Seating, Placement, and Vital Colors for Your Choir

An  Approach  to  the  Placement  of  Individual  

Voices

Jo-Michael Scheibe, DMA Chair and Professor

Department of Choral and Sacred Music USC Thornton School of Music

scheibe@thornton.usc.edu

Choral Schools and Procedures*

• Westminster  – John  Finley  Williamson• Paulist  Choir  – Father  William  Finn• St.  Olaf  – F.  Melius Christiansen• Fred  Waring  and  the  Pennsylvanians – Fred  Waring

• “Voice  Science”  – Joseph  Klein,  Douglas  Stanley,  John  C.  Wilcox

• Atlanta  Symphony  Chorus  &  Earlier  –Robert  Shaw

*as  defined  by  Howard  Swan  in  the  early  1970s

Weston Noble ApproachI. Voice  Seating  within  the  Section

A. Importance  of  Personal  ExperienceB. Seating  within  a  section1. Ears2. Strength  of  Voice

C. Ingredients  of  Blend1.   Tone  Color2. Vibrato3. Pitch4. Physical  Height5. Size  of  Voice  6. Rhythm

D. Model  PairE. Blending  of  OppositesF. Individual  comfort  of  singerG. Advantages  as  well  in  Middle  School,  but  need  to  make  

frequent  adjustmentsH. Discipline

II. Seating  of  the  Choir  Combinations

Taking Time to Seat Your Choir

• You  don’t  have  the  time  NOT  to  seat  them• Singers  have  a  place– individual  singer  knows  they  have  value

• Acoustical  adjustments  may  be  necessary

Thoughts Regarding the Term “Blend”

• Blend  vs.  Bland– Pointillism  &  the  small  brush  strokes  of  Impressionism– All  colors  are  necessary– If  everyone  sounds  alike,  that’s  bland,  not  blend.

Thoughts Regarding the Term “Blend”

Thoughts Regarding the Term “Blend”

Thoughts Regarding the Term “Blend”

Voices

• Variables– Color:  dark,  bright– Resonance:  forward,  nasal,  back– Ear  dominance– Rhythmic,  non-­rhythmic– Vibrato  rate– Size  of  voice– Tonal  memory– Sight  reading– Comfort  level  of  individual  singers

Voice Matching and Placement

• Musical  Choices– If  homophonic,  perform  mixed– If  polyphonic,  perform  in  sections– If  orchestral,  consider  how  vocal  lines  are  doubled  by  instruments– Not  always  in  the  best  interest  of  the  music  to  sing  in  mixed  formation• Victoria/Palestrina-­ linear  independence• Mozart,  Handel,  Bach• Brahms:– Mixed-­ Liebeslieder Waltzes– Sections-­ Requiem

• Choral/Orchestral  Works

Voice Matching and Placement

• Vocal  Choices– Color  of  your  sound– Placement  of  rows  to  change  color