Sometimes the regent honestly warns his singers in advance: you can’t take a breath between this and that phrase. Sing on the chain. Sometimes such a warning is duplicated by some kind of cheironomic symbol, such as clasped fingers (often observed, honestly). Doesn't help. Half of the singers still take their breath in the indicated place, causing the righteous anger of their leader.

The above methods are of no use. The regent’s communication with his “subordinates” should not be expressed only in intellectual cooperation - “I said it, and you understood.” The influence of the regency gesture on the singer’s body occurs on a subconscious level, when the hands control breathing, ligaments, resonators and other parts of the body without any verbal substitutes.

In relation to chain breathing, this means the following.

Any choir practitioner knows that chain breathing is a physiological effort. This is overcoming the natural desire to take in air where this will not impair singing - in the intervals between words, even short ones. And since this technique is an effort, then in its demonstration the regent is obliged to convey this effort with his own hands.

The academic method is quite sufficient and simple. However, since the printed edition does not allow you to show it yourself, I will try to do it figuratively:

You hold in your hands the last sound of the phrase you just sang.
Imagine (and show your choristers) that this sound is the bricks that you are grasping from above.
At the junction of musical phrases, with appropriate effort, slowly, move these bricks through the barrier (height from 5 to 10 cm) that stands in front of you.
Drop them on the first beat of the next phrase.

That's it. There is no need to inform the singers about the coming chain breathing; it is necessary to “live” it in their hands. The main thing in practicing it is not to imitate the transfer force, but to actually, muscularly experience it. The singer who entrusted his body to your hands will not believe the imitation.

Sound attack

The attack is the beginning of the sound, it affects the nature of the closure of the ligaments, the quality of singing breathing, and the formation of sound.

Wrong attack means wrong intonation.
Attacks are divided into three types:
* soft - the closure of the ligaments is not tight, occurs at the moment of sound formation along with exhalation
* hard - the ligaments are tightly closed, the formation of sound is a “breakthrough” of subglottic air through the closed ligaments
* aspirated - closure of the vocal cords after the start of exhalation, resulting in a short aspiration in the form of a consonant “x”

The following conditions must be met:
* the group of incoming voices of the choir must use the same type of sound attack
* before attacking a sound, you need to mentally imagine the height, strength of the sound, the nature of the sound, the shape of the vowel and then take the sound easily and freely
* during a sound attack there should be no entrances or noise overtones.

If a sluggish, relaxed sound is formed, a firm attack is used.

To release trapped sound, exercises with aspirated breathing are used.

Advice - sing the Choir in advance!

High notes

The note preceding the high or uncomfortable note should be a "springboard", struck in the same manner as the subsequent difficult note will be struck. It is necessary to prepare both the place of sound and the position of the mouth. Well prepared, the note will appear as if by itself (although the same difficult note in another case can be played differently, easier).

It greatly helps to hit an uncomfortable note by clearly pronouncing the consonant letter preceding it, especially if it is sonorant or helps with good resonance.

Don’t get carried away with singing high notes, take them in fast passages, and most importantly, don’t shout them out - it’s harmful.

If a high note comes after a pause and you have to hit it with a special attack, you must try to maintain the position of the larynx of the previous note and, when you resume breathing, do not forget it, do not lose it.

Lvov figuratively said that each singer is allotted only a strictly limited number of extreme upper sounds and therefore they must be “used” extremely sparingly.

The pitch of the sound is directly proportional to the voltage, but the listener should not feel it.

Error young singer– these are carelessly, inattentively sung sounds preceding the upper one and the desire to “take” the upper sound. A carelessly sung end of one phrase inevitably leads to a convulsive restructuring of the vocal apparatus for the upper beginning of the next one. This deprives the singing of smoothness and sound evenness.

One must have the habit of constantly monitoring the preservation of the unity of the sound position. This will make it easier to develop the move to the upper sounds.

“...to remove the clamp on a high note, you need to position the larynx and pharynx in exactly the same way as is done during yawning.”

If it is necessary to perform extreme high sounds, very concentrated breathing with a retracted abdomen and an extremely open throat is required with a high position of the voice.

The sound should give a “stabbing” impression

Developing higher sounds is not only not necessary to start with lower notes, but on the contrary, it is very dangerous. At the same time, we run the risk of including muscle elements in sound production when the voice moves to the upper notes, which can create a picture of functional inhibition and delay further development high tones, because the muscles are involved in the work with their entire mass, and when the sound moves upward they try to fully participate in the formation of the upper sounds. This is an obstacle to work, and therefore, the participation of muscle elements in the formation of high notes must be individually limited.

Covered sound. White sound. Bel Canto

The essence of the style of singing with a covered sound is expressed in the fact that some vowels, for example “I”, “E”, “A”, are sung, approaching “Y”, “E”, “O”, that is, they are rounded. This applies to a greater extent to unstressed vowels.

The mouth should not be opened too wide as this may result in a “white” sound.

The articulatory apparatus of all singers must take a form corresponding to a given vowel (mouth, lips, tongue, teeth, soft and hard palate).

The sounds of the upper, head register require especially careful rounding. The oral cavity plays an important role in rounding.

Rounding is achieved by maximally raising the upper palate, due to which the resonator cavity of the mouth expands and takes on a dome-shaped shape.

The degree of “covering” in the practice of academic singing can be extremely different.

To avoid a change in timbre on the medium, according to some singers, it is necessary to soften the preceding notes and strengthen the subsequent ones, which is quite amenable to willpower.

Happy things should be sung in a lighter tone, without turning into a “white” sound, which is unpleasant, vulgar and tires the throat.

White, open sound is due to the enhanced sound of the upper harmonics and insufficient lower formant, which gives the sound depth and roundness.

The requirement: “Do not stretch your mouth horizontally”, open it freely downwards, pronounce words significantly, rounding the vowels “A”, “E”, “I”, helps to master the correct, covered sound.

Bel canto - beautiful singing - is characterized by melodiousness, fullness, nobility of sound (singing on a support), and agility to perform virtuoso passages.

Italian bel canto is closer to Russian chant.

