Infographic: 10 Ways to Seat A Choir
There are lots of thoughts and opinions out there on choral seating formations: some swear by sopranos and altos in front with tenors and basses behind, others advocate for stacking sections (front-to-back), and still others say mixed formations are the way to go.
The truth is, there's really no right or wrong way to do it, though you may find some formations work better for your group or for particular pieces you're singing.
That's why, in today's post, I'm sharing ten different ways to seat a choir. I'm also mixing things up a little by sharing my first-ever infographic! Before we get into seating formations though, let's talk about one basic principle that applies no matter what:
The Power of the Curve
Sitting or standing in a curved formation makes a huge difference with listening, tuning, and choral blend (source). In The School Choral Program (2008), Michele and Holt and James Jordan describe two key reasons why sitting or standing in straight rows causes problems:
“A more straight or flat arrangement poses two problems: First, the singers will find it more difficult to hear each other, and consequently, intonation will suffer. Second, singers who sit in a more horizontal fashion will find it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a blended sound” (p. 162).
Ready to get started? Take a look at the infographic below:
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Voice Sections
This may be the most common way to seat choirs.
One benefit of these arrangements is the "strength in numbers" adage: less-experienced singers tend to feel more comfortable when surrounded by other people singing their part. Seating the women in front can help everyone see better when standing (assuming that the men in your choir are taller than the women!). However, it can be challenging to hear in this formation (thus leading to tuning problems) and less-confident singers can hide in the shadow of someone with a bigger voice (source).
Mixed Formations
Mixed formations tend to help with listening and tuning across the ensemble. They also help singers develop independence, as they are often seated next to people singing different parts.
If you have a choir with more women than men, you might consider seating the basses and tenors in the middle, stacked back-to-front, with sopranos and altos divided on either side. This helps balance the treble/bass in the ensemble. Weston Noble often seated the altos in front, noting this helps them hear better and helps temper the soprano sound (source).
It can be more challenging to rehearse in mixed formation, as it's difficult to cue entrances or work with specific sections. Also, though mixed formation does tend to help with balance and blend, it is not as effective for antiphonal or polyphonic works or pieces with independent lines.
Quartets
Holt and Jordan (2008) noted that seating a choir in quartets broadens the choral sound by “spreading larger voices throughout the choir and enhancing the need to listen more carefully” (p. 161). This works especially well for larger choirs.
Robert Shaw was known for arranging each section in horizontal rows first (using techniques described in this post), then stacking them (back-to-front) in vertical rows in BSTA order (source):
B1 S1 T1 A1
B2 S2 T2 A2
B3 S3 T3 A3
B4 S4 T4 A4
This might be useful in rehearsal to promote more careful listening and help develop musical independence, whether or not you actually stand that way when singing.
Conclusion
Every choir is different. Some of the seating arrangements described in this post will work better than others with your ensemble. Some will work better for certain pieces than others.
As Holt and Jordan (2008) said, “Do not be afraid to try something out of the ordinary. Just remember that the rule of thumb should always be to choose a standing arrangement that will sound the best” (p. 171).
How do you seat your choir? Do you prefer any of these arrangements over others?
Related articles:
"The Choral Rehearsal" from The School Choral Program (2008)
Let's Talk Choir Formations
Best-Kept Secrets of Choral Voicing
How Does Your Choir Line Up?
Reposition Your Singers: Refine Your Sound
Piano duets are one of the most enjoyable ways to make music with another person—whether you're adding something special to a worship service, planning a studio recital or informance, or just looking for an excuse to sit down at the piano and play with a friend or student.
In my experience, most piano students love the chance to perform together, and even small churches have at least one person in the congregation with some playing experience. Often, people just need to be asked and invited to participate.
The phrase score-study takes me right back to music history at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays (you, too?). Grout anthology in one hand, class notes in another, marking cadences and phrase structure and German augmented sixth chords.
Don’t worry—I’m not suggesting you analyze your ensemble music quite to that degree. However, the practice of studying a score—before teaching, rehearsing, or performing the piece has its merits.
Making progress, learning, improving. A sense of accomplishment and achievement.
Whether you’re leading a choir, chamber group, studio class, or classroom ensemble, you know what a good rehearsal feels like—focused, efficient, and productive.
There’s energy and momentum and everyone’s engaged and working together.
Who doesn't love a Christmas party in September (even if it’s still shorts weather)?!
