Patricia Jimenez
SLM521
Building Choral
Tone:
My Web Link
Bibliography
This publication will serve to guide choral directors to useful resources concerning choral intonation. Building a strong and effective choir takes preparation, effort, and listening. The improvement of the choral sound is caused by the improvement of other musical skills such as good posture, breath support, and vowel shaping. The director bears the responsibility of communicating continuity.
“Perfection in all musical aspects of a performance is for naught
if the chorus sounds bad.”
-Timothy Seelig, The Perfect Blend
Methods:
As the director, you must constantly develop your technical skills. The observation and study of notable choral conductors will afford working theories and valuable insights.
Robert
Shaw – This link offers a short biography of Robert Shaw and information on
the Robert Shaw Chorale. Robert Shaw is
remembered as an emotional and passionate conductor. He was first discovered by his peer, Fred Waring. The site
provides links to orchestra associations, discography and related articles. Date
last visited:
Anton Armstrong –Armstrong is internationally recognized as the conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. Reviews often refer to the smooth choral tone of his choirs. This link provides a biography and information about the choir including photos, archives and recordings.
Date last visited:
Leonard
Bernstein – Bernstein was a brilliant conductor and composer of classical
music. He impacted the Broadway musical
stage with his contributions. This
official Bernstein website offers information, pictures, links, store items,
discussion forums, and more. Date last
visited:
http://www.leonardbernstein.com/about.html
Helmuth Rilling
– Rilling studied with Leonard Bernstein and is
currently considered the world's
leading expert on the music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. This site offers a short biography with links
to relevant events such as the co-founding of the Oregon Bach Festival and his
discography. Date last visited:
Exercises and
Warm-ups:
Every musical instrument has to be prepared and warmed up before good musical production of sound can occur. Singers need to get their blood flowing. The whole body, not just the voice, needs to be made ready to sing. Warm-ups promote connection, techniques, unification of vowels, and concentrated focus. Make the effort to relate the physical exercises to the context of the repertoire.
The following annotated links offer books and articles worthy of your consideration.
Choralnet – This is
a website which bills itself as the internet center for choral music. Type in “warm-ups” in the search tab and you
will be offered links to archives, discussion forums, technique articles, and
choir websites. This site is the
ultimate choral resource guide. Date last visited:
Training
the Speaking Voice Through Singing – This 1997 paper by Kenneth Sipley explores practical applications of vocal pedagogy
and the causes of intonation problems. Sipley offers
both insights and exercises for specific vocal needs. Date last visited:
http://www.natcom.org/ctronline/96-97Tra.htm
Nancy Telfer’s Successful
Choral curriculum – This series of sight-singing, warm-ups, and performance
selections is published by Kjos Music Company. An “audio choral workshop” CD is available
for free through this site. There are
Educator and Student editions available of each publication. Select “Choral” on
the home page menu. Date last visited:
American
Music Company – This company provides some of the
lowest prices that I have found for textbooks and reference books. This particular link will take you to listing
of several good choral exercise and warm-up books. Please look for Achieving Choral Blend Through Standing
Position by Weston Noble, Building
Beautiful Voices by Nesheim and Noble, and Group Vocal Technique by Hasseman and Jordan. Please note that these books are also
available through their publishers, major music dealers, and Amazon.com. Date last visited:
http://www.americanmusiccompany.com/textref.html
GIA
– Gia Publications is a leader of music education
materials. This site is easy to navigate
and customer service is friendly. “On
Approval” orders are welcome. Featured
releases pertaining to this page’s subject include Evoking Sound: The Choral Warmup by James
Jordan, Teaching Music Through
Performance in Choir edited by Buchana
and Mehaffey, Ear
Training Immersion Exercises for Choirs by James Jordan, and Achieving Choral Blend Through Standing
Position by Weston Noble. Date last
visited:
Hinshaw
Music – Hinshaw Music publishes one of my all
time favorites, Choral Warmups for A to Z:
Journal Articles and
Papers:
The following articles cover a variety of strategies to guide directors in choral tone improvement.