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“CHORUS AND ITS MANAGEMENT” - P.G. CHESNOKOV

1.Technique helps inspire, and therefore learn the composition with the choir first of all technically perfectly.
2. Do not take on work on an essay that you do not fully perceive with your consciousness and feeling.
3. If, while working on an essay, you notice that the choir does not perceive it because it is below the choir’s capabilities, remove this composition from work. If the composition for the choir is difficult, develop and improve the choir by working on easier compositions, and then return to the difficult composition that was temporarily abandoned.
4. Remember that you are a leader in your business; awareness of responsibility will help you overcome many difficulties.
5. Do not come to the choir with a composition that you have not previously studied or thoroughly analyzed.
6. If the choir sings poorly, blame it not on it, but on yourself.
7. When directing a choir, always be at least partly on the rise; lack of lift weakens the performance.
8. Do not devalue your compositions by performing them too often. If you notice a deterioration in the quality of performance and the appearance of errors, remove the composition from the repertoire for two months, and then work on it additionally.
9. Do not introduce ideologically and artistically insignificant and weak works into the choir’s repertoire.
10. Don’t be rude during choir practice; this will humiliate you in the eyes of the choir, and will only bring harm to the cause. Be lively, inventive, witty; gain authority from the choir interesting activities and artistic performance of learned compositions.
11. Don’t get carried away by any one author; this will create monotony. Take the best and most valuable from each author.
12. During classes, do not overly tire the choir: if they are tired, there will be no productive work.
13. When you first come to a choir that is new to you, do not forget that it lived its own life, its own habits and traditions before you. Beware of destroying them too hastily: take a closer look, leave all the good, and gradually replace the bad with the better.
14. Do not be verbose with the choir: say only what is necessary and will bring practical benefit. Remember that verbosity tires the choir: be restrained in both gestures and words.
15. During classes, do not force the choir to repeat the same thing aimlessly; with each repetition, first explain why you are doing this, otherwise the choir’s trust in you will begin to gradually decline.
16. Always remain strict in your demands on yourself, as a conductor and as a person; this will ensure a normal relationship with the choir.
17. Maintain an atmosphere of creative community and unanimity in the choir.
18. Be a senior comrade for the choral singer in the best sense of the word; at the same time be demanding in your work.
19. When studying a composition with the choir, point out to the singers the parts and details that are best in design and music; This way you will cultivate an aesthetic sense in them.
20. If you fail to arouse in the singers a feeling of admiration for the artistic merits of the composition being performed, your work with the choir will not achieve the desired goal.
21. If you yourself do not experience satisfaction and do not find joy in your studies, then you will not give anything to the singers. Consider such activities unsuccessful.
22. Try to add animation and interest to any technically dry activity.
23. Study each singer as a person, delve into him psychological characteristics and approach him accordingly.
24. Appreciate and respect the choral singer if you want to be appreciated and respected in the choir; mutual respect and goodwill are necessary conditions for artistic work.
25. Remember that choral art is one of the manifestations of human culture.

P.S. Although these tips are taken from a book addressed to secular musicians - choral conductors, however, in our opinion, with a few exceptions, almost all of them are not only applicable, but also extremely useful for any choir director.

SINGING IN TEMPLE SHOULD BE LIKED.

Church singing - if it is good and beautiful - rarely leaves anyone indifferent. Sometimes people come to the temple just to listen...and stay. This is how their path to church begins.

About church singing - our conversation with Marina Pavlovna Rakhmanova, guest and participant in the Pimenov readings, doctor of art history, leading researcher at the State Institute of Art Studies, scientific secretary of the State central museum musical culture named after M.I. Glinka.

Does an Orthodox person, if he is not a singer or choir director, need to understand sacred music, know styles, authors - or is it enough to just stand in church and listen?

If a person goes to church for a long time, loves it, loves the service, then he becomes interested in who is the author of the paintings, what time the icons are from, what they sing at the service. In Moscow (and in Saratov, probably, too), parishioners of the older generation, who went to church back in Soviet times, knew all the names of composers and regents; knew when this or that chant was sung. Today this is not the case. I think also because there used to be a more unified style of singing. Now in Moscow, for example, churches sing differently everywhere, there is no single style. And it is impossible to know everything.

What does understanding liturgical singing provide?

The main thing is not singing, but the word. If we're talking about about single-voice styles, such as Znamenny, Greek and other chants, then it is obvious: the sound is the shell of the word. If the music is polyphonic, original, then everything is much more complicated. To understand what the composer wanted to say, how he voiced the liturgical word, you need to understand the language of this style, get used to it. Today the choir of the Holy Trinity Cathedral performed the Great Doxology of Veleumov at the all-night vigil. This is an author from the very beginning of the 19th century, there is no information about him. It is clear from his surname that he was from the clergy or from the family of a priest. They love him in Moscow, and they sing him in Saratov. But in order to sing Veleumov properly, in a church way, the regent needs to understand the language of that era, and the cathedral regent Svetlana Khakhalina showed rare sensitivity here. Veleumov sounded wonderful at the all-night vigil!

I think everyone will agree that singing in church should be professional. However, watching the singers in the choir, who have a conservatory education and sing very beautifully, you can see, for example, that they chew gum during the service, come to the choir in trousers, tying scarves over them, talk during the service... Which is better: professionals who sing just to earn money, or a choir of sincere grandmothers?
- This behavior is unacceptable. Rather than indifferent singers, a choir of grandmothers is better!

Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), who loved and appreciated good, artistic singing, has a wonderful statement on this matter.

In a letter to his close friend and confessor, the abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony (Medvedev), who once complained that the singing in the Lavra monastery was “not very good” and it would be necessary to accept more monks into the monastery in order to strengthen the singing, the saint Filaret answers: “No. People should be taken to the monastery according to their spiritual structure, and not according to their voices.” And he goes on to tell how once he himself served the liturgy with a sexton, who sang alone - and “discorded with himself” - but the service was good.

It turns out that the most important criterion in assessing church singing for an ordinary church parishioner this is a “like it or not like it” criterion. Does it create a prayerful mood or hinder it?

