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many tenor II’s will perform baritone literature in voice namics most of the time, as they have learned to cre-
lessons, and so on. The solo voice type and choral part ate more colorful and powerful sounds in their lessons.
do not need to—and often should not—match. The To achieve a uniform sound, singers do not all need
voice type may also shift as the voice continues to de- to sing “off the voice.” A first step toward a more uni-
velop. To ensure that students do not feel pigeonholed fied sound can be to encourage the singers with smaller
into one voice part, listen to their voices each semes- voices to sing out more. When they can be heard within
ter or quarter and record their ranges and comfortable the choir, the larger voices will not stick out as much.
tessituras. This is a great way to observe their growth It is also vitally important to take the choir through a
and document it quantitatively, as so many elements of voice placement process to match the tone qualities
their growth are more qualitative. of the singers with those around them. (I highly rec-
Another challenge of working with students with ommend viewing Weston Noble’s “Achieving Choral
differing experience levels is finding a uniform lev- Blend through Standing Position” and Charlene Archi-
el of projection within the choir. Some students, in beque’s “How to Make a Good Choir Sound Great” to
their attempt to “blend,” use only a small portion of get some examples of how to implement a voice place-
their vocal power most of the time and may not even ment process.)
be heard within the choral texture. On the contrary, When the voices have been matched across their
some students in voice lessons may use their fullest dy- sections, the students with bigger voices will be able

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CHORAL JOURNAL May 2026 Volume 66 Number 8 31