In our last post, we talked about some general ways to create blend. Today’s post gets down to the nitty gritty of creating a unified vocal sound for your group. In order for a group to sound unified, they must sing unified and this all boils down to how they form each word they sing. There’s a well-known saying that shows how differently we all pronounce words:

“You say ‘to-may-to,’  but I say ‘to-mah-to.’”

Yes, we all do speak differently because of our culture or background. But we must sacrifice these differences for the sake of unity in a choral setting. You may be asking how easy this is to achieve.  It would take forever to go through each word in a song and make sure that everyone sings it the same way. Have no fear! Your task is easier than you think! All words are made up of two things. All you need to do is encourage your group to master these two things and you are on your way to creating blend!

1. Vowels

In order to create a great blend, a group must sing all their vowels in the same way. Luckily, there are only five vowel sounds to master. Using vocal warm-ups, demonstrate how you would like the group to sing each vowel. When they see the same vowel sounds in the music, take time to make sure that each singer is applying the same sound that you used in practice.  After doing this a couple times, you will hear the difference in your group.

2. Consonants

Consonants are the stopping and starting sounds of our words. Think of the word “m-a-p.” The mm consonant begins the word and the “pp” sound cuts it off. If you can train your group to begin and end consonants together, you will create blend. The key here is precision.  A fun and effective way to achieve this precision is to allow the group to speak a phrase in the song with the correct rhythm. Conduct the beginning and ending of the phrase to see if everyone follows you. Repeat this process until everyone begins and ends together. It may take a few practices to master consonants but the end result is well worth the effort!

N.B. Certain consonant sounds pose more problems than others. For example, an “ss” sound at the end of a word can have your group sounding like hissing snakes if everyone does not cut off together. Instead, encourage them to pronounce the ending “ss” as “zz” and you’ll hear a more precise cut-off. So the word “peace” becomes “peaze.”

Additionally, words like “Hallelujah” that begin with a very soft consonant can pose problems as well. One solution is to replace the soft “H” sound with a more precise “Ah” sound at the beginning of the word. Remember, these are only suggestions. The key is not how you get your group to sing the same thing, but that you actually get them to!

Please leave any comments and suggestions of exercises and techniques that you have found helpful in creating blend. And Remember:

SING OUT LOUD!