The feeling of prayer comes from different things: from the “spontaneous” singing of village parishioners, and from the sophisticated singing that we heard today. There are many gradations here. In small churches, in villages - where does the choir come from? - there is one priest who sings the entire service himself, or his mother helps him. And that can be absolutely wonderful.

Today, sacred music can be heard not only within the walls of churches. Many church groups are active concert activities, burn discs. How do you feel about this?

I’m fine only if they are very good teams. It makes no sense to enter the concert life with average singing - in the professional field you need to show a high class. And concert choirs must be assessed from a professional point of view.

Back at the beginning of the twentieth century, smart critics, including those from the clergy, said two things: firstly, that good concert spiritual singing (they called it “demestral”) is the way to the temple, and secondly, that for spiritual concerts It may be necessary to draw up special programs, which may or may not coincide in some way with what the choir sings in the choir. On the eve of the First World War, the Holy Synod even tried to prohibit the singing of hymns of the Eucharistic canon in concerts. But the ban led to practically nothing, because each choir wanted to sing “Cherubic”, “It Is Worthy”, “The Grace of the World” - the central chants of the liturgy, which exist in many singing versions. It seems that performers, guided by common sense, can still organize their program in such a way that it does not offend anyone.

Doesn't the applause after "Kherubimskaya" hurt your ears?

In Moscow, they seem to have taught the public not to applaud at spiritual concerts (only at the end of the program). But this doesn't always work out. If the concert takes place in the Great Hall of the Conservatory, where a lot of intelligent audiences gather, they most likely will not applaud. At one time, at the first festivals of Orthodox singing, the audience stood up in unison during the performance of some chants - for example, during the performance of “I Believe” and “Our Father”. Now, unfortunately, they don’t get up anymore...

Should you perform only sacred works or can you include secular music in your repertoire?

For example, there is a practice of performing Russian folk songs. Some people who come to the concert to listen church choir, this is infuriating...
- It's not good if people were deceived. They need to know what program they are going to. But in principle, a church choir can sing folk music - this is a deep and very valuable layer traditional culture. In different sections or combined with spiritual chants - each choir solves this in its own way. This tradition existed, for example, in the Synodal Choir. Very rarely, but they were performed in concerts folk songs, hymn "God Save the Tsar." There was also such a wonderful Don Cossack Choir under the direction of Sergei Zharov. Now discs have been released with recordings of this choir, where a significant proportion, along with church chants, are folk songs in amazingly virtuoso choral arrangements, and many male choirs have begun to focus on this style. Regarding the perfection of choral sound, one can learn a lot from Zharov. But his choir was primarily a concert group, and when it sang in church (and it sang in any city where it came on tour and where there was an Orthodox church), I think it sang a little differently. And in general, it is useless to imitate Zharov - it won’t work anyway. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful concert in Moscow, where she sang Russian folk songs in Zharov’s arrangements men's group St. Petersburg Chapel under the direction of V.A. Chernushenko, and she sang not “according to Zharov,” but in her own way: restrained, classical, with exceptionally beautiful sound. And the audience did not want to leave for almost an hour after the end of the concert.

Returning to liturgical singing: in the early Christian Church there was no choir; hymns during the service were sung by the people praying in the church. Today, many people standing in the temple sang along with the choir. Is such popular singing possible during a service?

If it’s like they sang today, it’s possible. People sang with enthusiasm, sang correctly, entered where necessary. I sang along myself. National singing as a principle is another matter: if the church is small and the parish is very united, then this can work out. But in a large church where bishops’ services are held, this is hardly possible. This is also a very old discussion. Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) - a great man, a remarkable figure of the Russian Church - based on the experience of the eastern countries where he lived, wrote, back in mid-19th centuries, that singing in church should be nationwide, that all people should be involved in the service, and paying money to singers seems to be immoral. To which Metropolitan Philaret replied that according to this logic, there is no need to pay priests, deacons, or everyone who does something in the church and for the church. The essence of the issue is that bad, discordant singing disrupts the flow and meaning of the service, and this should not happen.

A GUIDE TO STUDYING CHURCH SINGING AND READING

Dedova Elena Petrovna

Music and singing teacher, total experience 19 years.

GBS(K)OU boarding school of the VIII type in the village of Ilsky, Krasnodar Territory

“Various forms of vocal and choral work for students with disabilities”

Annotation:

Having devoted many years of my life to working with children and ending up in schoolVIII kind, I acutely felt the need to modify many forms of vocal and choral work, taking into account the specifics of this category of children. This methodological material briefly outlines the basic principles of vocal and choral work and specific exercises that can be safely taken as a basis and acted upon. All of them have been tested by me personally and work.

Plan:

1. Choral singing is the main and most accessible means of introducing children to musical culture.

2.Main tasks of vocal work:

3.Musical games.

4. List of references.

Choral singing is the main and most accessible means of introducing children to musical culture. A group of singing people, a class - a choir.

In the process of teaching children choral singing, important social and educational tasks are carried out. Well-organized work of the choir/class helps unite children into a single, friendly team, reveals their creative activity, and thus introduces them to socially useful activities. All this is the artistic educational value of children's choirs. The practical activity of the choir is to teach children to sing with one, two voices, and also without accompaniment, to develop their ear for music and vocal abilities, and to give them basic knowledge. Learning a song repertoire is not the main activity in the lesson, because the teacher carries out a lot of tasks, following the main program and touching on various types of activities. When working with children who have mental development disorders, it is difficult to perform many educational tasks. Much depends on the degree of musical-auditory development, the presence of the necessary vocal skills in such children and the degree of their impairments.

But if you organize the work in the lesson correctly, purposefully and constantly work to master children’s singing skills, conscious perception musical material, then the result will not take long to arrive. Children happily rush to music lessons and enjoy singing, talking about music and playing music.

2. The main tasks of vocal work in music lessons.

2.1.Development of vocal skills.