Powell, Steven. (1991, May) Choral Intonation: More Than
Meets The Ear. Music Educators Journal, v77
n9., p40-43.
This article discusses how physical factors influence the intonation of
a chorus. Relaxation and breathing
exercises are described. This journal is
also supported by MENC. Music Educators
Journal searchable index allows you to search through past issues. Date last visited:
www.menc.org/publication/articles/mejindex.html
Boudreaux, Margaret. (1998, October) The Good Hearted Cantor. Choral Journal. P35-37.
Boudreaux argues that the singer needs to make aesthetic
connections to the music. She is currently the Director of Choral Activities at
McDaniel College. This journal is an
official publication of the ACDA (American
Choral Directors Association) Eastern Division. Date last visited:
Core
Content: Choral Tone – Almquist is the Director
of Choral Activities at
http://www.kmea.org/BGMN/choraltone.pdf http://www.kmea.org/
Choir Accoustics:
An Overview of Scientific Research – This research by Sten
Ternstrom was published in 2003 in the International
Journal of Research in Choral Singing and is available online at www.choralresearch.org. Ternstrom is a professor of Music Acoustics in
Daugherty, James. (2003, January) Choir Spacing and Formation. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. Vol 1. P48-60. Daugherty discusses the traditional placement of choristers by voice sections versus placement by mixed formation. It also investigated spreaded spacing versus closed spacing of singers. Rigid ensemble may confine singers from the healthiest vocal production. Long, intense, and chock-full of information to consider!
Date last visited:
Ford, Kevin. (2003, January) Preferences for Strong or Weak Singers’ Formant Resonance in Choral Tone Quality.
International Journal of Research in Choral Singing.
Vol 1.
P29-47. This was
a study to assess preferences for non-resonant and resonant tone quality. The act of increasing the resonance added
volume to the sound. Date last visited:
Keeping Voices
Healthy:
Tips for
Healthy Voices - Voice problems arise from a variety of sources including
voice overuse or misuse, cancer, infection, or injury. Here are steps that can
be taken to prevent voice problems and maintain a healthy voice. [from site] Date last visited:
http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/throat/Healthy-Voice.cfm
My voice gets so dry
sometimes it almost 'skips'! – Sound
familiar? This link is a response to frequently asked questions of
Date last visited:
Colds, Flu, Hoarseness, and Voice Loss
- Weighing the importance of the booking against the potential damage to your
vocal health is a must. [from site] This site, found through Brainboost.com, does
not offer expert medical advice but rather sound experiential advice. It offers links to other articles and links
to sponsored medicinal products. The
menus include a voice training index and a musician’s resource guide, and more.
Date last visited:
Vocal
Health Module – Vocal Health is a CD ROM that provides valuable information
on how to keep your voice healthy. This
is a purchasable product. It provides
video footage, animations, and handouts.
It covers anatomy, speaking, singing, physical complications such as
nodules. It is available through Blue
Tree Publishing. (www.bluetreepublishing.com)
Date last visited:
Some
Basic Tips For Vocal Health – Mr. E’s Virtual Music Classroom provides
musical activities and resources for kids and teachers. This article promotes vocal warm-ups. Hydration, lubrication, and relaxation are
important tools for a healthy voice. Date
last visited:
Precision Conducting, Volume 2 (Achieving Choral Blend and Balance), Timothy Sharp -
When seeking choral balance, the director must consider the
quantities of ensemble size, volume, space, individual voice strengths, and
voice placement. Choral blend is
approached through the qualities of rhythmic precision, vowel unity, and
intonation. This handy spiral-bound
book, published by Lorenz Publishing, is
packed with a wealth of information. {paraphrased from
site} Date last visited:
https://www.lorenz.com/
May beautifully blended
sounds rise before you !