4 ms·

I've been attending a traditional Catholic parish for several years now, and over the last year got involved (for the first time in my life) with my church's ch

I've been attending a traditional Catholic parish for several years now, and over the last year got involved (for the first time in my life) with my church's choir. I've always loved music and could already read a bit of Western notation (owing to piano lessons at a young age – thanks, mom!), but really didn't (and don't) know that much about it, with respect to both theory and performance. The journey to the "production" side of sacred music has been an interesting one (still very much ongoing), and I feel quite enriched by what I've learned and experienced over the last few months. I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and learn a bit more about music ~ it's rich history and the joy it can bring to so many. Listen to music from 3 centuries past, from 100 and 1,500 years ago! At Midnight Mass 2016, just a few days ago, we offered Michael Haydn's (1737–1806)[1] Missa Sancti Gabrielis[2]. The younger Hadyn was a teenager when Bach died, and his music was shaped in and shaping the period following the Baroque era (Bach's era), which we identify today as the Classical period. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Haydn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Haydn [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_sEDzrkIM4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_sEDzrkIM4

fiatjaf 10y ago
So, despite not knowing any music from the production side, you manage to easily enter and sing on the choir? I wanted to do something, but my voice seems very out of tune for that I despite various efforts I can't get it much better. Advise me, please.
- dizzyfingers 10y ago
  Its probabaly not your voice, it's more likely that you could use some ear training, try musictheory.net
- jabv 10y ago
  A decent voice teacher can help with that. Not everyone can be Frank Sinatra, but you can learn to sing well enough to join an amateur choir if you desire. To find an inexpensive voice teacher, look up the information for a voice professor at the nearest college, and ask for a referral to one of their students (don't shy away from an undergraduate, and be clear you're a total beginner).
- michaelsbradley 10y ago
  Learn a bit about Solfège[1]. Find sheet music for the voice parts of some piece you'd like to sing – simpler would be better, at first – and practice marking up the sheet music with the solfège syllables. Then, or concurrently, use TonalEnergy[2] (or something similar, but T.E. is top-notch) to playback the syllables and the tempo. Finally, start working at matching your voice to the syllables – T.E. will visually indicate what notes you're actually hitting (or not hitting, as the case may be). Likewise, simply practice going up and down the scale with your voice until you can reliably reproduce do–re–mi–etc per the indications of T.E. Eventually, try singing the words instead of the solfège syllables, while hitting the proper notes. Good luck, and remember to relax and have fun! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge [2] http://tonalenergy.com/ http://tonalenergy.com/

fiatjaf 10y ago

So, despite not knowing any music from the production side, you manage to easily enter and sing on the choir? I wanted to do something, but my voice seems very out of tune for that I despite various efforts I can't get it much better. Advise me, please.

dizzyfingers 10y ago
Its probabaly not your voice, it's more likely that you could use some ear training, try musictheory.net
jabv 10y ago
A decent voice teacher can help with that. Not everyone can be Frank Sinatra, but you can learn to sing well enough to join an amateur choir if you desire. To find an inexpensive voice teacher, look up the information for a voice professor at the nearest college, and ask for a referral to one of their students (don't shy away from an undergraduate, and be clear you're a total beginner).
michaelsbradley 10y ago
Learn a bit about Solfège[1]. Find sheet music for the voice parts of some piece you'd like to sing – simpler would be better, at first – and practice marking up the sheet music with the solfège syllables. Then, or concurrently, use TonalEnergy[2] (or something similar, but T.E. is top-notch) to playback the syllables and the tempo. Finally, start working at matching your voice to the syllables – T.E. will visually indicate what notes you're actually hitting (or not hitting, as the case may be). Likewise, simply practice going up and down the scale with your voice until you can reliably reproduce do–re–mi–etc per the indications of T.E. Eventually, try singing the words instead of the solfège syllables, while hitting the proper notes. Good luck, and remember to relax and have fun! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge [2] http://tonalenergy.com/ http://tonalenergy.com/