by Norene Morrow
After working with church choirs for many years, I have come to the conclusion that it is possible for any congregation to have a choir that can provide strong leadership, no matter what level it may or may not possess. In my mind there are three important skills that choirs can develop that will get them well on their way. They are: 1) listening 2) watching 3) doing the same as everyone else.
1) LISTENING — In recent years, I have been amazed at how immediately a sound can change for the better when one simply asks their choir members to listen to each other. So often choristers get caught up in reading the music that they are not aware of what is going on around them. They forget that they are part of a group. As a result, the sound is often unbalanced and unblended. However, once the group is reminded to listen, an improved sound is almost instantaneous. Try it!
2) WATCHING — This is very easy to do, but is not the habit of most church choirs. Watching the director is crucial to singing as one, singing in time, knowing when to stop, and responding to a director’s gestures. Why choristers keep their noses in their books is a mystery. Perhaps it is insecurity; perhaps it is just a bad habit. Directors must learn to be insistent and persistent. Telling a choir to look up once is not enough. The only way to deal with this problem is through practical application and repetition. The first place to start is the warm up. In addition to getting the voice going, this is a time for the group to focus its attention. It is not a time to be looking for music, changing into one's robes, staring into space, or chatting. Directors can keep singers on their toes by adding sudden tempo or dynamics changes to the exercises. Choirs should also practice singing from memory. One way is to learn to sing the liturgical parts of the service from memory. If your congregation has been using the same liturgy for years, it is time to get rid of the books! In doing so, singers give their full attention to the music and their director. This result is a better sound.
To the directors: Make your choir stop singing when individuals are not watching. Insist that they watch you. (Repeat if necessary.) Do not start a piece until you have everyone’s attention. Insist that singers hold their music in such a way that they only have to move their eyes rather than their whole head. Encourage singers to read ahead by glancing at each phrase in advance. Finally, watching must also be extended to the non-singing parts of the service. If you notice that choristers are starting to take mental coffee breaks, call them on it. Music should be open to the next piece once the previous music is done. Choristers should stand and sit together, and be aware of what they are doing when processing down the aisle. A choir that watches provides strong leadership for the congregation.
3) DO THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE — In order for a choir to have a good blend vowel sounds must be uniform and consistent. Therefore, if a choir is asked to sing an Ah vowel (as in father) everyone should have the same mouth shape and make the same sound. (i.e. "Alleluia" — One cannot have their choir singing AH-leluia and AL- leluia at the same time.) Also, listen for grinding Rs in words such as Lorrrrd and merrrrcy. Singers should soften or get rid of them all together. (Directors must rehearse this. Telling a choir once does not result in change.) Listen to dipthongs (vowel sounds that contain a principal sound and a vanishing sound). Choirs should always sing on the principal sound as long as possible in order to achieve a blended, pleasant sound. (i.e. Christ = ChrAHeest vs. ChrahEEEEst.) Then there are those words that everyone has an opinion about how to pronounce. Is it Is-RAY-el or Is- RYE-el? It doesn't matter, as long as there is consistency. Whether you agree or not, the director has the final say.
To sum up, any choir can sound decent if everyone works together as a team. The job of each person in a choir is to listen, watch, and do the same as everyone else. The director's job is to make sure they do it. Whether or not the director has a strong music background is not really the issue. Any music leader can achieve good results from a group with a little patience and if he or she leads with confidence and is willing to enforce consistency.
