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Vocal Techniques
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Conducting Tips and Techniques:
DON'T SING WITH THE CHOIR. You can't hear what the choir is doing over the sound of your own voice and your own singing distracts you from helping your performers. LEARN EVERY PART. There is no substitute for your own practice. Aim for being able to sing the first notes of every part of every entrance correctly, whenever that choir section needs the help. PRACTICE CONDUCTING EVERY PIECE IN FRONT OF A MIRROR. You need to be able to conduct without burying your face in your music anyway; so this is a good way to check whether or not you have learned your music. MONITOR YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND BODY LANGUAGE. Singing is a very emotional action. If people believe they can sing, they can. If you are smiling or have a look of approval on your face, your choir will be much more likely to sing well. (See #8 in this section, new.) TO TELL WHO IS SINGING WHAT PART, assign different nonsense syllables to each part, such as: altos sing all their notes with a "da" syllable, basses sing "lu", while sopranos sing "mi" on all of their own notes, etc. Then if you hear an alto syllable on a soprano note, you'll know the altos are getting pulled off the part instead of thinking that the sopranos are suddenly much stronger, and you'll be able to work on the problem. TO HELP YOUR SINGERS UNDERSTAND HARMONY, instead of relating every part to the melody, start rehearsing the Basses first. Then rehearse Tenors with basses, then Altos, and finally add Sopranos. This makes your basses--the foundation of western music--extremely secure. It also helps your inner voices learn how their parts fit with the harmony--rather than being dependant on the melody. (Warn your accompanist ahead of time; this rehearsal technique requires a different piano skill.) DON'T START AT THE BEGINNING EVERY TIME. START WITH THE MOST DIFFICULT CHORD OR PHRASE OF THE MUSIC. Then move back a bit and lead into that section. When that is mastered, start from even further back and continue through the problem phrase and beyond. *When you are conducting a choir, your face must represent the meaning of the song/music so they can understand how to sing the song.
Thank you,
Teddy Siagian,
Indonesia.
References:
http://startachoir.99newsongs.com/id36.html
Pasukan Koir Universiti Teknologi Petronas 2009.
Senada, Seirama, Sejiwa.
1 great voice/s:
Nice post thanks for writing about the "Expressions and Body language".
I also think singing with feeling makes the people to feel the emotion and understand the meaning of songs..