During the restrictions of the last few years, many choirs found new ways to meet and perform, and it's clear that technology as part of rehearsing is here to stay, at least for the moment. These resources include practical videos and articles on getting the most from rehearsing your choir online, whatever its age, and recording performances online.
Over the last year, lots of choirs have had a go at producing a virtual performance, with singers recording their track at home and their choir's resident technical wizard producing a video to share with family, friends and audiences. But how do you ensure that your singers produce the best recording they can? Conductor and abcd tutor James Davey shares some hints and tips on getting the best out of your virtual choir, with downloadable instructions that you can edit for your choir.
Conductor, music educator and abcd Council member Richard Jeffries leads this video about running online rehearsals with young voices. There is guidance for anyone wanting to set up a Zoom rehearsal for the first time, hints and tips for everyone rehearsing their choir online and also a guide to basic video editing.
Click here to view.
Our colleague Prof Jim Daus Hjernøe at RAMA Vocal Center Denmark, who led sessions at last year's Festival, has produced two really helpful tutorials for conductors on using it in rehearsal situations. Learn more here.
"Well, the internet is fizzing with accounts of how people have been getting on with taking their rehearsals online, so I'm not sure this one is really needed. But I was going to write up my reflections anyway to inform our plans as they develop, so I thought I may was well do this thinking in public, in case anyone was curious about how we actually got on after my last post on the subject.
We used Zoom, and followed a plan sent out in advance with links for each segment of the rehearsal. The first and last segments were all together, with me leading and the chorus doing stuff with mics off - respectively a warm-up, using exercises we use regularly and can all do, and teaching a rhythm exercise for people to practise during the week. We had ten minutes offline midway for a comfort break and to make a cuppa, then 15 mins together with mics on for club business and social time." Read the rest of the article here.
"I will stop blogging about remote rehearsing all the time in due course. It's just that when a lot of us are learning a lot in a short time is when it is useful to share ideas. You can wait a bit longer to hear how the 8-part arranging project is going (quite well, btw).
So, the question that everyone always wants to ask is: can we actually do any singing together in an online choral rehearsal? You, know, like the definition of 'choral' would regard as pretty much essential. And the answer is usually no: there's too much lag, sorry." Read the rest of the article here.
We hope that you find our online resources useful and informative! abcd exists without any external core funding. Most of our revenue comes from our members' subscriptions, project funding from Trusts and Foundations, and small surpluses made on our courses and events. As we emerge from the pandemic, in order to continue to grow, we need your help. Any donation, large or small, makes a difference. If you are able to help us by making a donation here, we would be very grateful for your support.
