It’s inevitable. When you train in the vocal arena, you are certain to spend a little time vocalizing a la chorale or with a vocal ensemble. It might be in a college choir (most undergraduate voice majors are required to sing a selective amount of credit hours in a college ensemble), a semi-professional or professional concert or chamber choir in your hometown, a church choir, or an opera company chorus. Can choral singing hinder a developing voice? Is it beneficial or harmful to your technique as a solo vocalist?
Some vocal teachers, coaches, and choral conductors preach to the choir about the benefits of choral singing, but other teachers feel it can be challenging to the voice and even have a few negative effects on evolving solo technique. Still others contend that the experience of singing in a choir can be extremely beneficial in vocal development, musicianship, exposure to and knowledge of repertoire, learning to sing in an ensemble, travel experience, and other professional opportunities.
CS spoke to two experts to gain their perspective.
What are some of the primary differences between singing as a soloist and singing in an ensemble?
Kristen Eby: The main difference between choral singing and solo singing is the practice of listening. In solo singing, I encourage my students to let go of their need to hear themselves and instead, become acquainted with the feel of proper vocal production. In my choirs, while I still encourage singers to feel healthy technique, I also urge them to actively listen to each other—and to their collective music making—in order to maximize their blend of pitch, vowel, and volume.
Timothy Layne Peter: Approaches in singing pedagogically are universal. The physical approach to breath, posture, and resonance, for example, applies in both areas. Some differences are found in the use of vowel modification and certain shapes of vowels for alignment and uniformity with ensemble singing. There also are stylistic differences in approaching pitches, such as the subtle portamento approach for a soloist and movement in note accuracy in an ensemble situation. Both are legitimate approaches, but offer different results in rhythmic accuracy between pitch movement.
The approach to consonants can be different as well. The length of certain consonants must be altered for ensemble accuracy and at times a more rhythmic approach in attacked and released consonants is unique to ensemble singing. Freedom of vocal production and healthy vocal production is desired for all singers. Vitality of consonants energizing the breath is healthy for both soloists and ensemble singers.
Are there or should there be different approaches to the technique in singing as a soloist and singing in an ensemble?
KE: Ideally, there should be very little if any difference for a classical singer who is performing in a choir of like voices. Anything that I ask of my choir members in terms of volume, or tone, or vowel production is within their repertoire as a soloist. If a singer wishes to specialize in an alternative choral style, such as gospel singing or a straight-tone style in the English choral tradition, then that is an entirely different matter. There are many singers who have had long and successful careers in such ensembles, but it would be a rare singer indeed who could master such techniques and also pursue a classical solo career.
TLP: Technique should be consistent for all singers. Our choral program thrives at Luther College because of the foundation of strong pedagogical teaching in the private applied studio. Focus on breath, posture, and laryngeal freedom are universal for all singers.
Can choral singing be hard on the soloist’s voice, and if so, how can soloists maintain their healthy technique while singing in an ensemble?
KE: I think it depends on the choir, and specifically, the director. If the director is asking the singers to use straight or overly light tone frequently or to otherwise perform in such a way that is contrary to free tone, then that can, indeed, be hard on the soloist’s voice, particularly if the soloist has developed a full, healthy technique with a natural vibrato. Inhibiting the vibrato on a regular basis can invite tension and is, therefore, a danger.
If, however, the director understands healthy vocal production and encourages the singers to use and develop proper technique, then I see no problems with singing in an ensemble.
Another consideration is the maturation level of the singers in the choir. If a young singer is surrounded by more developed voices, there can be a temptation for that student to oversing or to develop a false vibrato through mimicry. If a mature voice is singing with a less mature choir, there can be a tendency to undersing in order to match the quieter sound. This can inhibit free and natural tone. Singing in a choir of like voices is the best remedy for this problem.
Finally, range is an issue. Sometimes baritones are called upon to sing in the tenor range for the sake of balance, and this can put undue strain on the voice. Baritones should be especially wary about this sort of assignment. Women assigned to the alto section must be especially careful to vocalize and maintain their upper registers in private practice, and while they are in choir, to avoid pushing in the lower register if they want to keep their solo literature in good form.
TLP: Issues of extensive vibrato and control of that vibrato can be complicated for a singer between the ages of 18 and 22. Healthy breath support and a focus on a free spin versus a fabricated vibrato is a positive technical help in this situation. Also, finding that center of the spin, versus the low-hung vibrato singing at pitch and below, is also helpful.
If certain voices struggle at certain tessituras, it is often the case that a singer might sing a different voice part in an ensemble compared to what they may be singing in solo repertoire. This can be very helpful for a singer—especially female singers—in finding the freedom in tone production in all ranges without the difficult task of compromising their individual color at high ranges. This is always a delicate balance in choral blend versus the colors of individual voices in ensembles. Singers must freely support their tone with breath at all ranges and dynamics. This needs to be reinforced in ensemble singing. It is often the case that a singer can forget this in choral singing.