A Christmas choir party is a fun and festive way to welcome new members, build community, and generate excitement for the season ahead. Whether you're leading a church choir, community chorus, or small ensemble, this kind of event sets a warm, enthusiastic tone for the year and offers your choir members a sneak peek of what's to come.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Society often makes us feel like we’re either one or the other. But these personality traits are actually opposite ends of the same spectrum.
And the reality is that most of us fall somewhere in the middle (source).
Susan Cain, researcher and author of the New York Times bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking noted, "Extroverts need higher levels of stimulation to feel their best” while "introverts prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environments." (source)
From August or September until May or June, choir and ensemble members of all ages gather in communities across the country week after week. They sing, they smile, they learn, but most of all, they give their time to be part of something bigger than themselves.
It’s a commitment, and often one that includes the whole family. This alone is something worth acknowledging and celebrating.
But then there’s the wonderful work that you do together throughout the year—the music you learn, the songs you sing, the services and programs and concerts you present, the community you build.
Here are five ways to celebrate the end of another wonderful year and show your appreciation for your choir and ensemble members this spring.
You know what it feels like:
Uninspired.
Laborious.
Boring.
It’s easy to slip into a rut in rehearsals from time to time, but I think we can all agree: these are not things anyone wants to feel or experience.
You don’t want to feel like you’re just going through the motions each week; you want to feel excited and energized to sing or play and learn and make music together.
If you’re a church pianist or organist, you likely have lots of opportunities to use hymn arrangements and creative hymn-playing techniques (like, multiple times in every service!).
But knowing what to do, finding well-crafted hymn harmonizations, and accessing published resources can be challenging. In some cases, these resources aren’t available at all.
The good news is, you don’t need to rely solely on published resources to add creative hymn arrangements and harmonizations into your service-playing. You can learn to do some of this yourself.
It's one the greatest musical skills you can help your choir develop: singing and reading music for themselves with musical understanding.
Just like learning to read language, music-reading comes after listening and interacting with music aurally and developing a musical vocabulary of tonal and rhythm patterns (these are like words in language).
Think of how you learned to read: You probably spent a lot of time following along in a book as you listened to someone else read to you. Eventually, you started finishing the sentences and pointing to the words as you went along.
You learned simple words like, go and dog and identified them in other books.
Learning to read music is no different. We learn to recognize tonal and rhythm patterns like familiar words in books.
'Tis the season to be jolly (in July, as you plan music for Advent!)
Am I right?!
As a church musician, you know it's never too early to be thinking about Christmas, so today, I thought I'd share a few favorite choral anthems for the Advent season.
I've mentioned a few of these in previous posts (Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir and Fifty More Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir), but I thought it might be helpful to compile everything in one post for easy reference.
What does it mean to be a leader? And what does it take to be a great one?
Leadership has been defined as “the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.” (source) Thus, a leader is one who inspires and directs that collective action.
This requires a certain set of skills and character traits, though experts say you can learn and develop these skills with time and experience.
You don’t have to be born with all of these skills and traits to be a great leader.
Take a moment to think about the choir directors you’ve had during your lifetime. What was your first choir director like? If you sang in a choir during high school, what was that director like? Think about the directors you’ve had as an adult, whether in a university, church, or community setting. What were those directors like?
Each one had a different style, right? A different approach to leading, conducting, organizing, and communicating with the choir. What makes one director a stronger leader than another? Which communication style is most effective?
Each one had a different style, right? A different approach to leading, conducting, organizing, and communicating with the choir. What makes one director a stronger leader than another? Which communication style is most effective?
As you wrap up your school-year commitments and make plans for those lazy, hazy days of summer, now is the perfect time to start organizing a summer choir.
Here are three unique ways to organize and structure a summer choir at your church, plus some helpful strategies for making the most of your time together each week.
Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are big celebrations in the life of the church and since they come back-to-back in the church calendar, it's one of the busiest weeks of the year for church musicians! Here are a few anthems to consider for your choir this year.
Lent. A time of reflection, sacrifice, prayer, contemplating, and grace.
It's a time of stripping away, going without (for example, the practice of "burying the alleluia" during Lent), and quieting the heart and mind.
There are six Sundays during Lent, plus any services that take place during Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Easter).
If you’re looking for a few new Lenten anthems to add to your library this year, here are a few of my favorites for SAB and SATB choirs.
In March, we celebrate Women's History Month around the world. And for those of us in music, we often celebrate women in music, as well.
