Layer Them In

I guarantee I didn't invent this activity, but I used it today with my Men's Chorus and I sure do love it. It worked like MAGIC, people. MAGIC, I say!

My men's chorus was struggling with some internal chord tuning. I'm pretty good about handling such things, and I'm not averse to "operating" on notes. I can improve technique with the best of them. However, it was clear that we had issues with listening and awareness.

I have 50 guys in the men's chorus, and we sing in four parts (new this year and I'm so thankful). We were focused on a 4-bar phrase in "Brothers Sing On," the last phrase of each verse.

I called upon three singers from each section to come down to the front of the class. I picked upperclassmen who are, admittedly, "ringers" so I knew it would sound great. And it did. Then I added one more person per section. Still great. I had those singers get back on the risers and told them to stand while the rest of the choir was seated.

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Then I started picking members at random - this was not a fantasy draft. Each time I added a new singer to each section, the chorus grew in volume and vibrance, but the quality maintained. Soon I was purposefully choosing singers who I knew had been struggling. The quality held. The chorus was getting stronger at every turn. I kept this process up until about 2/3rds of the men were standing, and they sounded amazing.

I wanted to avoid singers feeling like they were "picked last," so I then had everyone stand to sing together. The quality held. It was like a new chorus, like we fast-forwarded a month in the rehearsal process. Everyone was thrilled.

I took time to discuss what happened. I pointed out that I wasn't going in order of ability as I drafted new singers. I explained that everyone had done a great job molding themselves into the core sound, and that they were all contributors to the astounding new product we produced.

I encourage you to try this excercise. Start with a small core and then layer your singers in. It's something I'll keep doing for sure.