Children's voices are characterized by a light, light sound and do not have sufficient fullness and strength of sound. Individual timbre, as well as pure intonation, is absent in most cases; the range, as a rule, is limited, maximum: “C” 1 – “C” 2 octaves. All this obliges the teacher to be careful and careful when working on developing children’s skills. primary classes. During lessons, you need to ensure that children sing calmly, without tension. Forcing the sound can lead to a disorder of the vocal apparatus and even complete loss of voice. All singing skills are closely interconnected, like all organs of the complex singing mechanism. Only as a result of the simultaneous coordinated work of the entire vocal apparatus does the correct sound arise and expressive singing is possible. Breathing while singing largely depends on the singing attitude. It is more useful and convenient to sing while standing, but if children become more tired, this work must be done while sitting, keeping the body straight if possible. Children with intact intelligence quickly get used to and understand the importance of chanting and short melodies, while children with poor developed speech, react emotionally to musical works. But both of them perform the exercises with interest, because... here there is an emotional “pulling” of all children into the general process.

From the very first lessons, children should be taught to organize their breathing while singing, so that the children do not forget to take their breath from the teacher’s hand. The teacher must teach children to hold their breath, to take it as long as necessary to perform the phrase. Breathing should be used sparingly, evenly, throughout the entire musical phrase. Breathing patterns affect the purity of intonation. With excessive tension of the respiratory muscles, intonation, as a rule, increases, and with relaxation, it decreases. The nature of the sound attack - hard or soft - depends on the quality of breathing. For our children, a soft attack of sound is most acceptable, although a hard attack of sound is still necessary in some cases.

2.2. To acquire the listed skills, it is useful to use the following exercises, which I use when working with children in my lessons:

1). " Fun account" All students simultaneously take a breath at the teacher’s sign and count together: one, two, three, and so on. The teacher warns the children in advance about what numbers will be counted. For example, up to ten, in one breath. It is better to count in a chant, using more convenient sounds of the 1st octave, approximately from “E” to “A”. It is necessary to count in the “piano” nuance. However, you should not get carried away with this exercise.

2). "Ball". Children love this exercise: Gradually “deflate the balloon.” Simultaneously inhale and gradually release the air.

3). "Inflatable toys." Children stand in two lines - facing each other at a short distance from each other. The “pumps” push with tension with their fists and exhale air in jerks, as if pumping up a “toy”). The “toys”, squatting, gradually “inflate.” Also a favorite exercise for children, because... All this takes place in a playful way. Children figure out what kind of toys they will be and “inflate”, provided that their “pumps” try.

4). “Let’s blow up the balloon.” Children blow out air gradually, while their stomach is tense. After the exercise, we immediately begin to sing, and a very good “legato” is obtained, making sure that the tummy is as tense as when performing the exercise. (Sometimes I bring real balloons to class so that the children feel the right sensation when they are inflated and then play with them with delight).

5). "Blow out the candle." We just push with our belly. Effective.

6). "Letters". I show the children cards with the letters “B”, “T”, “D”. And they seem to push out consonant sounds with their stomachs. At the same time, the abdominal muscles tense.

7). "Jump rope." I rarely use it; the exercise is designed for children with minimal physical impairments. For each jump, the syllables of a poem are pronounced.

8). "Ball". As in the previous exercise, for each bounce of the ball a syllable of the poem is pronounced.

These exercises are very effective, but we must remember that you can use no more than one or two exercises in a lesson and very carefully to avoid overexertion and dizziness in children.

2.3.Basically, work on the skills of proper singing breathing should be carried out on special vocal exercises. These exercises should consist of short musical phrases so that one breath is enough to complete the entire phrase. They must be sung on separate vowels or syllables, in moderate pace, in a tessitura convenient for all children, in the dynamics of mezzo-piano, mezzo-forte. For variety, singing these exercises on individual vowels and syllables should be alternated with specially selected, simple text. (“Dear Mother”, “ New school", "Our Motherland", etc.)

During the exercises, you need to make sure that the children take their breath simultaneously and actively: so that they begin and end each phrase together, and distribute the air throughout the entire phrase.

Only by achieving a melodious sound can one achieve the main thing in choral singing.

I recommend using sonorant consonants (“m”, “n”, “l”), which are pronounced at the same pitch. You should move on to developing the sound of vowels, connecting them with sonorant consonants, for example, “mmmm”, “mmmm”, etc. Exercises to develop the power of sound should be started only after mastering the basic skills of free sound production, sound engineering and sound in different registers. Gradually the exercises become more difficult. Numbers, phrases, proverbs, sayings are pronounced while moving. It must be remembered that voluntarily regulated respiratory movements cause rapid fatigue of the respiratory muscles.

2.4. When developing stage breathing techniques, the use of movements has another advantage, along with the innate reactions of the respiratory system to muscular work in general; the formation of breathing skills occurs in relation to a specific form of breathing activity. For example, the abdominal muscles, which play an important role in the mechanism of regulation of subglottic pressure, are auxiliary muscles.

2.5. Work on sound formation must begin with the correct formation of vowel sounds (“a”, “o”, “u”, “e”, “i”) and individual syllables in combination of these vowels with various consonant sounds. By combining vowel sounds with consonants, the most active sound formation is ensured. In this case, the consonants should be pronounced easily and briefly, i.e. serve as a starting point in the formation of the following vowel sounds. It is best to start the exercises by singing vowel sounds in unison, starting with lighter ones and ending with darker consonants. When vowels are performed in this order, children develop a light and positionally high sound. With children whose sound is too dark, it is useful to sing exercises involving the lightest vowels (“i”, “ya”). Being carried away by singing, children often, without noticing it, sing with their heads raised too high, with their necks stretched out, which is why the sound of their voices takes on a harsh, guttural timbre. This shortcoming must be combated from the very first lessons. Unfortunately, tight throat singing can occur even if the correct singing attitude is observed. To eliminate this drawback, it is worth performing the exercise first with your mouth closed on the consonant “m”, then on the syllable “ha”, with aspiration.

In order for children to quickly understand and better master the basic rules of sound formation, it is necessary to more often resort to practical demonstrations of correct sound formation. And since singing is inextricably linked with the word, clear and precise pronunciation of song lyrics is absolutely necessary for expressive performance. Speech and breathing-speech exercises and tongue twisters are also used for this. (For example, “Osip is yelling, Arkhip is not far behind, who will out-shout who, Osip is yelling, Arkhip is hoarse”). The “Ball” and “Jump Rope” exercises are also suitable here.

