working to the degree that I would want it to. Some well-trained voices still have vibratos that stick out in choir. That's just how it is, don't you think?
I agree with Alicia for the most part. It is important for young students to find a healthy way to sing before they are given rules of how to blend in a choir. Vocal health should be every teachers number one priority!
ReplyDeleteIn solo singing there is room for individuality but in choral a vocalist needs to give some of that up.In choral singing you need to work on blend and uniformity.
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea of letting the bigger voices go ahead but I feel like it's easier for them to back off and still have good tone production than for a smaller voice to try and come up to their level.
I do think it is important for each individual singer to sing in the way their voice is most comfortable. In extreme cases, if a singer really has trouble modifying to the style of the piece being sung by the choir, maybe the director will ask for those who cannot sing in the precise style (maybe a lack of vibrato, for example) to not sing for a few measures in those spaces. I know Z does this a lot in times where the music is extremely sensitive in dynamic ... where for a good choral sound, it would be best to use less vibrato. This is more difficult for some singers than others. It's probably important not to do this too much, so all singers get equal opportunity to perform, but sometimes it may be necessary for the choral sounds that the director wants.
ReplyDeleteOkay...so I typed that first paragraph before we got to the point about the choral director not giving the direction to lessen vibrato... but that they should encourage the vibrancy of the voice with encouragement of vibrato. I guess there is a difference between taking out vibrato altogether, and lessening it slightly. I think it is always important when the director asks for less vibrato to still encourage and emphasize that there should remain some vibrancy to the tone - in the form of energy or "spin".
Hm... another interesting topic. I'll be interested to discuss this today in class.
I also have a bit of indifference with this article. I definitely agree that the choral director should focus on vocal health in warm-ups at the beginning of class; as Bryce stated, vocal health needs to be the number one priority, especially for younger singers whose voices are in early development. It is also important that each singer is comfortable singing the rep that they have. But I also agree with what Alicia was saying about blend, especially in terms of vibrato. And this goes for singers at the collegiate level, but I feel that most voices should be advanced enough to use less vibrato when singing in the choir setting. And perhaps the director needs to make sure that those singers that may be less advanced can easily create that vocal sound without damage.
ReplyDeleteIt's really too bad that I had to miss today's class for the choral festival; all of the discussions would have been wonderful to hear. I'm also divided on this article; I agree wholeheartedly that vocal health is a primary concern for the choral teacher: if a director destroys their singers' ability, they will soon be left without a choir. However, stylistically accurate performance demands that singers with particularly wide or active vibratos curtail them for a more uniform and focused sound. Finding a balance between these two requirements is a difficult proposition at best.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it can be hard to balance between taking the time to do enough warm ups and technique exercises and having enough time to work on repertoire. I think that it is better to do fewer repertoire prices and have better vocal health than skip out on the warm ups for more Rep time.
ReplyDeleteI like Alicia's comment. As a choral director, that perfectly blended sound is so ideal but also hard on some voices. It wasn't until college that I heard choirs sing with vibrato freely. Tina always encourages it- yet sometimes the tuning suffers as a result. It's a fine line to decide what's best for the choir and also for individual voices.
ReplyDeleteSo tricky..I think it's most difficult with students who are super eager to please. Everything the director says they immediately go 'I"ll fix that! I must be the problem, let me change everything!" I like the 3 things the author told the director to emphasize. 5 minutes a day might be too little, they probably should be mentioned after every instruction. 'Try to make the sound like this but without raising your larynx up to your eyes'.
ReplyDeleteI think it's extremely important to always focus on vocal health. That lies in the hands of the director and the student themselves. You need to be familiar with your instrument and what your voice is capable of. Sing what you can for the amount of time you can in the requested style and know when to hold back, bring it out or not sing at all. It's okay to not sing every measure and to be more present in other areas. But I also think that a director needs to be more forgiving to bigger voices and more importantly not pick extreme amounts of repertoire before hearing the choir. Once you gauge the sound of the group you are working with it would be easier to pick selections that will highlight your choir instead of forcing them into a mold or a previously chosen piece that just isn't working...
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