tuning
Toxicmichelle
vocal part does your group hold onto in order to get bck on track?
And/or: who decides where the center of pitch lies?
ex: In the Voices of Liberty, Derric Johnson's rule of thumb was always to
"listen up" and tune to the 1st soprano.
Please share with me your experiences. Many thanks!
-ToxicMichelle
phil debar
How can you go wrong if you tune to the part that has the melody? The
harmonizers are probably already ceding interp & tempo control to the
melodic part, anyways.
-phil
majorToxFan
"Toxicmichelle" <toxicm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040703193600...@mb-m21.aol.com...
Sean G.
In my brief experience in the a cappella world...I find that it is
always best to tune to the vocal percussionist. Usually his second
tom down....and his high-hat.
OK, well I hope that helps. I also pray that you are doing well up in
NYC. Much love...I miss you guys.
Sean G.
Mosaic
www.notaboyband.com
Toxicmichelle
Great idea! I'm getting together with Paul today for a practice
session..........
miss you, too!
-M
LowNoter
melody - often SopI but not always
I'm the bass - I take responsibility for maintaining the "key". I give the
other parts a place to "come home to". But when it comes to how we sound as
a group, the audience is going to be focusing primarily on the melody so -
regardless of how terribly that line goes astray - I try to avoid
challenging it in performance. If the meody and the bass line are in
agreement, the other voices seem to have very little trouble tuning up.
Kenny
Kenneth Kurtz
Southern California
"A fool will learn nothing from a wise man
but a wise man will learn much from a fool"
"Toxicmichelle" <toxicm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040703193600...@mb-m21.aol.com...
Del Coy
or the soprano, but I have an easier time tuning to the root of the
chord where the chord structure is normally built from. Even if it's a
walking bass, the scale they are doing implies the chord.
I dunno. If the bass lays out a solid root, and the baritone tunes
perfectly with the 5th of the chord, I can almost effortlessly lay the
major third right on top of it. It's almost like it is there before I
even sing it, like in overtones.
Del
toxicm...@aol.com (Toxicmichelle) wrote in message news:<20040703193600...@mb-m21.aol.com>...
Indra
I agree with you. I also think that the bass is the voice that helps
you most when you get out of tune. However, if the bass gets out of
tune, the others have a "little" problem. I have experienced it a few
times (not as a performer but as a concert goer). But things like that
happen to everyone at a time, I have even heard Naturally Seven with a
little tuning problem! But it was only one note where the lead sang
slightly out of tune....
Indra
Joakim Skog
> or the soprano, but I have an easier time tuning to the root of the
> chord where the chord structure is normally built from. Even if it's a
> walking bass, the scale they are doing implies the chord.
On the other hand, the bass part might very well be the most diffcult part
to intonate for the bass singer. And if your bass singer is very deep and
your arrangments takes advantage of this, it's harder to actually hear what
tone he's really singing.
If we are looking for a general solution here, the best one might be the
overall combination of bass + lead (or maybe bass + top) but I think that
you need to analyze the chords to find what to lean against and what to just
ignore.
When singing a Singers Unlimited arrangement (Autumn in New York) we really
gained a lot after analyzing the chords and softening the "unneeded" tones
(the ones that makes Gene Puerling arrangments great). We still have the
great color in the chords but when we got carried away and sang the
"Puerling-notes" to hard, we easily got out of tune.
/Joakim
CASA Sweden
VeryEight http://www.veryeight.com
Rob
group. Go with whoever has the best sense of pitch in your ensemble.
Rob
Franklin and Marshall College Poor Richards
www.poorrichards.org
Marc Johnson
I should have written sooner, as Joakim, Rob & Kenny have taken the
words straight out of my head. That being said...
While hearing the melody is always a good thing, the best thing would
be holding to the bass. The arrangement is designed with the
assurance that these voicings are coherent, hence "where the center of
pitch lies." Between the two, the remainder of the group should note
the establishment of tonality.
To figure out where the specific mistake is, transcribe the section
surrounding the song in question. Analyze the chords using Roman
numeral or pop symbols, and check mark the chord/s in question. In
rehearsal, run the section in half or quarter time to figure out the
part that should be more accountable. If problems persist, start the
song a half step lower. You could also come back to it at another
rehearsal and return to the original pitch, or start it a half step
higher. They will most likely have thought about it, not make the
same mistake, and the problem will resolve itself. Ultimately, it is
the responsibility of the individual to not overshoot the interval,
taking ownership of their part. It would also be wise for the
arranger/writer to be proactive to any potential faults.
I have absolute pitch and direct a smaller collegiate group. When
tuning or tempo issues arise, I give the person a quizzical look
(bulging eyes or a faux smile), but only for a given moment. This
could backfire depending on the closeness of the audience to the
stage. Most times, the audience views this as good group interaction.
These are some things I do to alleviate tonal inaccuracy.
-Marc
Colorado
Randi
(when referencing to "stick to whatever the bass is singing"). In all
female groups - the 'bass' is often the culprit, since arrangements
can often stretch a female voice (we have songs in our group where the
"alto IIs" have to sing a low A, and I'm not talking about the one
directly below middle C).
As someone with perfect pitch, I'm not a fan of raising or lowering
the key of a song to fix the pitch problem(s), because I feel like
that's more of an avoidance tactic. In addition, listening to the
person with perfect pitch or the 'best ear' isn't always the best case
scenario. There are many times (as the only one in my group with it)
where, if I were to stay in tune, I would stick out like a sore thumb,
as the rest of the group has already shifted to the new key.
Now that I've outlined all the problems I guess I should offer a
solution, otherwise I'm just part of the problem! I like doing
exercises in warm-ups (haven't done it with the group I'm in now very
often but did it back in my college days) where you have everyone sing
an A, for example, then 1/3 of the group (in Toxic Audio's case, 1
person) go a 1/2 step flat, 1/3 stay in tune, and 1/3 go sharp... then
have the 'conductor' bring the group back to center. It helps to
consciously go in and out of tune (then again, to each his own). It
won't solve all of the tuning problems in the world, but it definitely
creates a heightened sense of awareness as to how exactly to get back
to a "center" if tweaks need to be made.
Hopefully this helped and wasn't senseless late-night rambling!
-Randi
Music Director, Treble (NYC)
'nuther Toxic Fan
Deke Sharon
then make everyone tune to her.
(I got your back!)
toxicm...@aol.com (Toxicmichelle) wrote in message news:<20040703193600...@mb-m21.aol.com>...