To free the lower jaw from stiffness, I advise you to use the syllable “yes”. On this syllable, sing small exercises consisting of three to five consecutive sounds up and down.

In addition to exercises, you need to work on articulation while learning songs. When working on diction, we must not forget about the melodiousness of the sound. In order to develop a more melodious sound, the consonant sound that closes the word must be attached to the subsequent word. (For example, “Ring-Tzvono-Vesyoly”).

2.6. Exercises for the facial muscles are also important:

- “Antics.” Portray joy, surprise and other emotions.

-"Mirror". The children came up with another name, “Repeaters.” One shows emotions, others repeat.

2.7.Many other exercises work to develop unison:

1). Hand signs (according to G. Struve)

2).Singing “by hand”.

3). Showing pitch by hand.

4). Some phonopedic exercises (according to Emelyanov).

5).Sliding movements up and down.

6). "Live notes and tuner." (In the past, I successfully used it in other children's groups. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable with my students at this school yet. But this is temporary). If children intonate purely, then each child is one note, one hand sign. It is better to take no more than three “notes”. The teacher, and then the child, acts as a tuner. He “tunes” his “notes” and then they sing and compose songs.

Such exercises for children are a kind of games. Children love them very much. We compose various fairy tales, developing our voice along the way. (For example, “We went into the forest and got lost” - “Aw” - transition from a low sound to a high one. “We saw a hut, began to open the door, and it creaked like that” - we creaked with just our ligaments, opening our mouth well. “And there was a fluffy bear cub , and he growled like that” - creaking - “a”, from the creaking we come out to a low sound. “We got scared, ran and saw a little kitten meowing pitifully” - everyone meows subtly so that the voice can adjust. )

2.8.An important point in the development of children’s vocal and choral skills is the development of a sense of rhythm. The process of developing a sense of rhythm can be divided into two main stages:

Listening comprehension musical rhythm and direct reproduction of it in movements (running, walking, clapping, tapping).

The transition from the direct muscular sensation of rhythm to its awareness and accumulation of theoretical knowledge (naturally, always inextricably linked with practical skills).

The teaching aids contain many different exercises to develop a musical and rhythmic sense. They are used in the “music, dance” lesson. I am a teacher in the subject “music, singing”. But I definitely use musical and rhythmic games that I come up with myself, and which are often “born” by themselves or with the help of children in my lessons. So, a simple song “Mouse” led us to the game “Musical Cat and Mice”. At the initial stage, the “Musical Cat” claps its hands with quarters, and the children check its correctness and clarity. The Musical Mice then learn to walk to the beat of the music. Here they must hear the end of the musical phrase and stop in time. Then these fragments are combined. At the end of the phrase, the children run back to their seats, and the “Musical Cat” catches them, to the general delight of everyone. Those children who, for physical reasons, are dangerous to play this game, play the role of jury, or help the “Musical Cat” clap rhythmically. They also have the honor of starting and stopping music on the computer.

2.9. I pay special attention to this type of musical activity, such as singing games. Before playing such games, you need to learn in advance the song to which the game will be played. It should be taken into account that singing with simultaneous movement can have a negative impact on the quality of the song, because makes breathing difficult and distracts children from monitoring the purity of intonation. Therefore, at the initial stage, games are given either with slow movements or games are used where singing and movement alternate. Also, songs can first be performed by the teacher, and the children only show certain movements and, if possible, sing along. (By the way, in classes with complicated mental retardation, I rely mostly on this form of activity, not counting playing children's musical instruments).

When learning songs, you also need to develop musical memory. This is facilitated by such techniques as:

Learning a song with a ball. The teacher sings one phrase, throws the ball to the child, the child repeats the phrase and returns the ball to the teacher. Etc.

Memorization "by hand". Goal: whoever remembers and sings faster.

Listening to an unfamiliar song from lesson to lesson. Gradually, the children themselves begin to sing along.

Memorization by listening to an audio recording.

It is necessary to develop creative thinking in children. To do this, it is effective to use:

Composing songs using hand signs;

Verbal essay. First, they listen to the music, talk about their ideas, then we analyze the work in detail: character, dynamic shades, timbre, etc. Here children not only learn to hear and fantasize, but also master some musical terms.

Declamation. Expressive pronunciation of text.

Conditional conducting. They recognize the song by the nature of the gesture and justify their answer: tempo, nature of the gesture, etc.

To activate children's attention, you can use some techniques:

1. Before listening to a piece of music, the goal is to listen carefully so that the child can justify each conclusion.

2.Use of several different toys. The goal is to determine which of them could move to this music. First, a simpler one (march - dolphin and soldier). Next - jumps (for example, a frog). But first, talk about how this animal moves.

3.An object falls and there is a bang when it falls. The goal is to accurately record the fall.

4.Repetition of the rhythmic pattern using clapping, tapping, and stamping.

Classes with children with disabilities should be conducted in a playful way, or with game elements. Children love them very much.

“Musical handkerchief” - a handkerchief is passed along to music.

“Musical Cat and Mice” - I talked about this game above. It is also useful in connection with musical and rhythmic movements, and is also aimed at attention.

"Guess who I am?" - to determine the timbre of the voice.

“Find the sound” - find the sound on the metallophone.

“Bird on the branches” - for the development of pitch. First, children repeat the pitch of the sound after the teacher (if they are already intoning), then show the pitch of the sound with their hand. Later, one of the students shows, and the rest repeat.

"Catch up - ka." To identify a jumpy melody.

“Crocodiles” - to determine the movement of the melody up and down. (Children crawl on all fours on the carpet in one direction until they hear that the melody has changed. Then they turn and crawl back).

"Magic Box". When children already know the basic games, they are written down on cards (children help design and draw the necessary pictures for those who do not yet know how to read). And are used in classes.

The education of musical taste and the development of musical perception in children are inextricably linked and organically woven into classes. Children get acquainted with the composers of the songs and works that we sing and listen to. I try to raise my children on the highest quality examples of Russian, modern, and foreign music. A wide variety of musical works - folk songs, classical works and of course songs performed by a children's choir.

