We live in a time where everything can be produced instantly. Projects that use to take weeks can now be completed in half the time with the help of the myriad of apps for every device imaginable. This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that we can get work done quickly and efficiently, sometimes even creatively! A curse because we have learned to not slow down and grapple with the various elements that make a product uniquely beautiful.
Music, like all other art forms, takes time and patience to hone the creative intuition needed to address the variety of performance issues that will come up on any given week. While it is very true that the more experience you have in music the more your creative intuition serves you on autopilot, decisions still need to be made or agreed upon in order for a performance to flow with clarity and naturalness. This is harder than it sounds but completely accessible to develop over time. As we begin our journey together, we will explore how to bring clarity and focus to our music each and every week, starting with the vocals.
What do I mean by vocals? I mean, singing. Any singing that may happen to enhance worship. Whether this is a large choir, small ensemble, a duet, or a solo. I am talking about vocals in the broadest sense of the word. How can I speak with such an expansive definition? Because I want to equip you with the big picture on how to think about vocals so that you can apply these methods to any rehearsal situation: ultimate freedom in creativity. Beginning down the road to enhancing music performance through rehearsal is relatively straight forward:
Step 1) Acquire the tools needed to evaluate and provide feedback
Step 2) Have a sound goal to work towards
Step 3) Rehearse with encouraging patience and attention to detail.
This is my goal for our time together: to equip and to serve.
Let’s begin!
I want you to pause for 30 seconds and think of the last time the vocals in worship seemed off. Try to recall that moment in your mind’s ear.
OK. Perfect! Now depending on how “off” the vocals were—I do apologize for making you relive it—the ability to evaluate where the opportunities for improvement lie will vary.
Now that we have context, let’s think through the myriad of musical features that could have been causing that “off” feeling. Here are my favorite ten:
 |
"Great performance is the culmination of lots of skills
that are interconnected with each other." |
As you study this chart, you may be thinking this is a weird set-up... Good point! Admittedly, this is an odd configuration. This chart is organized in a way that will help us think about vocals based on clarity of sound and quality of sound. This is chart also gives us some language to help us branch into future discussions.
Here are our two fundamental questions one must always ask themselves while rehearsing: 1) Can I understand the words and the music clearly? This question focuses on clarity of sound. 2) Does it sound like I want it to sound? This question focuses on quality of sound.
Please note, I didn’t say, “Does it sound good?” That’s a context driven question—country vocals sound distinctly different than operatic vocals but equally beautiful in their own musical context. Importantly, we are here to think about vocals not to define what is best for your church, that is your job.
Hearing the Big Picture
So, how do we read the chart? In short, if you want better CLARITY of sound, read the chart from top to bottom focusing on everything in the green. If you want better QUALITY of sound, begin reading from the bottom and to top, focusing on everything in the pink. Located somewhere in the middle—Text Stress/Phrasing and Vocal Balance & Blend—are the most advanced and challenging skills to develop as a team because they are a blend of both vocal clarity and vocal quality. Why? Because they are big picture items that require a general fluency in other categories; it is hard to blend vocals that are out of tune with each other, have different vocal colors among singers, and do not begin and end singing at the same time. Before we get distracted by cause and effect, it is important for me to say, this not a hard science. Overtime, I will unpack each of these “big ten items,” describing how they can be coached through rehearsal and enhanced by other items not found in this chart, like dynamics and articulation (loud, soft, short, long... etc). For right now, the takeaway is: great performance is the culmination of lots of skills that are interconnected with eachother.
Overwhelmed? Me too...
Here’s the good news, if you can name it, you can train it and that’s what we are all about at Resonant Music Ministry. For now, let’s keep reflecting by thinking back to your performance, what was the main issue that was bothering. Can you put it into words?
Maybe there was a crunchiness to the sound that you didn’t like (incorrect pitches/intonation/vowel). Maybe everything was great but you couldn’t understand a word (consonant articulation/text stress and phrasing).
Keep playing back that performance in your head…
Back Into Rehearsal
OK! Now what would happen if you paused rehearsal and ask the vocals to sing (off microphone, if you use them) the section of music that you have in mind. If you would like, have your keyboardist play with them (if you want a challenge, sing it without accompaniment). If this is your first time doing this, warn your singers ahead of time. Tell them, “this will feel weird but it will help!” Now encourage them to listen to each other. If you have a lead vocal, make your decisions based on the lead vocalist. If you have a section leader (choir), make your decisions with the section leader. If you are the singular vocal director, make your decisions together with their performance in mind.
Once there is direction for how a passage should sound, rehearse it. If your feedback does not fix the problem immediately, keep working and be encouraged because what you have just done is the first big leap into vocal excellence; you cultivated an awareness for performance skills and fostered the environment needed to encourage listening and collaboration.
Remember: always, always, always be encouraging. Insecurity wreaks havoc on creativity so working every week to build a culture of love and mutual respect among your singers is imperative.
I am excited that we have come this far and hope to hear from you about how your rehearsals are going. If you want to learn more about Resonant Music Ministry, check out my first ever blog post. We are going to continue digging deeper into rehearsals for vocalist overtime. Looking ahead, we will be targeting my newest passion, bringing focus to your vocals through text stress. Sounds dry? Maybe... but it will TRANSFORM your vocals overnight.
Thanks for stopping into Resonant Music Ministry. Remember: be encouraged, be inspired, be resonant.
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