Blending with a Choir

'Music has the power to bring people together like no other art form'- Michael Franti

Being part of a choir is a totally different ball game to solo singing and this is why I feel it is really important to look at the power of blending voices and tones. This is also why I have based a section of my essay upon this.

In the University choir we have been looking at the song we are doing for the Christmas Carol service. For two of the songs we're doing Jazz versions of two well known Christmas songs, Jingle Bells and Carol of the Bells. I think within Jazz it is very important that you get a good blend and all sound in unison with each other because there are lots of aspects that need to be tight such as slides which are very common in Jazz and occur in both pieces. I've already mentioned this briefly in another blog, but when watching The Naked Choir (2015) a tip that Gareth Malone gave was too watch the other people's mouths when singing because you immediately and subconsciously copy what others are doing. 

I think it is also very important as a choir to focus on listening to help achieve good balance and tonal quality. For example, if your part is not singing the melody then you need to adjust your volume so that it is lower. This is extremely important because the main parts need to stick out and that the rest of it is accompaniment. A lot of the time during arrangements there is constant changing of parts as this makes a piece engaging and interesting, therefore it is important to be aware of other singers within the choir and changes within the Music so that you can make these changes as smoothly as possible. I have learnt that it is important to remember you're not the only one in the choir and you're not there to do a solo performance. I think this is an essential thing to know when doing choral work. 

'Listening to each other is not exclusively for improving the sound and blend either. Once you feel they are getting the hang of it, you can use this technique for rhythms, pitch, diction and many other aspects of music.'