I use everything I outlined in this material. I am convinced that it is very easy and simple to interest children if the teacher himself is happy to engage in musical activities, does not give up and is always positive. The effectiveness of our joint activities with the children has already increased significantly in a short amount of time, the children sing with pleasure and perform on stage with desire. And the most important achievement is that children with disabilities are actively involved in the general musical process, and this creates the necessary prerequisites for the development of their emotional-volitional sphere and socialization.

References:

2. A. Danilevskaya “What I learned from Grodzenskaya”

3. L. Goryunova “Education of musical taste and development of musical perception among schoolchildren”

4.V.Surgautaite “On the initial stage of development of the sense of rhythm”

6.Yu.Samoilov “On singing without accompaniment”

7.I.Kevishas “Memorizing musical material by primary schoolchildren”

8. G. Stulova “On singing breathing in a children’s choir”

9. “Singing in a children’s choir” Compiled by S.I. Eremenko, Krasnodar, ed. "Aeolian Strings"

10. “Choral class, vocal and choral exercises.” Methodological instructions for students of the conducting and choral department. Moscow 1991

Every choirmaster who has studied a course in choral studies knows that the elements of choral sonority are the main components, without which, according to the instructions of P. G. Chesnokov, the existence of a choir as an artistic group is impossible. In this chapter we will consider the features of working on the three main elements of choral sonority: ensemble, structure and diction.

An ensemble (French ensemble - together) in the science of choir is understood as consistency of performance, balance, consistency in sonority. The theoretical and methodological aspects of the choral ensemble are most fully revealed in the works of P. G. Chesnokov and A. G. Dmitrevsky.

It is in the ensemble performance that the collective nature of the creativity of the choir singers is revealed. They must be able to subordinate their individuality to the vocal and performing requirements of the choir in solving common, collective problems.

Already at the stage of recruiting a singing group, the conductor-choirmaster should pay attention to the quantitative and qualitative correspondence between the composition of the choral parts, to the timbre unity of related voices within the party. And although this is not always easy to achieve, it is necessary to strive for this, since the disproportion in the number of singers, their disparity in sound, strength, timbre, and the presence of singers with serious defects will greatly complicate the work on the ensemble in the choir.

The general choral ensemble depends on the formation in choral parts (private ensembles) of such elements as intonation, metrhythmic, tempo-agogical, dynamic, tessitura, timbre, texture. The listed elements of the ensemble are very interconnected and interdependent, but all of them can be developed in the choir only if there is a unison sound in each part.

A good intonation ensemble of choral parts is the foundation for a general choral system. In an intonation ensemble, an important role is played by a unified manner of voice formation and intonation, and the alignment of voices. To achieve and improve the intonation ensemble, S. A. Kazachkov recommends using the following methods: “matching to the leading, most experienced singers, to the tone set by the conductor, to the accompaniment system.”

When working on a meter-rhythmic ensemble in a beginning choir, you should pay attention to the formation in singers of a sense of metric pulsation, i.e., alternation of strong and weak beats. To do this, you can invite them to highlight strong

and relatively strong beats, which usually contain grammatical stress in words and logical stress in musical phrases.

An important condition for choral performance is the rhythmic organization of the group. “Orientation in rhythmic structures, comparison and distinction of durations of different durations - a skill organically inherent in every musician - plays a special role in choral performance, based on the coordinated, synchronized “pronunciation” of the melody by all singers. It creates a basis for them to develop a sense of a semantic unit in the rhythmic organization of music, as relatively completed elements in the holistic metro-rhythmic ornament of the work.” When working on a rhythmic ensemble in a choir, the following techniques can be recommended: intonation of musical material using rhythmic syllables at the stage of learning an exercise or piece, solmization of a poetic text in the tempo of the piece; singing based on intralobar pulsation; inclusion of special metrhythmic exercises in chanting, etc.

Work on a tempo ensemble (Latin tempus - time) in an untrained choir should begin at a moderate pace. Singers should be expected to accurately “enter” the tempo, keep it in stationary and especially in moving nuances (do not speed up when singing at a crescendo and do not slow down when singing at a diminuendo). It must be remembered that the process of forming a tempo and metro-rhythmic ensemble is closely related to the development by singers of the skill of simultaneously taking breath, singing attack, removing sound, and therefore the ability to sing at the signal of the conductor’s gesture.

As you know, there are three groups of tempos in music: slow, moderate, fast.

Slow Tempo Group(40–60 beats per minute according to Menzel’s metronome (M.M.):

Largo	largo	wide
Lento	lento	drawlingly
Adagio	adagio	slowly
Grave	grave	hard
Moderate tempo group (60–100 beats per metronome)
Andante	andante	slowly
Sostenuto	sostenuto	reservedly
Commodo	commodo	comfortable
Andantino	andantino	more agile than andante
moderato	moderato	moderately
Allegretto	allegretto	lively
Fast tempo group (100–140 beats on the metronome):
Allegro	allegro	soon
Vivo	vivo	lively
Presto	presto	fast
Animato	animato	enthusiastically
Prestissimo	prestissimo	very quickly

When building a tempo ensemble in a work, the choir conductor needs to find the required speed of performance so as not to distort the figurative sphere and mood of the work. The choice of tempo is influenced by the intonation and rhythmic complexity of the choral parts, unstable harmony and tonal plan, the style of presentation of the work, etc. If

In the work, the composer does not specify the tempo with a metronomic indication, but only with remarks con moto (agile), maestoso (solemnly, majestically), ad libitum (at his own discretion), then a certain

speed of execution based on a holistic perception of the work: character, textural complexities, genre originality, performance traditions, etc. For example, the tempo of marching works for the choir should correspond to the step of the step, the tempo of dance works should correspond to the tempo traditions of the dance genre (polka - fast, launaise - moderate, majestic, etc.). It is known that in marching and dance choral works agogic changes (deceleration and acceleration) are used very rarely, mainly in the final cadences. Agogy is typical mainly for the genres of song and choral miniature. Practical experience showed that mastering agogics (more details on pp. 85–87) can be started only when the choir singers learn to sing “according to the conductor’s hand” (clearly entering and ending a musical phrase without shortening or lengthening the indicated note durations).

