Most young singers begin their musical journey and vocal studies singing in choirs. Furthermore, most undergraduate voice majors are required to fulfill a certain amount of credit hours in a vocal ensemble. Even though there is some controversy surrounding the benefits and hindrances of choral singing while trying to maintain a healthy solo technique, many singers have found long-lasting and fulfilling careers performing as both soloists and choral singers.
To get the singer’s perspective on choral singing and its effects on solo technique we asked vocalists of the renowned Los Angeles Master Chorale the same sort of questions we asked teachers. (See p. 10.)
What are some of the primary differences between singing as a soloist and singing in an ensemble?
Lesley Leighton: The amount of singer’s formant that I use as a chorister is much less than as a soloist. Less makes it much easier to blend in the section. . . . I shut down resonators. I also change the mix that I use. In the chorus, I use much more head voice and very little chest mixed in. As a soloist, I put more chest into the registers.
Jim Raycroft: Control over the instrument is the biggest challenge—control over focus, placement, color, and phonetics. Singing in an ensemble requires all the same technique issues with the added challenges of executing everything you do at the same time as everyone around you, the same way as everyone around you, and balancing and blending with everyone around you. The ability to listen to what’s happening around you is absolutely vital. If you go on autopilot and just blast away, you’re a detriment to the ensemble, not an addition.
Michele Hemmings: As a soloist, you sing out and try to be as expressive as possible with a beautiful, individual sound. As a chorister, you modify your volume and tone quality to blend with the choir.
Michael Freed: The primary difference is that when singing solo, the whole idea is for the audience to hear your individual performance clearly in addition to whatever else is going on. You and the conductor have to balance your voice with the totality of the other soloists, choir, and instrumentalists. In an ensemble your goal is to sing cooperatively with those around you to create the desired sound for the piece being performed without anyone being able to isolate your individual voice.
Are there or should there be different approaches to the technique in singing as a soloist and singing in an ensemble?
LL: The technique of production should be the same. That is the way the voice is produced. My breathing is the same in ensemble as solo. The mouth shapes are the same, and placement is the same. However, the techniques of registration (mix), and singer’s formant are different. And, of course, volume is certainly not the same.
JR: The technique requirements are the same, with a few extra techniques thrown in for good measure: balancing (listening to the ensemble around you); blending (this is where control over focus, placement, color, and phonetics comes into play); understanding style and the execution of style; and understanding phonetics, vowel production and modification, consonant production, and the concepts of connecting consonants for proper line within a phrase.
MH: One’s vocal technique should be the same no matter what one is singing. However, a very capable singer should be able to control aspects of their voice with a solid technique. A soloist is trying to make as beautiful and individualistic a sound as possible. A chorister must be willing to modify the color, size and, yes, sometimes the level of their vibrato for the better of the choral sound.
MF: Both involve a wide range of vocal techniques, but it is rare that you will sing as quietly as a soloist as you routinely do as a member of a chorus and not quite as rare that you will sing as loudly in a chorus as you do as a soloist. There also is the expectation for you to “stand out” as a soloist, which involves a somewhat different combination of resonances than you would routinely employ as a member of a choir.
Can choral singing be hard on the soloist’s voice, and if so, how can a soloist maintain healthy technique while singing in an ensemble?
LL: It certainly can be if the singer is not using a solid technique. A soloist can maintain a healthy technique in a choir by being smart. Singing a part in which the tessitura lies either too low or too high is what can be damaging. What happens a lot is that the singer thinks that altering the formant or registration will damage his or her ability to sing as a soloist and chooses to sing a lower voice part. The reality is that the lower tessitura will damage the voice much more than learning to use a slightly altered technique to blend.
JR: The singer has to realize that the voice is an instrument and one of the most flexible of all the instruments. The very same piano can be used to play Rachmaninoff or Jerry Lee Lewis—it’s simply a matter of how the instrument is used and the music is executed. The placement, focus, and color of the voice will vary depending on the style of music being sung—opera, jazz, whatever—which is something many instruments cannot do. The ensemble singer has to accept that the voice and execution will need to be altered to suit the music, but the rules of support and production are always the same.
MH: The trickiest part of singing in a chorus is that you can’t hear yourself clearly. And you shouldn’t sing louder just so you can hear yourself, otherwise you spoil the choral aesthetic. The singer must be very confident in what they are doing in order to stay healthy. An abundance of breath control is necessary.
MF: The more professional the conductor and choral ensemble, the easier it is on the individual singer’s voice. A truly professional conductor understands that healthy singing will produce great sounds for many years to come and [he or she] will only rarely if ever ask for “special effects,” such as singing without vibrato, throat-singing, and other potentially harmful production techniques.
Some voice teachers do not encourage students to sing in choirs, but most colleges require it of undergraduate voice students. How do you feel about soloists actively singing in ensembles, and why?
LL: I think soloists should sing in ensembles to keep their voices flexible and to avoid some of the bad habits that can creep into singing when all you’re doing is singing opera arias all day every day. The ability to go back and forth has served me incredibly well in addition to keep[ing] that flexibility so present in my singing.
