minutes of this - in the flow of rehearsing a song - can really improve our pitch for when we step back to the microphones .
4 ) LAYERED VOICES I am convinced that nothing encourages a congregation to sing more effectively than giving them the sense that a lot of people are already singing . If everyone ’ s doing it , I might as well join in ! But , in apparent contradiction to this , it seems to have become quite fashionable over recent years to lead congregational worship through songs with one lead ( often solo ) singer supported by other backing singers who are often not singing . I guess I ’ m out of touch !
I have found that the best way to show the congregation that we are not performers but , instead , are warmly inviting them to sing with us , is to have all of my available singers in the band on their mic and singing as our default . Normally all 3 , 4 or 5 of us will be singing the melody together - in male and female octaves . We might branch off to some lower mixed harmonies later in the song , but that “ gang ” vocal sound is our standard mode and helps even reluctant congregants feel like they can safely join in .
This has huge benefits in our effort to reduce the Sonic Soup from pitchy vocals . With several voices layered together , it ’ s much easier for a weaker singing to “ lean ” on the notes of those who are stronger and more confident in their pitch . This is a great way to train a weaker singer ’ s ear , to help them improve their vocal control and improve their pitch .
On numerous occasions during sound check , I have heard one of my vocalists singing totally on their own and it has exposed some pitch issues . Sometimes serious pitch issues . But it ’ s often the nerves of singing solo during a sound check that can make a singer lose their sense of pitch . If I have that singer sing in unison with another singer or two , their pitch dramatically improves . There is safety and forgiveness in the “ gang ” vocal . If any of our singers are a little out of tune , they are unlikely to be heard . There will be no distracting Sonic Soupiness .
In days gone by when choirs were much more of a “ thing ” in churches , a singer would have loads of choir experience before ever being given an opportunity to sing as a soloist . My “ gang ” vocal approach is an attempt to reproduce some of that wonderful vocal training that choir experience gives . It ’ s great to utilize a solo voice - at times , even as we lead congregational singing - but the level of pitch control required for that voice is much higher than for the “ gang ”.
5 ) REDUCE AND ( IF NECESSARY ) REMOVE HARMONY VOICES Singing harmony is a lot of fun and can sound great when it ’ s done well . But doing so takes higher levels of ear training and vocal control . We might be okay when all our singers are singing the melody , but Sonically Soupy pitch issues arise when we branch off to harmonies .
If this is happening , we might need to reduce how often we ’ re using harmonies , take plenty of time to more thoroughly rehearse those moments ( off-mic first if necessary ) and maybe even not use any harmonies until we have really nailed the “ gang ” vocal melody in male and female octaves .
6 ) LISTEN BACK TO RECORDINGS CRITICALLY One of the difficulties with correcting a vocal pitch issue is that it is often an area of unconscious incompetence . We don ’ t know what we don ’ t know !
A pitchy singer might be perfectly capable of hearing out-of-tune notes when they ’ re listening only , but when they ’ re singing , they may not be able to hear their own pitchiness . Because of that , I would encourage singers to watch / listen to video / audio recordings of their last service as soon as possible afterwards . Singers might be unpleasantly surprised ! Hearing the problem for themselves can be much more effective than having an MD try to tell them about it and might just jolt them into the level of intentionality that is required to fix it . But hopefully without too much discouragement !
Phew ! That ’ s a lot of info . Thanks for making it this far . Perfection is not achievable and ought not be our goal . But I wish you every success as you work towards vocal excellence as you lead your church congregation to worship God through songs .
Oh ! And in case you ’ re wondering what I said to the atonal , tone-deaf “ singer ”: After chatting a bit and trying a few more vocal exercises with him I became even more convinced of his unsuitability for the vocal role . When I asked him why he was in the team , he told me ( with a grin ) that this gave him a break from helping his wife look after their troublesome kids - that having rehearsal nights away from home was great and that he did not like sitting with them during the church service . ( This is true BTW ).
From there - as gently and kindly as possible - I expressed my opinion that singing was not the role that he was best suited for . It was tough . Not pretty . He didn ’ t want to hear that . But I believe it had to be said .
Grant Norsworthy founder of MoreThanMusicMentor . com