Day 1

CORO et VOCE

INTRODUCTION:


SESSION 1
What is a CHOIR?
A choir (also known as chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn,
is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.
A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term
is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the
choir) and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is
far from rigid.

TYPES OF CHOIRS

Mixed Choir - with male and female voices.
Male Choir - with the same SATB voicing as mixed choirs, but with boys singing the upper part
(often called trebles or boy sopranos) and men singing alto (in falsetto), also known as
countertenors. This format is typical of the British cathedral choir.
Female choirs - usually consisting of soprano and alto voices, two parts in each, often
abbreviated as SSAA, or as soprano I, soprano II, and alto, abbreviated SSA.
Children's choir - often two-part SA or three-part SSA, sometimes more voices. This includes boy
choirs.

Choirs are also categorized by the institutions in which they operate:
Church choirs
Collegiate and university choirs
Community choirs (of children or adults)
Professional choirs
School Choirs
Signing Choirs (of Deaf or Hearing individuals


Some choirs are categorized by the type of music they perform, such as:
Bach choirs
Barbershop music
Gospel choirs
Show choirs, in which the members sing and dance, often in performances somewhat like
musicals
Symphonic choirs
Vocal jazz choirs



RELIGIOUS MUSIC vs. SECULAR MUSIC

RELIGIOUS MUSIC (also sacred music) - is music performed or composed for religious use or
through religious influence.

SECULAR MUSIC - is non-religious music.
Secular means being separate from religion.
Pop Music - (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is a
genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving
from rock and roll.
[1]
The terms popular music and pop music are often used
interchangeably, even though the former is a description of music which is popular
(and can include any style).
[1]



PLAY VIDEOS:

Philippine Madrigal Singers Circle of Life
Philippine Madrigal Singers Lead me Lord


What are your observations on their performance? (Ask the group)





















SESSION 2
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that
sang best.

By Henry Van Dyke

As members of a singing group, of course we are required to sing. But did you know that SPEAKING
and SINGING are just the same? Yes, there are little differences, but actually, it only differs on how are
we going to produce the sound and how to deliver it. So what is voice/singing voice?

VOICE it is the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song.



I. Voice Types

Female Voices

Soprano - The soprano is the highest female voice.
Mezzo-soprano - the middle-range voice type for females and is the most common female voice.
The mezzo-soprano voice lies between the soprano voice and contralto voice, over-lapping both
of them.
Alto - is a voice-range between a mezzo-soprano and tenor.
Contralto lowest female singing voice.


Male Voices

Countertenor - The term countertenor refers to the highest male voice.
Tenor - the highest male voice within the modal register.
Baritone - the most common type of male voice.
Bass - The bass is the lowest male voice.


After discussing the different types of voice:

a. Classify the voice of each member from the group.
b. Group them according to their voices.
c. Instruct them to make a chant/cheer/song showcasing their voice type. (Ex. Soprano will sing high
notes.)


So, we heard all the different types of voice. But, did you delivered it properly? Kumanta ka ba o
sumigaw? We will now proceed to how to do it properly.




II. How your voice works?
The power behind your voice
Think of your lungs as bellows controlled by your diaphragm and abdominal muscles ("support"). You
breathe by lowering your diaphragm, which pushes your stomach downwards and forward and the ribs
outward, drawing air into the lungs. Good breathing in requires a relaxed abdominal wall (allow your
tummy to get slightly fatter as you breathe). When you sing, this system goes into reverse, with the
support muscles controlling the outflow of air through the larynx (your voice box).
Where sound is made
Your larynx contains a pair of vocal folds (or cords). When you bring them together on the out-breath,
they beat together hundreds of times per second, creating sound. To make a higher note, your vocal
cords are stretched, making them beat faster (think of stretching a rubber band). When you sing louder,
the cords become thicker. The basis for all good singing is to make sound efficiently using as little air as
possible.
From sound into song
Slightly lowering the larynx produces a more classical tone; pop and other commercial styles use a
neutral or even raised larynx. Tilting the larynx forward makes the sound warmer. The soft palate (from
which your uvula dangles in your mouth) is a valve that diverts air either through the nose or mouth.
Nasality must be avoided when singing vowels. Try pinching your nose while singing an "ah": if there's a
difference in sound, you're letting air escape through your nose. In combination with the lips and jaw,
the tongue creates the vowels and consonants. A relaxed jaw and tongue are crucial for a good sound,
because any tension can give an unpleasant tone.

IV. Components of Vocal Technique
1. Posture/alignment

2. Respiration - breathing motion and breath management

3. Registration and placement - heavy mechanism and light mechanism

4. Tone production - vowels and the vocal tract

5. Diction - articulation of vowels and consonants

6. Expression - phrasing and dramatic communication of the text




POSTURE/ALIGNMENT

Singing with good posture must become habitual if vocal development is to be successful. The key
elements of good posture are:

1) Spine extended,
2) Shoulders back and down,
3) Sternum (or rib cage) lifted,
4) Head level and held high, and
5) Relaxation.

Stretching and moving exercises can put the body in position "as a musical instrument." Henry
Leck of the Indianapolis Children's Choir plays an imitation game for posture development.

Why must we have good posture while singing? In one word - BREATHING.

