Comments on: That comingled seating: singing with the choir https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/ A blog about political change, among other things Sat, 05 May 2018 20:35:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: uncleFred https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222651 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:43:39 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222651 I sang in two of my university coral groups, the men’s glee club, and a coed group. Both stood in mixed octets. Singing in a mixed group is more difficult for the singers but makes a much nicer sound for the audience.

Our directors would direct “voices”. I’ve never actually tried to describe this before, but we always knew which among us was the target of a particular direction. Entrances and exits were pretty obvious, but our director could vary the volume and character (poor adjective) of different the different voices as well.

Decades later I’m sure that I could not respond correctly, but at the time it was automatic.

]]> By: Daniel in Brookline https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222623 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:17:42 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222623 I’ve sung in choruses in both ‘sectional’ and ‘shotgun’ configuration. The short version is this, as I understand it: shotgun is better for the audience, if the director and the singers can handle it. Singers grouped by section are easier to direct, and make it easier for the weaker singers to ‘lean’.

(One memorable director would say to us: “This is my melody hand; this is my harmony hand. Melody singers, follow this hand; harmony singers, follow this hand.” He didn’t point to a section for cues, because he couldn’t; we were scattered all over. But we knew which hand to watch, and he never got confused.)

I didn’t watch SOTU this year. (My main point of interest was to see what the Supremes did, and I saw hardly any commentary on that.) I was disturbed, though (off-topic warning) at just how many people in line of succession to the Presidency were there. President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, and so on. (The Senate President Pro Tem, fourth in line, was elsewhere; at least that.)

DiB

]]> By: Wry Mouth https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222471 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 07:17:09 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222471 certainly choir sectioning would be a more compelling subject for me (bass, jr high and HS).. thanks for the hark back!

]]> By: mezzrow https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222405 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:57:06 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222405 Don’t get me started about how to arrange instruments in an orchestra or a wind band. Talk about your long-winded discussions.

Split violins vs.violins on left/cellos on right, etc., etc… Furtwangler did it this way, Toscanini did it that way, yada, yada…

]]> By: texexec https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222404 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:56:35 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222404 I think the main reason there was little applause during the SOTU is that Obama said nothing new and was boring as hell.

]]> By: james https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222344 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:02:19 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222344 SOTU reminds me of when Stalin addressed large gatherings. At applause lines everyone would rise and clap, but NO ONE wanted to be the first to stop and sit. It got so bad they installed a light that Stalin controlled that signaled when to sit, before people began to faint.

]]> By: helvetica https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222338 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:29:16 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222338 I sang in a mixed choir once in high school, it was a state-level choir that we had to audition for etc. So we were all good enough singers to handle the mixed voices.

However, they sorted us by part and then by height, so the 4 shortest sopranos, altos, tenors, and bases all sat together, all the way up to the 4 tallest of each (only by then they were out of sopranos). I am fairly tall for a girl so I was in the back of the alto line – and got stuck between 2 guys who were both over 6’5″. I was lost back there, I don’t think I got any sunlight at all.

]]> By: LAG https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222319 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:57:11 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222319 It’s interesting the way the SOTU experiment turned out. I suspect the intent was exactly the opposite based on the notion that Republicans would be drawn to their feet each time a liberal applause-point was reached. To do otherwise would capture on camera the incivility of scattered curmudgeons clinging bitterly to their seats. Like every human endeavor, it turns out there’s more than one possible outcome. And usually the weak-minded follow the strong, as in this case.

]]> By: roc scssrs https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222314 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:37:38 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222314 In my limited experience as an amateur singer, yes, choirs with stronger singers can break them up into quartets. Some directors think it makes for a better overall sound. I was one of those singers who needed to follow someone stronger, at least at first. Theoretically after weeks of rehearsal each singer knew his/her part, but it always helped to have someone you could reliably cue in on. I’ve even known some directors to “salt” their amateur choirs with more experienced singers when the chips were down.

By the way, does anyone know who Steve Cohen sat with?

]]> By: gs https://thenewneo.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222309 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:19:53 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2011/02/03/that-comingled-seating-singing-with-the-choir/#comment-222309 Since I know next to nothing about choral groups, I thought I’d look it up to make sure I’m correct about that.

This sentence indicates one reason why, after intending to leave a single comment in passing, I’ve lingered here as long as I have. Many a blogger would have presented the results of a google search as though it’s something he/she knew all along.

There are blogs which I used to visit with respect and even deference–until the resident sages turned their attention to matters I knew about in depth. In contrast, I appreciate how Neo–usually! 😉 –keeps her ego in perspective (better than I would in her situation) despite perching well out on the bell curve.

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