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Teaching Strategies for the Out-of-Balance Ensemble

ing voice, an alto part in the chest voice of an unchanged healthy singing range. This placement will reinforce the mel-
voice, or they could use their high voice and sing the soprano ody rather than drawing attention to an unbalanced sepa-
or alto part in their falsetto. rate bass line. The males with unchanged voices or stronger
Of course, making these kinds of adaptations to the mu- falsettos can double the soprano two at pitch, and the ones
sic is more easily done in a two-part rather than a four-part currently going through voice change can often double the
22
piece. The creative director, with a little bit of harmonic alto part at pitch in their chest voice.
analysis, could easily adjust any two- and three-part piece These decisions can solve many of the director’s problems
to fit the comfortable range of their intended singers. Henry but must be made in accordance with the demand of the
Leck offers some guidelines to help sort out the basic ranges repertoire, the abilities of the students, the number of males,
of males with changing or newly changed voices for the di- and their comfortable ranges. Once the director opens
rector who is new to adapting parts to fit the needs of sing- themselves up to this kind of creativity, a whole new world
ers. He states that newly changed voices who can still access of SA/2-part and SSA/3-part literature becomes available.
their falsetto can sing in the treble staff. If he’s using his new The duet, Wir eilen mit schwachen (Figure 1 on the next
chest voice, D to G within the bass staff (D3 – G3) is nor- page), from J. S. Bach’s cantata “Jesu, der du meine Seele”
mally most comfortable. This melodic interval of a perfect provides an excellent opportunity to pair voices in unbal-
fourth, clearly highlights the limited range of the male with anced choirs. It is a fun polyphonic piece where the singers
a newly changed voice. can divide on both parts, as needed. Academically, this piece
Singing across the break (D4 – F4) is rather difficult for allows the students to learn about Baroque polyphony and
newly changed voices. It has been observed that males sing- melismatic practices. As an added bonus, the polyphonic
ing here without the time to develop proper technique will texture of the music tends to mask that both the males and
often sing well below the pitch, chins may raise, they might females are singing together. The duet Abendlied (Figure 2 on
use a shouting or pressed tone, or they’ll possibly use tension page 16), this one by Felix Mendelssohn, is another example
instead of air to sing. Sadly, some males will drop their voices of where voice pairing can be used to place the males on
into a comfortable monotone range, singing neither the mel- parts that keep them singing in a comfortable range. In ad-
ody nor assigned harmony, and not even know they’re doing dition to exposing the singers to the German language, this
it. Unfortunately, as stated above, SAB literature frequently example also helps to develop the ability to sing long melodic
places the baritone part either in or within very close prox- phrases that sit nicely in their healthy and comfortable sing-
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imity to the singer’s break. ing range.
Arranging three-part treble literature provides more flex-
ibility for placing tenors and basses of varying ranges and
Arranging Literature to Fit your Ensemble adds complexity for the sopranos and altos who are ready
for the challenge. As a general rule of thumb, place the so-
Such a class cannot progress unless there is a teach- pranos and the tenors who are comfortable singing around
er who is experienced, adaptable, and innovative. A middle C on the top line. The second line would be for the
teacher must be able to transpose, play a tonic sol-fa soprano twos and basses in their own octave. Finally, place
chording in any key, manufacture a simple descant, the altos and tenors who can sing with ease above middle C
even write out a three-part arrangement of a favor- on the third line (Figure 3 on page 16).
ite song. 21

Once the director has selected a piece for their choir and Conclusion
is acutely aware of the individual comfortable ranges of We must do our best to be affirming and encouraging to
their singers, they can then go about the process of making maintain our students’ overall singing self-efficacy. Despite
adaptations that best fit the needs of the intended singers. all our best efforts, intentions, and careful planning, singers
Often it’s best to start with the simplest of solutions: assign- in our program may still have moments of frustration and
ing singers to different voice parts. Bass singers, even if only disappointment. When this occurs, engage them in the
a few are present, would be far better served if they dou- learning process and use your supportive community to lift
ble the soprano line down in their octave and within their them up. By continually staying up-to-date on the latest vocal

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 2 14 Winter 2023