I earned an MM in vocal performance 17 years ago from one of the better-known conservatories on the West Coast and have returned to pursue a DMA in choral music. It’s fascinating to see this from both departments.
My voice teacher discouraged me from singing in choir, although that obviously had zero influence on me. The teachers in this school are still largely against ensemble [singing] for their soloists, but they do not consider the realities that these kids will face when it comes time to actually making a living as a singer. The truth is that 95 percent of them will not have a huge operatic career and at some point in a professional singing career will have to sing in a chorus just to pay bills.
This attitude that choral singing is either damaging or beneath a soloist is teaching a false message to young singers, in addition to being patently false, and furthermore prevents the singers from learning how to successfully and safely sing as both a soloist and a chorister.
I do think that for young singers who are just learning a technique, [ensemble singing] could possibly be confusing for them. However, when they are young is probably the best time for them to learn and master the ability to smoothly and easily switch between the two styles of singing.
JR: There was a study recently in which the CEOs of all the Fortune 500 companies were asked what the most important thing they did in high school was. The response was unanimous: playing in the band. Why? Because, they said, it taught them discipline and the importance of teamwork. Being a one-man band isn’t the same as being part of the orchestra, and invariably, the orchestra member is a dramatically better musician than the one-man band because of the discipline that comes from his work within the ensemble. This is the reason most schools require this.
My experience has been that there are far too many singers out there with great instruments who are crummy musicians because they don’t have the disciple that comes from singing well within an ensemble. These singers invariably are difficult to work with because their reading skills are substandard, their musicianship is substandard and they don’t listen to what is going on around them.
MH: All singers should absolutely sing in a chorus. There are so many reasons why. It is tremendously fulfilling to make music with a group. You hone all of your musicianship skills. You also hone your technique. You learn all sorts of repertoire and styles of singing. It is a wonderful social activity. There is no reason not to do it. The singer must continue to work on their technique in private so they are sure of what they are doing when in the group.
MF: Most college voice students probably do not have sufficient knowledge of their vocal technique to protect themselves while singing in a choir, and particularly against the demands of some college ensemble conductors who don’t know how to protect their singers’ voices. I don’t think there’s a good alternative, though, given that many more singers will have many more opportunities to sing in choirs than will ever make it as a soloist. I also think the likelihood of damage from singing in a choir is overblown. Any great voices in a choir tend to stand out and become known.
How can singing with an ensemble be beneficial to a soloist and their technique?
LL: Ensemble singing keeps the solo voice very flexible. It also helps remind the singer about tuning, unification of vowels, diction, phrasing, musical style, and interpretation that are absolutes for a good soloist. I know that as a soloist I am singing better now than I ever have, and I am certain that this is related to singing in a chorus. But I am lucky in terms of the quality of ensembles that I have sung in. I have avoided bad choirs.
JR: If the singer takes the experience seriously and works on the skills seriously, rather than just going through the motions with disdain, they will become infinitely better musicians. Their reading will be better, their musicianship will be better and they will be a better addition to any operatic cast or oratorio ensemble. There are numerous renowned operatic singers out there who cut their teeth singing in ensembles and are better musicians for it. As a singer begins to understand the use of an instrument in different applications and learns to apply standard singing technique to the various musical styles, their technique will become stronger and more solid.
MH: Whatever you aspire to do as a singer, you have to get out there and make music one way or another. It is easy, as a soloist, to become isolated because all you do is practice and coach in private. And, if you don’t have much solo work, how are you going to grow? By singing with others.
MF: Singing in a choir can’t really help your solo vocal technique, but it can help your general musicianship, sight-reading ability, and knowledge of vocal works, not to mention helping to pay for all those voice lessons.
What are some important things for soloists to remember when singing in an ensemble to maintain a healthy technique?
LL: Never change your way of breathing no matter what a conductor might want you to do. Some conductors don’t like to see singers breathing through the nose—they prefer “breathing in the vowel” with an open mouth. This is certainly fine, but not for all soloists who might be in their choir. Breathing is very personal. I don’t like it when a conductor attempts to change my way of breathing.
I think in the end the only important thing to remember is this: Is your vocal production still correct and can you switch easily back to a soloist’s sound? If the answer is “no,” then you need to rethink what you’re doing.
JR: Keep the support going, stay relaxed, and keep your limits in mind. Know when to stop and rest. I’ve spent a lot of years singing eight- to nine-hour days at places like Disneyland and Universal Studios, and self-preservation is job No. 1.
MH: When singing in a chorus, all singers should remember simply to relax. Don’t oversing. Don’t push the sound from the throat, but let it float on the breath, especially when singing straight tone. Don’t sing louder so you can hear yourself. Allow your sound to be absorbed into the whole. And most of all, enjoy it! Enjoy the incredible overtones that emerge from the choral tone. It’s not about the individual. It’s about dozens of voices sounding as one.
MF: The most important thing is to constantly monitor your own vocal production and the physical state of your throat so that you are not vocally tired at the end of a rehearsal.
