Re: Always going sharp

I've found that one of the most common reasons a group will go sharp
is when folks are singing above their comfortable range. Sopranos and
tenors, most often, and if they're tired, watch out! Try singing more
quietly, having them "float" rather than "reach up" to the notes.
Falsetto is your friend, when trying to work through these problems.

Another option is your bass. This happens sometimes when he can't hear
himself, especially on the lower notes, he'll creep sharp, where his
voice is louder and more easily heard. Also, if you have him singing
notes at the very bottom of his range, he might not be getting all the
way down.

Try singing the entire arrangement down a 1/2 step. Does it go as
sharp (ending a 1/2 step below where it usually does?). If so, it's an
"interval" problem - folks are overshooting their intervals up, and
undershooting them down somewhere. Sing through chord by chord and
find the problem places. It's probably somewhere the harmony is
challenging/less standard, and they don't hear the progression
properly. Or, it could be the result of a strange interval leap or
"outlining" - a minor 9th, tritone - they don't want to go all the way
to the correct pitch.

Is it going up to the original ending key when you sing it 1/2 step
lower? Then it's more a matter of where your singers hear it belonging
- either as a result of absolute pitch, or where it lands in their
vocal ranges. If you started higher, you'd probably hold key. Is it
holding key more effectively when you sing it 1/2 step lower? Quite
possibly it's a matter of range (the original key being a stretch for
your upper voices). In either case, onsider moving it here, at least
until your group's tuning is rock-solid.

Or, get new singers ;)

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (gymell) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> I'm in an a cappella quintet, SSATB. We sing a variety of music from
> medieval to 21st century. We're all decent sight readers and blend
> together fairly well. However as a group we have a consistent tendency
> to go sharp, usually about a half step. Doesn't seem to matter what
> key it is.
> 
> I've tried leading the group in some solfegg (movable 'do') exercises
> to help us get the mode/key in our head and hopefully keep a stronger
> sense of where the tonic is. The others in the group aren't so
> familiar with it so I've only done a little of that with them. Also
> I've pushed for always giving the tonic as a starting pitch rather
> than whatever the first note happens to be. For myself, I like to do a
> quick arpeggio to solidify the key (or mode), as in
> 'do-mi-sol-la-sol-fa-re-ti-do', or 'do-me-sol-le-sol-fa-re-ti-do'. It
> seems to me that solfegg should be helpful not only for sight reading,
> but also for intonation. But I don't know if I should push on that, or
> if other approaches might be more successful. Any comments would be
> appreciated, and I'm particularly interested in specific exercises
> anyone could suggest.