Choir Lessons for 1st Term PDF

Choir Lessons for 1st Term Breathing is the power source of the voice. We cannot sing well without breathing support. Diaphragm is the supporting organ in breathing. The diaphragm, located below the lungs, is the major muscle of respiration. It is a large, dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmic...

Choir Lessons for 1st Term Breathing is the power source of the voice. We cannot sing well without breathing support. Diaphragm is the supporting organ in breathing. The diaphragm, located below the lungs, is the major muscle of respiration. It is a large, dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmically and continually, and most of the time, involuntarily. Upon inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and flattens and the chest cavity enlarges. This contraction creates a vacuum, which pulls air into the lungs. Upon exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its domelike shape, and air is forced out of the lungs. Voice production Voice is generated by airflow from the lungs. When the air from the lungs blows through the vocal folds at a high speed, the vocal folds vibrate. The vibrations lead to sounds we call voice. These sounds are shaped to form speech. The Diaphragm Functions in Breathing Posture  Posture is the one of the vital parts in singing.  Here are the things you need to know: Feet slightly apart Legs straight but knees slightly bent, don’t lock them Spine aligned relaxed Abdomen flat Chest comfortably forward  Shoulders down and back Head facing straight forward Dynamics control & theory Vocal dynamics involves learning to have control of your singing loudness with vowels, phrases, and emotions. When we use the Dynamics in music, it comes alive and full of expressions. All depends on how your breath and control your breath management especially from diaphragm. Controlling your singing voice will help you go from being an ordinary singer to an extraordinary one. Dynamics is a word that comes from the Greek word dynamo, meaning “power.” In the context of general music, we use it as a term for how loud or soft sounds are. Dynamics symbols Tone Quality & Placement Tone quality is a quality of a sound or the color of a sound. Pitch is the actual note that we are singing. The pitch, intensity, and strength of the sound are all things that determine its tone. In Singing, vocal tone refers to the quality of your singing voice, apart from pitch. Very broadly speaking, it’s how you sound when singing a note. Tone can be extremely different for different genres of music. Descriptive words can be used to describe a singer’s tone, such as: bright, dark, full, powerful, airy, breathy, harsh, gentle, soft, clear, pure, and many others. How can we know good vocal tone or not? The optimal vocal tone is not: ❖ Overly breathy ❖ Overly nasal ❖ Squeezing ❖ Strain or ❖ Too dark or operatic sounding The optimal vocal tone is: ❖ Resonance ❖ Rich- sounding ❖ Easily produced ❖ Sounds effortless and ❖ A mix of bright and dark tone Musical tone & vocal tone Musical tones -Musical tones are the notes that you are singing. Vocal Tone - Vocal tone is the sound of your voice as you sing. Four main systems in singing 1. Power Source - Breath / Air flow 2. Phonation (Vibration source/vocal folds) -As air passes through our vocal folds, they vibrate, creating sound waves and this is where we control pitch. 3. Resonator (Vocal Tract- throat, mouth, nose) - The shape of vocal tract affects the quality of sound we make (bright, dark, warm, nasal, brassy etc.) 4. Articulators (tongue, lips) -These forms the sounds to distinguish words. (Vowels & Consonants) Diction Diction in singing refers to the clarity and precision of pronunciation in singing. It involves the combination of vowels and consonants, phrasing, and tone. The most common causes of poor singing diction can be any or all of the following; Mouth shape while singing Tongue placement Poor control of breathing Strong accents and dialects Poor mic technique Poor sound mixing Proper & Poor Diction Proper diction is essential in singing because it helps the audience understand the lyrics and the message behind the song. Poor diction can distract from the overall performance and diminish the impact of the music. Good diction also enhances the singer’s credibility and allows them to effectively communicate the emotion behind the lyrics. There are several aspects of diction that contribute to clear and precise pronunciation in singing. These include: Articulation: The clarity and precision of the sounds produced by the singer, including consonants and vowels. Phrasing: The way in which the words of a song are grouped and connected to form musical sentences. Stress and Intonation: The emphasis given to certain syllables or words in a song, and the variation in pitch used to convey meaning. Vowels Vowels are formed by the shape of a combination of parts that form the vocal tract including the tongue, lips and nose. Each tongue placement and mouth shape gives the vowel its own characteristic  (known as formants) which identify the vowel to the listener eg. sort, sought. The main vowel sounds within singing are: Ah as in Apple Eh as in Air Ay as in Sky Oh as in Orange Ee as in Bee Oo as in Room Musical Terms 1. Acapella - singing without instrumentals 2. Staccato - short and detached 3. Legato - smoothly 4. Accidentals - symbols that can change pitch of the note 5. SATB -abbreviation of Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass 6. Cantata. A choral work that uses solo voices with an instrumental (usually orchestral) accompaniment. A cantata is generally a choral work of some length that also uses solo voices, usually with instrumental accompaniment. The texts used may be sacred or secular. Some cantatas use solo voices without chorus or choir. 7. Clef. Several symbols drawn at the end of a stave, indicating the pitch of the notes written on that stage 8. Crescendo (Italian: 'growing') A dynamic instruction meaning to gradually play louder. 9. Da Capo (Italian: 'from the beginning'). Usually abbreviated to 'D.C.' at the end of a section of a piece, meaning go back to the beginning and play either to the end (Da capo al fine) or to the sign, which looks like a stylized "S" (Da capo al segno). 10. Articulation In music, articulation refers to how individual notes are played. It’s like the musical equivalent of pronunciation. Articulation techniques, such as legato and staccato, are used to produce different sounds and effects.