There are festivals honoring the contributions of women in music, concerts celebrating repertoire by women composers, and publications about women writers and creators who have been relegated to the sidelines throughout history.
In church music, there is a rich history of women composers and authors sharing poetry, hymns, anthems, and service music. To celebrate Women in Music Month, here is a collection of church music written by women.
In February, we celebrate Black History Month—an annual observance in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. (and perhaps other places, as well) honoring the history, achievements, contributions, sacrifices, and struggles of African Americans.
Remember in college when you'd get into the practice room in the morning, unpack your books, and launch into a warm-up sequence? Maybe it was scales, chord patterns, or arpeggios. Maybe it was a finger-strengthening exercise. Maybe it was a technical etude.
Whatever your routine, warm-ups were an important part of each practice session.
Fall is here, which means the return of Georgia football (Go Dawgs!), puffer vests, and apple everything (sorry, PSL).
It also means lots of repertoire planning and rehearsing for Christmas programs, musicals, and holiday concerts.
I recognize that some of you are in positions where you may be programming a holiday concert or program, whether that's a school or community setting or an interfaith musical celebration with area churches. If you're looking for choral music that touches on various Winter holidays and celebrations, I hope the list of anthems below is helpful to you.
Many of you faithful readers have probably been directing a choir for what feels like ages.
But I recognize that some of you are new to this: maybe this is your first church job or your first time directing the choir at your church after serving in another capacity. Maybe you have choral conducting experience, but not in a church setting.
Hymns tell the stories of our faith.
Stories of faithfulness, prayers for peace, and songs of abiding love. Stories about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. Prophecies, promises, and words of hope and assurance.
As the great St. Augustine once wrote, "To sing is to pray twice."
When we sing these stories of our faith, we internalize them. We remember them.
For those of you who work in a choral setting, you know that a big challenge is working with adults who don’t read music. How can you teach music-reading in a group setting when your rehearsal time is limited each week? How can you empower your adult singers to develop these skills on their own?
Doug Hanvey—a pianist, adult educator, and composer—has a few teaching tips (and a free printable resource) to share so you can help your adult singers learn to read more confidently and develop their sight-singing skills. Enjoy!
Ordinary Time, for most Protestant churches, begins the week after Pentecost and runs until the beginning of Advent. Some churches also consider the period between Epiphany Sunday and Lent Ordinary Time, making it the longest season of the liturgical year (source).
Are you doing the math? That's 33-34 Sundays in Ordinary Time in any given year. That's a lot of anthems!
I thought today would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite anthems for Ordinary Time. Most of them work really well with small choirs (or large choirs—whatever you've got!).
Without further ado, my top 25 anthems for Ordinary Time:
When we talk about singing, especially singing in a community or congregational setting, we often ask, "Is it singable?"
This simple question may sound arbitrary but there's actually a lot of care and thought that goes into determining the answer.
Sometimes I get questions in my inbox that I think others may be wondering, too. Here’s a question I got recently about celebrating a church musician’s anniversary.
It’s a new year and that can mean only one thing: a new budget for your music program!
Most churches run on a January-December fiscal year, which means it's time to pull out your budget worksheets and start fresh.
When you do this, you suddenly remember that budget worksheets are boring, black and white Excel files, with heavy black grid lines, plain font, and pages that run on forever, which sort of puts a damper on the whole happy, fresh-start thing.
Does this sound familiar? If so, I made something for you.
For most churches, January is the start of a new fiscal year, which means it’s almost time for that long-anticipated after-church event that may or may not include finger sandwiches and decaf coffee…
Annual Meeting (and your written annual report).
Today, I’m sharing a few outline ideas for writing an annual report, a simple checklist of things to mention or include, and a few real-life examples for inspiration.
Sometimes I get questions in my inbox that I think others may be wondering, too. Here’s a question I got recently about music theory resources for adult choirs.
A successful, productive choir rehearsal takes proper preparation, careful planning, good time management skills, and attention to detail. In this post, I’m answering your questions plus sharing a few strategic tips for maximizing productivity in your rehearsals week after week.
Choir is a meaningful way to build community, promote unity, and bring people together.
Whether you direct a community choir, a church choir, or work with a professional choir, combining with other groups can be a memorable, enriching musical experience for all involved. It's also a practical way to expand what's possible on a concert program: more voices, more opportunities for divisi, and a bigger sound than one group could create on their own.