You will also want to mark the first of that group of 2 8TH notes with a slur. _____ From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kevin Gibbs Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 1:04 AM To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] FW: How to write four part vocal arrangement where some voices move and some don't For all my friends at ddots-l, here is the answer from a sighted guy who really knows his stuff. Read all the way down. K. -----Original Message----- From: Jimmy Lockett [mailto:poppajol@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 3:25 PM To: Kevin Gibbs Subject: Re: How to write four part vocal arrangement where some voices move and some don't Kevin: If understand the figure correctly, I don't really think you need to add extra staves for a chorus to be able to read what you said. If a syllable has a quarter note in one voice and two eighth notes in a second voice then all you have to do is write the syllable once under the figure and the singers will know what you mean. If I see eighth notes in voice two under quarter notes in voice one, and that figure is written for beats one and two, then both voices have quarter notes on beats three and four, this is a familiar figure to choral singers. They won't even hesitate over it. You just align the syllables with the quarter notes and make sure the stems are pointed correctly (voice one stems up and voice two stems down) the voice two singers will automatically hold that syllable through the note changes. This is basic mellisma and all choral singers have been seeing that since the Renaissance. Your figures would need to be a lot more complicated than this before you need to add staves or anything like that. Hope this is what you mean. Be Well, Jimmy On 10/24/07, Kevin Gibbs <HYPERLINK "mailto:kevjazz@xxxxxxxxx"kevjazz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Jimmy, I kind of suspected most of what you said. However, it doesn't completely explain what I should do in the case where the soprano has four quarter notes on four syllables and the other three parts have two eighths on the first syllable two eighths on the second syllable and a quarter for each of the third and fourth syllables in a bar. This is consistent for the same measure in all three verses. Thanks, Kevin -----Original Message----- From: Jimmy Lockett [mailto:HYPERLINK "mailto:poppajol@xxxxxxxxx"; \n poppajol@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:51 PM To: Kevin Gibbs Subject: Re: How to write four part vocal arrangement where some voices move and some don't Kevin: There are several acceptable options depending on the music. Most of the time in choral music people are given the full chorus part for everybody. (Maybe you already know this, if so, pardon the explanation). It's not like musicians who get individual parts for each instrument. The chorus usually sees all the parts. In the Musical theater this will usually be without the keyboard part but in formal chorale and classical music, there will often be some sort of keyboard part - maybe a reduction of the orchestra score. In your case, it's an organ part so it would be included (except in the theatre). Having the full chorus part is actually very helpful in rehearsal since, in a choir section, there is almost always at least one person who is a good sight singer (sometimes several - a lot of choristers are good sight singers). By the time the director has finished teaching the soprano part, the others are well on the way to having theirs down. Choir directors are used to this and, depending on how well s/he knows the group, will often say to the Basses (usually taught last), "OK you guys got it?" without even teaching the part. S/He can hear them working on it softly while teaching the others. This is considered quite acceptable in a chorus and, to some degree is even expected. I can tell you from lots of experience that this is much easier to do when you can see all the voices. In fact, I don't ever remember seeing individual vocal parts with only the single line of that voice. To a chorister that would be pretty weird and it would be hard to follow where you are. Choral singes don't think like regular musicians at all in that regard (again, maybe you know all this). Choruses are also used to the parts splitting in the score so that part of the time there are two voices on one line and then they split into larger systems when the parts get complicated. Choral parts often explode from four staves to six or eight if the part will be easier to read that way. So you could have each staff with the verses below, then split when needed with verses below each new and old staff. Also, you will sometimes see, for example the Tenor and Bass sharing lyrics when the vocal parts are rhythmically similar. So, the lyrics are actually between the two staves. This looks quite clear and is easy to read but it doesn't sound like it will apply in your case. Hope that's clear and gets to your actual question. Be Well, Jimmy On 10/24/07, Kevin Gibbs <HYPERLINK "mailto:kevjazz@xxxxxxxxx"; \nkevjazz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Jimmy, What should the parts look like? If you're doing an SATB and organ score, should the individual vocal parts have only one melodic line per system and three verses below? Thanks, Kevin -----Original Message----- From: Jimmy Lockett [mailto:HYPERLINK "mailto:poppajol@xxxxxxxxx"; \n poppajol@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 12:53 PM To: Kevin Gibbs Subject: Re: How to write four part vocal arrangement where some voices move and some don't Kevin: In my opinion, the best way to do that is to split the voices onto two staves, especially if there is more than one verse. It is entirely proper to write text above and below the same staff for clarity when there is one verse but it makes no sense to do that with three verses. You can temporarily split the staves if you think it will be more convenient but the ultimate determinant is always clarity for the reader. Whatever choice you make must be from that basis. If the template doesn't work, you have to change it or create a new one. Hope this helps. Be well, Jimmy On 10/23/07, Kevin Gibbs <HYPERLINK "mailto:kevjazz@xxxxxxxxx"; \nkevjazz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Dear All, I want to write a four part choral arrangement where some of the voices move while singing the same syllable and others sing a single note over that same syllable. If you're writing an SATB arrangement and you choose the choir template so that each of the choir staves has voice one and voice two, how do you write the verses under the text if one voice per staff is moving where the other is stationary? Do you solve the problem by writing the upper voice above the staff and the lower voice below the staff? If that's the case, what happens if you have three verses to the song? Any help would be appreciated. Kevin No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.10/1091 - Release Date: 10/24/2007 2:31 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1094 - Release Date: 10/26/2007 8:50 AM