Work on dynamics in the choir begins with stationary nuances (mf, mp), with the help of which voices of different strength and volume are leveled out, and the initial dynamic ensemble is built. Expansion of dynamic capabilities is closely related to the formation of a beautiful piano and sonorous forte in a singing group. Moving nuances are included in the work a little later, when the choir masters the technique of regulating breathing and sound volume. Crescendo is first mastered, and then diminuendo. This is due to the fact that it is easier for inexperienced singers to control breathing when sonority increases than when it decreases.

Working on a dynamic ensemble is greatly simplified when the music being performed uses nuances that correspond to the natural nature of the sound of the parts at a given pitch. Therefore, it is extremely important that at the stage of planning the rehearsal work, the conductor provides nuances that correspond to the dynamic capabilities of the choral voices. This reveals the relationship between the dynamic and tessitura ensemble.

The main method of working on a tessitura ensemble (natural, artificial, mixed) is the dynamic correction method. It helps either to align the dynamic line of the musical material of the score, or to dissect it by introducing new nuances that correspond to the dynamic zones of the singing voices, as well as the emotional and figurative sphere of the work. Using the method of dynamic correction, performance difficulties are overcome in works where the nuances proposed by the composer exceed the performance.

body capabilities of choral parts. This method is also used

in the practice of choirs with limited technical capabilities.

In a beginning choir, the problem of timbre ensemble (French timbre - sound coloring) is usually very acute. In such a group, work on the ensemble is aimed at eliminating timbre diversity in the choral parts, at creating holistic timbre combinations in the choir. The brightness of timbre colors, as is known, depends not only on the natural abilities of singing voices, but also on the vocal work carried out in a group. The choir director needs to constantly monitor the correct manner of sound production of the singers, the natural process of sound production, which would exclude forced or some amorphous and sluggish phonation.

It has long been noted that the timbre qualities of the voice are significantly enriched when vibrato is present in it (Italian: vibrato - vibration). The presence of natural vibrato in a singing voice indicates correct sound production and muscular freedom of the vocal apparatus. Vibrato, on the one hand, gives choral voices flight and emotional fullness, and on the other, helps to withstand significant singing loads.

Work on a timbre ensemble is closely related to education

singers have timbre hearing. As practice has shown, this can provide some assistance associative method. If the conductor draws parallels between musical and emotional perception, auditory and visual images, and uses verbal commentary on the works being learned, then he can help singers quickly understand the artistic essence music performed and find the corresponding colors in the singing sound. Work on the formation of a timbre ensemble should take place both in the process of learning the repertoire and during exercises. To do this, while chanting, you can invite singers to perform exercises with different moods (dramatic, humorous, joyful, sad). You can use elements of play and theatricality in the exercises, giving the singers the opportunity to choose the necessary facial expressions, timbre, and articulation in accordance with the image and the nature of the performance. The richer the palette of emotional states, the more colorful the timbre palette, and therefore the more active the impact on the emotional state of listeners.

The following points play an important role in achieving timbre expressiveness and timbre ensemble: the way the ensemble is arranged at the rehearsal and on the concert stage; emotional mood singers

and the manner of vowel articulation they use (sombre, open, half-open); singers’ understanding of style, figurative sphere, character performed works and the use of conscious coloring of the voice in the desired “color”.

To the conductor-choirmaster when building a textured ensemble

in the choir it should be remembered that it largely depends on the textural features of the work. In a broad sense, texture is a set of expressive means of presenting musical material. In a narrower sense, texture is a type of writing: monodic (single-voice), harmonic, homophonic-harmonic, polyphonic, mixed.

Choral science identifies the following types of textured ensemble:

1. The ensemble as a complete and relatively complete dynamic balance in sonority between the choral parts.

This type of ensemble is typical for works of a harmonic and homophonic-harmonic nature.

There are good ensemble qualities in the choir not only from the point of view of unity technique, but also from the point of view of expressiveness and compliance with the emotional-figurative sphere of the musical and poetic text.

2. Ensemble when comparing musical thematic elements of different meanings.

This type of choral ensemble is typical for polyphonic works. In works that have an imitative-polyphonic, subvocal, contrasting-polyphonic style of presentation, the main tasks of the performers should be aimed at clearly demonstrating and comparing musical thematic elements of different meanings. The main difficulty for choir singers when performing polyphonic works is the ability to switch from a brighter, more prominent presentation of thematic material to background musical material. In polyphonic works, the conductor must teach the singers to hear the entire texture of the composition, follow the motivic and thematic developments, and find intonation, rhythmic, modulation guidelines for the introduction together with his part.

In the fragment of the composition by A. Davidenko given below, the main theme, carried out in the bass, should sound quite brightly in the first, second, third, fifth and sixth bars. In the fourth, seventh and eighth measures, the imitative implementation of the theme in the parts of female voices and tenors comes to the fore. The relief presentation of the main thematic material visually creates a picture of a raging sea and heaving waves. This is facilitated by the comfortable tessitura of the bass line and the rather low presentation of the imitating voices, creating a certain theme-brow-emotional flavor.

3. Ensemble in sonority between the solo voice and the choir accompaniment.

Singing of the soloist and choir is one of the most common types of ensembles in the performing practice of choirs. The choir accompanying the soloist should sound dynamically quieter, as if shading the solo part. The choral part, which is related to the soloist's voice type, must control its emotions and dynamics so that the choir does not drown out the soloist's voice.

4. Ensemble in sonority between choir and instrumental accompaniment.

When building a choir ensemble and instrumental accompaniment, the conductor must first understand the expressiveness of the texture and the relationship between the musical material of the choir and the accompaniment. Instrumental accompaniment can support the choir as a harmonic background and sound dynamically quieter, or it can have an independent presentation and be performed in equal dynamics with the choir, and sometimes dominate the overall ensemble.

The choir ensemble is a multifaceted phenomenon that requires the conductor to

and choir singers have certain theoretical knowledge, as well as practical skills.

