Singing in a Gospel Choir

Here are the meanings of these three terms -- Beat, tempo, and rhythm.

We'll use this sheet music as an example:



At the beginning of each line you see a letter "C". That C stands for the word "common", which is what people sometimes write instead of writing "4/4".

4/4 is the BEAT of the song; that means you count out the time "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4". Lots of songs are in 4/4 time, there are also a lot that are written in 3/4 time ("1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3"). That is the BEAT (music scholars also call it the METER).

The TEMPO is the speed of the music. There a plenty of songs that are in 4/4 time, some of them are fast, others are slow. That's all the tempo is.

Now look at the notes on the sheet music. Some of the notes are empty circles and some are filled-in circles. These different types of notes tell you how long each note lasts. If you listen to the audio for the song, you'll hear the sequence of longer notes and shorter notes that are a part of the tune.



Here's the audio: Midi version

That series of notes ( long-short-short long-short-short long-long-long [pause] ) is the RHYTHM. The singers have a rhythm they are singing while the musicians will be playing other rhythms to accompany them.

This song, Glory To His Name, has a very simple rhythm. Other songs we sing have more complicated rhythms. Sometimes in the choir one part will be singing a line that has one rhythm while another part sings a different rhythm that plays against it.

Understanding these concepts of beat and rhythm can be useful in choir singing. If the director can tell you, "on the chorus, you start on beat 3", then you can feel where you are and come in right on time.

What does it mean when we say a song is in the key of C or B-flat or whatever else? It's something that's become a part of all of us as we grew up listening to music. When you hear a piece of music, you can tell that there's one note that's the foundation of the tune. That's the note that everything is leading to. When you reach that note, you feel like the tune has come to a resting place. Listen to this example:

Phrase 1

Does it feel like it's finished yet? It's still hanging, isn't it? Here's the next line:

Phrase 2

Now it feels like it's come all the way home. That last note is the key note for the song. In music terms, it's also called the tonal center or tonic. In the clips you heard, the tonic was an E note, so the song was being sung in the key of E. We can sing the song with a different tonal center and make the same melody. Here is the tune in the key of A-flat:

Verse in Ab

(That song, by the way, is Jesus, the Son of God written by Bishop G. T. Haywood.)

***************

A scale is the series of notes that are used in a particular key. In the key of C major, the notes that make up the scale are:

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

These notes are the scale tones for the C major scale. If you sing them in order, they sound like the familiar "do-re-mi" song: C major scale

Numbers are assigned to each scale tone. The tonic gets the number 1, the next note in the scale is 2, and so on. So in the key of C major, tone number 1 is C, number 2 is D, number 3 is E. There are seven scale tones in a normal scale, and after number 7 then you're back to number 1.

In other keys, different notes make up the scale. In the key of E major, the notes of the scale are:

E - F-sharp - G-sharp - A - B - C-sharp - D-sharp - E

The tonic is E, the 2nd is F-sharp, the 3rd is G-sharp, etc.

If you sing those notes, you get the same scale, just in a higher key: E major scale

If we go back to the song we were using, we can express the notes in the first line by using the scale tones:

5 - 3 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 6 - 1 - 6 - 5 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 3 - 2

No matter what key we're in, those scale tones in that order will produce that melody.

As you practice singing and listening to music, you'll start to get a feel for what the scale tones sound like. This will help you understand and remember your choir parts. For example, on a particular song, the sopranos might be starting on the third, the altos on the tonic, and the tenors on the fifth. If you understand that, it will help you keep your place and know where you're going.

Elisha Mitchell has a nice list of suggestions about choir etiquette. Some of them are practical tips, others are spiritual.

Some of my favorite practical suggestions from the list:

• If you know you need extra help, bring a portable tape player. Record the rehearsal so you can practice at home.


• Try singing music from a different era or style. This may be challenging but it serves to reach a diverse audience. And sometimes an "oldie but goodie" is right on time.


• Whenever possible, a lead singer should test the microphone before a program. If this is not possible, you can also hear what it sounds like when someone else is using it. Then you'll know how far away to hold it or whether to use it at all.

And some of my favorite spiritual points:

• Sing the song you aren't particularly fond of with a good attitude. It may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.


• Harping on someone else's inability will reduce the choir's overall effectiveness to minister. Edify or hush.


• Open your heart to be a channel for God to minister to others. To have that focus is especially helpful when you're asked to sing a song--again!

Here's the full list.