Trabajos previos

Although every textbook will present a slightly different set of ranges for high school SATB voice parts, and every choir will have singers in various stages of vocal development, the ranges and tessituras (Phillips, 1992) for SSAATTBB presented in Example 6.1 should be committed to memory for ease in auditions, warm-ups, and repertoire selection.

Looking closely, it can be seen that each voice part has an approximate range of a twelfth and a tessitura made up of the middle fifth of the range. This will aid in memorization.

To identify the ranges for the beginning SATB group, conflate the S1 & S2 parts to include only the common notes between them;

and do the same for alto, tenor and bass. Reduce each voice part to

its common tones and see the resulting range of a tenth, and tessitura of just a third (see Example 6.2). These ranges and especially the tessituras are very conservative and generalized, but will assist in determining voice parts and selecting workable repertoire for the beginning high school ensemble.

For the advanced SATB group, simply combine all the pitches of the S1 & S2, A1 & A2, T1 & T2, and B1 & B2 ranges. Each vocal part indicated in Example 6.3 ranges from the lowest note of part 2 to the highest note of part 1. Commit these to memory for ease of audition-ing, warming-up, and selecting repertoire.

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Example 6.1 High School SSAATTBB Ranges and Tessituras

AUDITIONS

The choral audition has two main purposes: to determine choir mem-bership and to place singers in sections. While auditioning can be nerve-wracking for many students, it is important for them to know that audition experience actually improves one’s ability to audition successfully (Fuller, 1989). The preparation for and pressure of the first audition make the second one a little easier, and so on, similar to athletes who perform better under the pressure of a championship game when they have had that experience previously.

Example 6.2 High School SATB Beginning Ranges and Tessituras

Example 6.3 High School SATB Advanced Ranges and Tessituras

There is no simple “quick and dirty” audition procedure for high school choirs as there was for middle school choirs. Auditions can be quite varied in the high school because of the different types of groups—there is often a non-selective ensemble, a single-gender choral group, a middle-level mixed ensemble, an advanced mixed ensemble, and at least one specialized chamber group such as madrigal singers or a vocal jazz ensemble. Other large ensembles may include a show choir or a gospel choir. But no matter what type of choir, the choral director will want to hear each student for proper choir and section placement.

Auditions for the various groups may include some or all of the following criteria (Crabb, 2002):

• Vocal range and tessitura

• Tone quality

• Intonation

• Sight-singing skill

• Pitch and rhythm memory

• Blend

• Enthusiasm for choral music.

Audition Procedures

The choir director needs to announce the auditions, post a sign-up schedule for students at 10- or 15-minute intervals (outside of class time if possible), and distribute student information forms for students to complete and bring to the audition. Part I of the audition form

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requests demographic information to be completed by the student, and Part II is for the instructor to complete during the audition. A five-point rating scale can be used effectively in the limited time frame of 10 minutes. The audition form shown in Table 6.1 can be adapted to fit any audition type.

When the student enters the room, greet him or her by name in a warm and friendly manner to help ease the tension that comes with any audition. Make short conversation about the student’s information on the audition form in order to hear the pitch of the speaking voice.

Position the student so that he or she cannot see the piano keys to alleviate any fears of singing “too high.” Move quickly to five-note descending vocalizes that are easy to sing, and then move to those that reveal the extremes of the student’s range, all the while taking notes on the student’s range, tessitura, tone quality, and intonation.

Tessitura

It is essential to find the student’s tessitura (best sounding, easiest to produce pitches) as quickly as possible, and if this is difficult to hear, one approach is to have the student sing the first phrase of Am erica (“My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing”) in at least two different keys (G and C), to see if the voice sounds best in the soprano/tenor tessitura (key of G), or the alto/bass tessitura (key of C).

Voice Timbre

Hearing five-note scalar patterns helps to identify the extremes of the range, but in a short audition time frame, identifying the tessitura as described above and listening for the following timbres in conjunction with range can really help determine voice classification (Phillips, 1992).

• Soprano I: Light and pure

• Soprano II: Full; common voice type at this age

• Alto I: Similar quality to Soprano II, but a bit lower

• Alto II: Full and rich; rare at this age

• Tenor I: Light and lyrical; the last voice to develop

• Tenor II: Fuller than Tenor I

• Baritone: Full; common voice classification at this age

• Bass: Heavy and dark; rare at this age

Table 6.1 Sample High School Choir Audition Form Sample Choir Audition Form

Students: Please complete Part I of this form, and bring to your audition.

Part I:

Name: Date:

Year in school:

Choir experience:

Private music study:

Current class and work schedule:

Hobbies:

Contact information:

Do not write below this line

Part II:

Range and Tessitura

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

Tone Quality: 1(low) 2 3 4 5 (high)

Intonation: 1 2 3 4 5

Sight-Singing: 1 2 3 4 5

Tonal/Rhythmic Memory: 1 2 3 4 5

Solo Ability: 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Voice Part Assigned: ___________________________________________________________

Choir Assigned: _______________________________________________________________

Comments: ___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

© 2010 Taylor and Francis, Becoming a Choral Music Teacher, Routledge.

Pitch and Tonal Memory

A test of tonal memory can predict choral achievement (Mowrer, 1996). Tonal imitation exercises require no previous formal music training, but can provide vital information on how well the student can remember melodies. Two or three short examples (four or eight beats in length) sequenced from extremely simple to more challenging such as those in Example 6.4 work well. Be sure to use melodies that are appropriate for the vocal range of the students so that they have every opportunity to be successful. A student’s performance can be rated quickly on a five-point scale, with “1” indicating that no notes were correct, “2” indicating that only one or two notes were correct, “3”—

about half of the notes were correct, “4”—most notes were correct, and

“5”—a perfect performance.

Sight-Singing

Sight-reading examples can be created and sequenced similarly to the above imitation examples, with different levels of audition materials for the various ensembles in order to discriminate musical skills for proper choir and voice placement. However, if a singer cannot sight-sing at all, do not belabor the point by asking her or him to sing all examples. Two key aspects to keep in mind are 1) that sight-reading material for an audition should be several levels simpler than the actual music to be performed, and 2) that the sight-reading material should be placed in an appropriate key for the student’s range to provide the opportunity to succeed. In Examples 6.5 and 6.6, the melodies are notated in different keys and clefs to illustrate the last point.

Example 6.4 Melodic Imitation Audition Example

Solo

You may also want the students to sing a solo of their choice, ranging from Happy Birthday to an art song; or an improvisation of a scat solo to the blues. However, with only 10 minutes, the teacher has to be extremely organized and efficient, which takes practice.

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Example 6.5 Moderately Easy Sight-Singing Example

Example 6.6 Difficult Sight-Singing Example