For consistently superior four-part sound, spend less time in four parts!
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The single biggest hurdle for any quartet is consistency. I say to a quartet, “I’m sure you’ve sung at least one chord at the “A” level, sometime. The goal is to do that more often!” Consistency is needed across all musical elements (think “across all judging categories”). Each singer has to be consistent in his own voice. Each singer has to be consistent with the other three. The intonation, vocal production, interpretation, visual sell and believability have to be consistent. When? As much of the time as you can! Following are principles that ensure you will consistently sing your group’s best, from phrase to phrase and from performance to performance.
too hard to discover and too hard to fix when all four are singing. It’s simply too complex. Drill each segment repeatedly. Always repeat (drill) a short segment (phrase or two) at least three times. This will help you hear and practice the improvement each time. Skill building requires drill. Drill is defined as repeating a skill over and over until it becomes natural, easy, without thinking. Drill can be boring, which is why all but the best groups don’t often do it. But once you notice your skills improving at a faster rate, drill becomes a much more enjoyable part of the experience.
The challenging path to improvement
often skip, darn it. The lead sings a phrase or short segment, and the other three give feedback. When they all agree on the interpretation, the other three join the lead and sing it three times; alternate the lead alone followed by all in unison. An example: 1. Lead sings “My wild Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows ...” coached by all until everyone is okay with that phrase or segment. 2. All sing in unison “My wild Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows”
Spend only one-quarter of each quartet rehearsal on four parts. Any high-level quartet can tell you
how rapidly they improve by spending the majority of their time practicing with solos, duets, and trios. The problem with this is we enjoy singing in four parts far more than anything else. However, this practice is essential if you wish to sing every phrase as well as your best phrases. Many of the details that must be uncovered and corrected are
How to drill during a rehearsal
Sing in unison. This is the skill builder that we so
November/December 2014 • The HARMONIZER
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