Some voice teachers do not encourage students to sing in choirs. Most colleges, however, require it of undergraduate voice students. How do you feel about soloists actively singing in ensembles, and why?
KE: I would venture that most developing college-age singers can have much to learn from a group singing experience and that the benefits can far outweigh the disadvantages, if guided by a knowledgeable teacher and director. As the singer enters graduate level work and beyond, I would hope that self-knowledge of the voice would make it clear whether ensemble singing continues to be beneficial or has become a hindrance to personal development. Perhaps moving to an opera chorus would better fit a developed soloist.
TLP: There is a wonderful relationship between the voice faculty and choral faculty at Luther College. It is rooted in trust and respect for each genre. We have exceptional voice teachers and a vocal coach on our faculty. Our choral ensemble directors also are extremely skilled conductors and are often in communication with voice colleagues, focusing on the vocal health of our singers. At Luther, students are required to participate in ensemble work (six semesters) because of the outstanding opportunities in learning musical concepts and repertoire. There are options for our upper-class students [as to in] which ensemble they might wish to participate, given options of rehearsal time commitments, touring, and graduate school preparation.
The experiences in ensemble participation related to positive group dynamics and building community are also central to Luther’s vocal music program. Likewise, whether our students are music majors or not, most all of the singers in our choirs study in private applied voice lessons.
It also is important that our students have opportunities as solo singers and chamber musicians as well as stage singers. Very few students choose not to participate in choral groups, yet Luther students offer hundreds of solo recitals, annual opera productions, and some musical theatre, giving our students an important balance in their singing experiences and opportunities.
How can singing with an ensemble be beneficial to soloists and their technique?
KE: I find that with my high school and college students, those who are active participants in a choir do progress faster than those who merely perform solo literature. The first benefit is simply the amount of time spent singing. Even the best-intentioned students are apt to slip in their practice, but a choir requires daily (or almost daily) accountability and participation. Secondly, a choir student is likely to be in close proximity to other capable singers, including (hopefully) the director, and can learn healthy habits through listening, mimicking vowel formation, etc. If the director is knowledgeable and allots time for vocalization and technique improvements, then the student has the opportunity to have good vocal technique reinforced and perhaps explained in a different and helpful way. Finally, in a profession that is naturally inclined towards competition, I believe there to be great emotional and spiritual benefit in joining forces with one’s fellow singers and working together to create a beautiful work of vocal art.
TLP: Examples include rhythmic vitality, listening while singing, exploration of tonal production based on repertoire by genre and time period, hearing or listening to those around you, following a conductor, harmonic and theory exercises, and sight-reading skills.
How can choral singing have adverse effects?
KE: While choral singing has its potential adverse effects, I would contend that most of the dangers of choral singing for the soloist are just as likely to be found in private voice studios. A pushed tone, singing in an unhealthy range, or singing literature that is not appropriate are all issues that I have observed in voice studios as well as choirs. Singers should take great care therefore in both choosing a private voice teacher and in choosing a choir in which to perform.
I recognize that, unfortunately, sometimes college students are at the mercy of what is offered or required of them. If they find themselves in a poor choral situation that they cannot get out of, then they must take care to protect their voices as best they can, using recommendations from their private teachers, and perhaps some “last resort” options, such as mouthing the words in difficult spots.
TLP: Lack of individual connections, vocally. A retreat in breathing techniques. Stripping of vocal color in achieving “blend”—this is, of course, not desired, but with proper communication with the singers, blend can be achieved without losing the individual colors of singers.
What are some important things soloists should remember to maintain a healthy technique when singing in an ensemble?
KE: While listening to the entirety of the choral sound, make sure to stay aware of your own voice and what it is telling you. If you experience soreness, then you need to discover the cause. Having a sore voice is not a sign of a good vocal workout!
Perhaps you are pushing too much to try to produce a volume that is beyond your capacity. Remember to relinquish the need to hear yourself over others, and instead listen to the collective sound. Or perhaps you are mimicking some techniques around you that are not conducive to relaxed tone. If the director makes suggestions or requests that strike you as vocally unhealthy, then be wary of their implementation, and ask your voice teacher for advice. You also should speak to the director in case you simply misunderstood the direction. Ultimately, if the director is not promoting healthy technique you should seriously reconsider your participation in the group.
TLP: Breath, breath, breath! Physical freedom and muscular relaxation. Posture. For example, Luther’s choral groups memorize their repertoire for concerts so they have the physical freedom to sing without holding large folders causing stiff-arm tension or shoulder and neck tension. An important factor at Luther is each singer is important and their vocal contributions, rooted in good vocal production, matter. At Luther, we also stand in ensemble rehearsals quite a bit. It’s interesting that so many choral rehearsals in the United States are done while the singers are seated, yet one would never see an applied voice student sit during their studio lesson.
