Choir Practices That I Still Plan to Use After the Pandemic
This article was originally published in the 2021 Fall issue of ChorTeach, the online journal of the American Choral Directors Association.
This past year has been extremely difficult for the choral community as many of us, both directors and choristers, have been let go, reduced in hours, or simply reduced to just getting by. We have had to redefine our jobs in order to stay relevant to our churches, schools, and communities. It should be no surprise that adapting to new technology was absolutely critical to not only keeping our programs going but also for maintaining our employment. We have learned about virtual choirs, about editing, about plug-ins, about mastering, about community, about prayers, about practice tracks, and about connecting with our choirs outside of the rehearsal. There is nothing good about Covid but, for me, adapting my choirs to the social distancing strategies has introduced methods of working that I will keep throughout my career after the pandemic.
Virtual Choirs
Thousands of virtual choirs were made throughout Covid. My choirs recorded about 14 and by university recorded about 12. They are time-consuming and frustrating but offer a lot of possibilities for growth for the choir member. For example, many in my choir were forced to actually learn their parts as opposed to rely on their section leader or person they usually sing next to. One would argue that without someone to sing next to and listen to, our tone suffers. I will address this in the next section about rehearsal tracks. My choir members benefitted by then listening to their track and hearing where they were flat or sharp or off in some way in order to record again.
In terms of aesthetics, our choirs learned how to perform the music. With everyone’s face looking into the camera, it became impossible to hide our insecurities and otherwise distracting quirks as we sing. I commend all singers who were able to take part in virtual choirs for this reason because it takes courage to put one’s self out there like this and to judge your own video. More on this in my section on community. The aesthetics of our choir videos forced us to connect with our music so that we were not just performative singers but communicative singers. Our videos were now trying to connect with people around the world with our eyes and will continue to as long as people watch them.
Editing future videos will also provide directors a deeper understanding for how they need to shape their exercises and rehearsals. When I edit my singers in Logic, I see exactly how their breath is functioning, where the tone is not supported, how their timbre is suffering, and it teaches us, as directors, how to be more clear in our instructions regarding consonants, release, and breath. Every single note lets us learn more about our singers in a way that hearing an entire ensemble regularly does not.
Rehearsal Tracks
I will continue to use rehearsal tracks. During Covid, I had to make several rehearsal tracks on my MIDI keyboard and Logic Pro software. I started very plainly but then used more plugins like Spitfire Audio for orchestral instruments and changed tempos. I would also conduct in rehearsal videos for singers who needed more clarity for cutoffs, tempo, breath, and support. I noticed something else happened when I made all of this available. My choirs no longer relied on the rehearsal to learn their music. Many choirs practice hard to learn their music throughout the week but for those who do not read or have little music training, having these custom rehearsal tracks created an equitable approach to choir singing that felt more inclusive since it met people where they were. My choirs practiced more because they had an obstacle removed from their way and the music became, once again, central to their practice.
Virtual Rehearsals
My choirs will be rehearsing in person once it is safe again but that does not mean that I am done with virtual rehearsals forever. Rather, in my coming schedule of rehearsals (given that we sing in person together again soon), I will include virtual sessions. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is because it is accessible to our older choir members who cannot drive over in the night or if they are sick and cannot come to rehearsal. My in-person rehearsals will also have an online component for specifically the reason that it still allows the sick to feel like part of the community. Other reasons to include virtual rehearsals from time to time is to rehearse a specific section that the director can demonstrate for the choir to imitate. These need not be long rehearsals but should have a specific focus in mind.
Community
During Covid, our sense of community was lost or severely hindered. Our choirs scattered and many of us at schools and churches have to rebuild for many months, if not, years. Training our choirs to be all but unclear about their support for one another is going to be key in creating a self-sustaining network of singers. I noticed that many of our first singers to leave from any ensemble were the ones who were always on the edge of the choral community. These are the people that we need to reach out to and make feel included. Making appointments online from time to time might provide a helpful additional space to provide extra help or community to those on the fringes of the choir. Our choirs need constant encouragement and now is not the time to not use all of our resources.
The community were provide our choirs has never been tested and revealed as much as in during this global pandemic. No longer could we rely on the weekly service or rehearsal; effort and intentionality to connect with our singers became at the center of our programs and every prayer, follow up, phone call, or zoom call became our new hang outs. The same effort needs to be made in the following years after the pandemic.
Including online virtual rehearsals, choir tracks, and virtual choir projects into our music programs after Covid will be a huge help in revitalizing our programs as we rebuild. This hybrid format will still be difficult for many to adapt as many colleges have been doing this for many months now. And given that Covid has put many of our choral projects on hold, I hope to come away from this pandemic with more resources to better equip me to empower our choirs.
