Elizabeth Tait OB Ch. 14 Summary

Summary: Both the vocal teacher and choral director both have the responsibility to care for the voices of whom they teach.  Choral directors are often the only singing teacher that their choristers will ever have, so it is important to be competent in understanding the voice.  When choosing voices for the choir, what is best for the individual is paramount.  Without this priority, the voices in the choral ensemble will not be able to perform their best.  At least a 10-15 minute warm up at the beginning of rehearsal will also enable the singers to perform their best.  The muscles involved in singing are not truly warm until 20 minutes into the activity at hand.  These warm ups should encourage men and women to have easy access to both Register 2 and 3 in their ranges. 
In rehearsing, thinking, not singing, is most likely the most important element.  Vocal capital and time will be wasted if the singers are just vocalizing without thinking.  Having the entire choir think sing a piece, and pointing to sections to sing out loud is one effective way to achieve this theory.  In general, the more thinking and less singing the choral ensemble does in rehearsal, the better (within reason, of course.)
Intonation is a common problem in the choral ensemble, and this is generally due to the 3rd, 6th and 7th of the chord.  If these members are not on the high side of the pitch, there is danger in pulling down the entire ensemble.  
Key Terms
equal temperament
just intonation
Pythagorean/well-tempered tuning
Key Concepts: The choral director must understand the voice as well, or even better, than the private voice teacher.  An understanding of how to properly exercise the voice can create a much more positive and efficient choral rehearsal experience.
Making Connections: I loved this chapter!  It gave many rehearsals ideas that I had never heard of before, and I'm really excited to try them out.  My favorite ideas were the rehearsal concepts that focused on thinking the music instead of singing it.  I've noticed with the high schoolers I've worked with at Mountain Crest HS this semester, more thinking is exactly what they need, especially in terms of interval identification.