The School Choral Program

Jordan and Holt

Chapter 8: The Choral Rehearsal: Planning, Evaluating, Sight-Reading, and Singer Placement
Summary:

 Planning the Choral Rehearsal: Layered Planning

o Layering allows for focused music learning that moves developmentally and does
not overwhelm or skip steps. Here is the suggested layering sequence from the
chapter:
 Layer 1: Determine vocal requirements of the piece
 Layer 2: Establish the context for aware listening
 Layer 3: Mark the score
 Layer 4: Sound the harmonic structure
 Layer 5: Introduce modality with an aural immersion exercise
 Layer 6: Initially sound the score using appropriate neutral syllables
without text. Provide alternating dominant in upper tessitura to reinforce
tonality “of the moment”
 Layer 7: Secure elements of pitch and rhythm (pitch via “la”-based minor
solfege, all performed at a low dynamic level. Accompanist provides
constant dominant reinforcement.)
 Layer 8: Add dynamics and phrase shape
 Layer 9: Use multi-layered diction teaching process—(1) heightened
speech, (2) sustained speech, (3) heightened exaggerated speech, (4)
staccato singing on the text

 Achieving Blend Through Standings and Chair Arrangements

o Always have your choir stand in an arc if possible; this allows for a mixing of the
sound to occur before being sent out into the hall
o “Alto-in-Front” Arrangement (TBSA or BTSA) allows for altos to hear better and
takes the edge off of the soprano sound
 This arrangement can also be done with basses behind the sopranos
instead of in the back which ensures better tuning
o Voicing the Choir:
 Choose a beginning singer and then voice based on the singer’s overtone
series (like a wide-tooth and narrow-tooth comb, you want the overtones
to lock in together when they are next to each other)
 Singers standing next to acoustical matches will be too loud and/or
out of tune
 Do not place strong singers in the center of the choir to try and
help create a central anchor for sound; voicing will displace strong
singers among weaker ones and create a balanced sound
 When voicing, encourage singers to sing with a healthy, supported, free,
and vibrant sound. Tell them to make not attempts at blending and have
them sing in their own individual sound
  If a voice pairing lines up, but the sound becomes rhythmically sluggish,
do not allow those singers to sing next to each other no matter how in tune
it is

 Sight-Reading for Choirs: What is a Literate Choir?

o Music literacy should be like learning a language: Reading a language occurs
after being exposed to the sounds and letting them become familiar to our ears.
Music literacy is typically taught the opposite way, which is counterintuitive to
the way we learn
o Music learning in a choral setting depends on hearing the music in its harmonic
context first, which is why text is added as a later part of the music
o Music listening within an ensemble:
 Develop a heightened aural awareness in every rehearsal so you listen to
everything else musical except yourself
 Listen to everything else except yourself, including the accompanist and
the accompaniment
 Develop aware listening that acknowledges the presence of the harmonic
structure being sung within at all times rather than your own isolated
melodic material
 Harmonic context is everything in developing literacy in a choral
ensemble
o Basic elements of choral ensemble music learning: consistent tempo and resting
tone
 Consistent tempo allows the choir to perceive and decode rhythms in a
logical way
 Resting tone anchors the tonality and allows singers to hear harmonic
context
 Using solfege and an emphasis on harmonic context allows for better
understanding of the music and pitches rather than memorizing intervals
 Interval memorization becomes thrown off when a choir must sing
in a modality that is not strictly major