BREATHING

Normal breathing involves a shallow inhalation and an even exhalation followed by a pause before it all
starts again. But when you sing, breath control means taking your breathing off autopilot. You not only
need to inhale quickly and exhale slowly as you sing the phrases of a song, but you also need to maintain
proper posture.
Breathing in this manner provides you with the breath control that you need to sing efficiently.
However, because controlled breathing doesn't come naturally to you, you need to train your body to
breathe for singing.
Discovering your singing breath
The easiest way to find out how you should breathe for singing is simply by feeling it. Being able to
visualize and feel the proper way to breathe helps make the process more natural for you, too.
Inhalation refers to air moving into your body breathing in.
Exhalation is when you exhale or blow out the air. You exhale when you speak or sing.
Do exercises for exhalation. (Blow up feather or balloon)












How to sing from the diaphragm?





























There are two aspects of respiration which are important to vocal development - breathing motion and
breath management. Young singers must be instructed not to raise the shoulders or take in a shallow
breath. Another key element is that the lower torso expands during inhalation and contracts during
exhalation.

The next step is breath management and an awareness of the diaphragm and other abdominal muscles
for breathing.

DO EXERCISES:

First exercise:

1. Lie down on the ground, arms at the side.
2. Put the shoe on the chest and the other one is on the diaphragm part.
3. Instruct the members to breathe in and breathe out.
4. Let them control their chest and stomach, the shoe on the chest part must NOT goes up or down,
ONLY the shoe on their abdominal part must goes up or down.
5. Do it repeatedly.
6. In that sense, they will come into a point that they can control their breath freely and smoothly using
their diaphragm.

Second exercise:

1. Instruct them to do an Indian seat, dapat relaxed at straight ang likod.
2. Let them close their right hand as if they grip something.
3. Iihip ng may pwersa, pero pipigilan ito ng kamay na nakasara.
4. Somehow, you will feel as if umiire ka. Your abdominal muscles will contract.
5. Do it repeatedly.

Third exercise:

1. Instruct the group to find a partner. (If possible, one member and one non-member)
2. Yung isang partner, dapat nakasandal sa wall.
3. In a face to face position, one partner will put his left hand at his partners right shoulder. And his
right hand will be at his partners abdomen.
4. Yung partner na nakasandal will inhale patungo sa diaphragm nya, he should conscious about his
shoulders, it should not go up. The other partner will try to fight back his partners abdomen by pushing
it using his right hand.
5. Gawin ito ng palitan sa partners.


Registers and Placement

For the young singer, finding the "head voice" is the next crucial step.

The reasons for an inability to match pitch generally fall into four categories:

1) Environment - inexperience, lack of exposure to music, cultural differences
2) Physical - vocal defects, maturation, nodules, illness
3) Cognitive - tonal aptitude, pitch memory, self- esteem, attitude, connecting ear to voice
4) Vocal coordination - lack of support/placement skills

For most uncertain singers the problem is experience.
Chorale singing and karaoke singing is really way different. Although, pareho lang ng ginagawa;
kumakanta. Saan nga ba sila nagkaiba?

Nagkaiba ito sa EXECUTION. What I mean is, yung delivery ng boses habang kumakanta ang isang tao.
May mga kasama ko dito na ipapakita sa inyo yung difference nung dalawa.

---ipakita ng live yung chorale singing and karaoke singing. Ask the group for what theyd observe.






TONE PRODUCTION

Rich and resonant
vowels sustain tone
pure and steady

Vocal training can take place in the warm-ups through the five basic vowels:
A, E, I, O, U

All vowels must be in an UP position, and must always be carried with the O sound.

Yung vocal tract natin must be always in an open way para ma-maximize yung shape and space na
kailangan sa bawat vowel syempre sa specific pitch and dynamic level.

Each vowel is determined by its ownarrangement of the vocal tract: the length (larynx and lip position);
jaw, tongue and soft palate positions; and the expansion or contraction of the throat and mouth.


DICTION

Is addressed primarily through attention to word meaning. Pronunciation of words (word inflection),
enunciation of syllables (syllable inflection) and articulation of consonants must be carefully planned.

a. Vowels carry the resonant tone and consonants convey the language.
b. Vowels must be pure and focused.
c. Diphthongs must be carefully executed, usually sustaining first vowel sound and quickly releasing the
second.
d. Consonants are produced with the articulators the lips, teeth and tongue.


APPLICATION (proper breathing and proper usage of voice):

1. Go back to inhale and exhale exercise
1.1 8 counts inhale, 8 counts exhale (do it repeatedly until the group can get it smoothly).
1.2 Longest breath exercise: Last man standing
a. Let the members of the group get their own chair
b. Standing position, do the tsss sound
c. Sabay-sabay lahat ng members magre-release ng air, pahabaan ang laban,
kung sino yung mauunang maubusan ng air sila yung unang uupo.
Yung last man standing, of course sya yung may longest breath at kaya
makapag sustain ng mga notes.
1.3 Ah sound.
a. Inhale 4, 8, 12, 16 counts
b. Exhale but with Ahh sound 4, 8, 12, 16 counts

2. Start teaching how to vocalize
2.1 Legato smoothly, connected. Ma-me-mi-mo-mu. Remind about the proper placing of
mouth.
2.2 Staccato detached. Mi-hi-hi-hi-ya!
2.3 Find your note vocalization:
The choir master will give 1 note per voice, and the members of the group will
find their right note according to their voice.


---END OF DAY 1---



DAY 2

EXPRESSION


The Components of Choral Technique:

1. Choral tone
2. Blend
3. Balance
4. Diction
5. Intonation
6. Rhythmic accuracy
7. Interpretation
8. Stage presence/deportment