How to Achieve a Better Choral Blend | Conducting Tips

Most of us would agree when singing together we blend sounds more beautiful than we could make individually. For that reason, you should spend time as director working on tone quality and choral blend. You will find it is well worth it. Good blend, though, is still the exception, rather than the rule.

Therefore, why is it that many church choirs never achieve a good choral blend?

Here are a few reasons:

• It requires a high level of concentration and commitment from both singer and director
• The choir must learn the skill of listening to those around them
• The director isn’t hearing the whole auditory experience when he stands in front of his choir or it is not a priority

So, what is blend?  One definition suggests that blend means “to combine so that the parts are indistinguishable from one another.” When people listen to our family sing they often comment on how hard it is to figure out who is singing what part. Why? Because we blend. Our voices have become mixed smoothly and inseparably together. This is an example of choral blend.

Choral Balance -vs- Choral Blend

Obviously, a factor that can affect our blend is balance. By “balance” here I mean the relative volume of each part. Depending on the piece of music, the volume of each part shouldn’t necessarily be the same. It means every part has an appropriate volume. For now, let’s think of choral balance as being something that occurs primarily between voice sections, e.g., balance between the sopranos and basses.

Choral blend must be achieved within each section and within the over all choir in order to establish a unified sound.

Below is a compilation of ideas from several sources that I use with my choirs to help us blend well together.   The concepts are based on unified and well produced vowels and consonants, correct pitches and rhythms, and proper breathing and support.

 Unified Vowels and Consonants

A good chance to discuss vertical shaping of vowels

• Use vowel blending warm ups for choirs on every level
• Sing the same vowel and consonant at the same time. Doing this will make the words more understandable and convey the emotions of the song
• When singing softly, vowels are soft – consonants are never soft
• Avoid the vanish (second vowel-sound) of a diphthong (sound that begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in boil or (i) in fine.)
• 99 percent of singing should be on a vowel
• Vowels are spacious, high and forward
• Understand and develop the male head voice
• Teach proper breathing – inhalation and exhalation (diaphragm activities)
• Connect voice to the breath

Unified Pitch

(“focus” of pitch and “center” of the pitch are helpful terms)

• Match the voice with the ear to establish a true pitch (listen)
• A flat or sharp pitch is a wrong pitch
• Singing intervals accurately, giving careful attention to ascending and descending half-step intervals
• Understand and hear dissonance as well as consonance
• Vibrato problems are almost always pitch problems
• Individuals and sections can ruin a piece by over singing and “shouting” as they get caught up in the piece.
• Listening to those around you and adjusting your pitch, tone and volume are all important

Unified Rhythm 

Often overlooked, but the voice that sticks out is often late or (less often ) early as well as too loud and wide. If that voice arrives on time, it sticks out much less.

• Sing together at the same time
• Late or early notes are wrong notes
• Don’t change tempo with dynamic changes (unless marked)
• Measured sound and measured silence are equal
• Recognize the smallest unit of the beat to develop a sense of inner pulse
• Staccato singing is a good rehearsal technique to sharpen rhythm and pitch

Unified Dynamics/Balance

This is tied to shaping phrases together as an ensemble

• Sing at a similar dynamic level, crescendo or diminuendo for a perfect balance and ensemble
• The singer must have a real desire to truly have his or her voice become part of the choral sound (forgoing solo technique)

Every choir, no matter how experienced, needs to be made aware of how well they are blending.  To achieve the best blend possible, the music director must be committed to the task. He must tune their vowels, place their consonants, make sure they match pitch, adjust their intervals, and tell them what dynamics to use.

Conclusion

As you see, a lot is up to the music director, when it comes to achieving a good blend. Better communication is a by-product of a good blend and is just as important as explaining the meaning of words and inspiring the choir to make the music “come alive.”

Let’s not hinder the message of the text, especially in our church music, by failing to blend our voices together as one.

How do you work with your choir regarding their choral blend? Leave a comment below.