A
group of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or
chorus. Churches and synagogues, high schools and colleges all tend
to have choirs. Music that is arranged to feature many singers with
varying vocal ranges is called choral music.
The popular TV show “Glee” is about a high school choir. This show proves that all kinds of music can become choral music!
Some
choirs perform a cappella—which means unaccompanied, that
is, without any musical instruments playing along—but many perform
accompanied by a piano, organ, one or more other instruments, or even an entire
orchestra.
Choral
music usually takes advantage of the varying ranges of voices. The
lowest voices are called bass, then baritone, tenor, alto (or contralto),
mezzo soprano, and finally soprano.
The
stringed instruments roughly correspond to these ranges: the string
bass is bass, of course, the cello goes along with baritone and
tenor, the viola corresponds to alto and mezzo soprano, and the
violin goes along with soprano.
Celebrate!
If
you can't sing in a choir or listen to a choir today, you might want
to check out some choirs on the internet:
Soweto Gospel Choir singing the Christian song “Oh, Happy Day!”
- Tzlil V'zemer Children's Choir singing a song about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (spelled here Chanukah).
- A small choral group singing “Jar of Hearts” a cappella. Notice that some of the voices function as musical instruments instead of singing lyrics.
- With the magic of technology, one guy has created a 36-voice choir—all by himself! Check it out!
- Here is a choir in Australia performing “Bohemian Rhapsody” during a “Battle of the Choirs,” and here is a show choir in America performing a medley of songs. You'll notice that there is a huge difference between various choirs in regards to clothing / costumes, sets / lighting, and movement / dance.
You
could also learn about singing and harmony from the internet. For
example, here is one part of a tutorial on singing harmony,
and here is a guy giving us
four-part harmony with the song "Hark, the Herald Angel Sings."
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