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INTO PRACTICE CHOIR TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS: FIRST STEPS

In the first of a series of articles, Sub-Organist of Manchester Cathedral Jeffrey Makinson offers practical advice in the setting up of a school choir. Here he looks at how to audition children and, importantly, how to spot potential.

Choir training always seems to be something that musicians baulk at, generally because they have little experience of singing themselves. In schools, problems are often compounded, especially when dealing with adolescents, since street credibility and the lure of computer games, sports and television generally puts paid to many extra-curricular musical activities. But starting a choir is not that difficult to do, as long as you are consistent in your approach and make sure that you know what you are listening for at the outset. Stage 1: The First Audition: The initial background has been set: you have made an announcement in assembly that you will be starting a choir and that anyone interested should contact you as soon as possible. With a string of potential singers, it is up to you to sort out the wheat from the chaff There are two possible approaches to take in auditions. You have to bear in mind that many children would be somewhat hesitant to sing alone and would prefer to be auditioned alongside a friend, or in a larger group of children. So it is perhaps best to start by having all your potential choristers in a large group; position them in a circle if you can, and teach them some basics of posture: both feet should be placed firmly on the floor, their heads should be up and shoulders back. This frees the diaphragm and allows them to breathe more naturally and also helps them immediately to project the sound they make. Teach them a three-part round such as:

firstly making sure they can say the words as a choir, being clear in their diction. As far as the melody is concerned, teach them the final part first, then work backwards until they have got to the first line that way, they will know the end as well as the beginning, a practice that you might wish to adopt with every piece you sing.

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It is best to make sure that, when they do sing it as a round, each of the three groups has a smattering of stronger singers in it: if it seems unbalanced, do a bit of swapping and changing around until you are happy with the overall distribution. Sing it as a continual round don't allow them to stop, because you are going to walk around your group checking who can do what. Always ask the following questions of yourself: How loud is s/he? What sort of vocal quality does s/he have? How much is s/he relying on others for help?

1.

2.

3.

The round I have provided here is quite useful, since you can change the lower D at the end to an upper one, which will allow you to see what their upper registers are like. If you are uncertain, try a slightly harder round, perhaps one that has more tricky words or a melodic line that is not too easy to sing. For example:

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is quite long (therefore stretching their memories), its words are quite a mouthful and the opening bars contain a modicum of chromaticism that is not easy to pitch properly. Other similar rounds may be found in A&C Black'sinexpensive, but useful publication Flying Around (ISBN 07136 22555, 9.99). [Alternatives might also be found in Hill, Parfitt and Ash's Giving a Voice A Handbook for Choir Trainers and Directors, Kevin Mayhew Publishers Ltd (ISBN 0 86209 688 X, 12.50).] You can make your decisions as you listenthere is no harm in doing a 'Popstars' and selecting people to go through to the next round, which might be the following day or later in the week, which will give them a sense of occasion. Make sure that this first stage is quite short, since it will stop wandering minds from becoming bored. Stage 2: You have made an initial selection. Now is the time to really start to sort out those you want from those you don't. This second stage of the audition requires your potential choristers to sing to you in pairs. Initially, start with a descending scale of B-flat major, with you at the piano or playing the guitar, and going up a tone each time. Ask the children to sing to the syllable lee, which is a nice open sound and which raises their palates, thus allowing them to use a modicum of head tone, rather than, as children often do, relying on their chests or throats for projection.

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Be aware of the points mentioned in the first stage and this time, listen also for their ability to handle the range. Remember that most school choir music doesn't go up much further than top F, but there are harder things in the repertoire that do go up as far as a top A or C. Don't worry about stretching them! Pitching a major third is always difficult, and you will need to see how they cope with intervals in general. The above exercise needs repeating, perhaps now using a word such as 'Alleluia', which has a good open sound:

It is also important to see what their sense of rhythm is like by playing a short phrase on either a keyboard or melody instrument and asking them to clap it back to you, such as you will find in the ABRSM aural syllabus. Ultimately, you might want your choir to sing polyphonically, so it is also worth your while playing two notes on a keyboard and asking them to pitch either the upper or lower; more

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advanced singers might be asked to do the same with three-note chords, singing either the top, middle or bottom. Finally, you will want to see how well they will work within a group. This is always difficult to judge, but in the case of a school choir, it is worth talking to a pupil's form teacher or having a look at past school reports. The Decision: The above exercises should have given you an inkling regarding your children's abilities, and it is time to make your decision. You will need to juggle all the following things: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Has s/he got a good ear? Has s/he got a good range? Does s/he make a nice sound? Has s/he a good sense of rhythm and pitch? What do you think s/he will be like at working in a group?

The most important parts of your checklist are the first three, since you can do the rest in rehearsals. Remember...if their sound is clear at all times, then you are on to a winner from the beginning.