Work on choral structure

Without good tuning and clean intonation it is difficult to imagine any musical performance, including choral. In the practice of choral singing, two types of tuning are used: zone (when performing music

a cappella) and tempered (when performing choral music accompanied by an instrument). In tempered tuning (Latin temperatio - proportionality), the pitch of the tone is determined by the musical accompaniment of the instrument and the choir must intonationally ensemble with it. While acquiring new colors of instrumental sound, the choir loses its timbre and intonation originality, which is fully manifested in a cappella singing. In a cappella performance conditions, when the choir sounds like an independent musical instrument, the singers sing based on their auditory sensations and ideas of pitch relationships in melody and harmony. That’s why the following become so important in a cappella sound:

only the tuning of the choir as a whole, but especially the ability of each singer to maintain and, if necessary, adjust intonation in different modes, tempos, rhythms, nuances, etc.

The theoretical and methodological aspects of a cappella choral structure were first summarized by P. G. Chesnokov in the book “The Choir and Its Management.” Chesnokov considered choral structure to be “the correct toning of intervals (horizontal structure) and the correct sound of the chord (vertical structure).” In subsequent scientific and methodological works the definition of structure as the correct intonation of sounds, as the purity of intonation in singing, is preserved. The development of choral science has shown that

in singing without the accompaniment of an instrument, as well as when playing musical instruments with an unfixed pitch, performers use a zone system. This type of tuning differs from tempered tuning in that within the intonation zone, musicians can vary the intonation shades of sound. With the advent of the theory of zone structure, some adjustments were made to the understanding of the structure of an a cappella choir; it began to be considered as a process of intonation in choral singing associated with the absence of temperament.

Singing in a zone system is carried out according to certain rules that singers learn in rehearsal and concert practice. Choir members must be educated and trained in such a way that they can clearly and accurately tune in to the tone set by the choirmaster; be sensitive to the need to increase or “dull” the intonation, or to sing it steadily

at the required tempo, rhythm, nuance, etc. To do this, it is necessary to consistently and systematically develop the choir singers’ ear for music in all its manifestations: melodic, harmonic, timbre, internal, etc.

Inner hearing is extremely important when working on tuning, as it helps singers hear in advance what needs to be performed. The ability to anticipate the sound of individual scale degrees, intervals and chords allows singers to sing with intonation clarity.

An ear for music is fruitfully developed by solfeggio. Choirmasters know about this and try to use some methods and techniques of solfege when working with a beginning choir (more details on pp. 37–39). Develops an ear for music and singing according to musical parts or scores. Visual control of melody movement, originality

rhythm, intervals and tessitura of the choral part develops the singer’s ear for music and develops the ability to anticipate intonation. It is useful to use arrows in the musical text of parts to remind you of the most difficult episodes of musical material and control them. In the process of working on learning a piece, you can use techniques such as singing out loud and “to yourself,” “connecting” choral parts to the general sound and “disconnecting” from it, etc.

The most important condition for melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) tunings is unison. According to N.V. Romanovsky’s definition, unison is “the merging of the singers of a separate part into a single choral voice.” Good unison in a choir depends not only on the natural musical abilities and hearing development of the singers, but also on serious vocal work in the group, on the ability of the choir members to coordinate auditory perceptions and singing phonation.

In the methodology of working on melodic structure, the rules of intonation of melodic intervals by P. G. Chesnokov remain relevant to this day. In accordance with Chesnokov’s rules, large intervals are intoned with one-sided expansion, and small ones with one-sided narrowing. But at the same time, modern choral methodology recommends

When working on the melodic structure, pay attention to the mode-tonal foundations (constants), with which other intonation complexes are interconnected. Constants are those “more intonationally stable sounds, in relation to which the intonation of other, less stable steps is regulated.” In this regard, in major scale, steps I and V should be intonated steadily, step III – high, and the remaining steps should be performed in accordance with Chesnokov’s rules.

When performing minor sequences, it is recommended to slightly raise the I and V degrees and steadily intonate the III degree (as in parallel major), perform the remaining steps according to Chesnokov’s rules, that is, expanding large intervals and narrowing small ones.

After mastering diatonic sequences, you can gradually begin to study and perform chromatic ones. It is advisable to first do this with simple exercises based on singing small and large seconds, and then gradually expand the volume of chromatic movement to an octave. The chromatic scale is acquired according to the following rules: diatonic intervals (for example, E - F, G sharp - A)

intonation is narrow, close, and chromatic ones (D - D flat, F - F sharp) - more widely; in an ascending movement, chromatic semitones are intonated with a tendency to increase, and diatonic ones - to decrease;

in a descending movement, diatonic intervals are increased, and chromatic intervals are decreased.

It has been experimentally proven that the intonation of melodic intervals occurs in a wider zone than the intonation of harmonic ones. Due to the fact that in harmonic intervals and consonances, choir singers feel dissonance more acutely, usually the horizontal choral structure is corrected by the vertical one. It has been noticed that in consonances, under the influence of the harmonic vertical, large intervals can narrow, and small ones can expand.

Research has shown that when building harmonic intervals, it is necessary to achieve the greatest unity of pure intervals, as they are the most sensitive to tuning accuracy. Harmonic intervals, in relation to the accuracy of intonation, are divided into stable (pure fourths, fifths, octaves), which have a narrow zone of intonation, and variational (seconds, thirds, sixths, sevenths), allowing some freedom in intonation options. When building harmonies, the choirmaster must understand their relationship with the modal-harmonic environment and pay attention, on the one hand, to the dynamics of the intonation of chords tending to resolution, and on the other hand, to the stability of the intonation of the tonic chords that complete the musical construction.

Reflecting on the role of choral theory in the practice of working on choral structure, S. A. Kazachkov advised young conductors: “The rules of choral structure indicate only the main, typical tendency found in the practice of singing, which does not exclude individual deviations and paradoxical cases, take into account which is not possible in advance. Therefore, hearing, musical taste, sense of style, attention, intelligence and patience in all cases remain the conductor’s most reliable and faithful assistants in his work on the order.”

Tuning defects are often associated with sound production in singers. Problems in tuning can be caused by: instability of singing breathing, incorrect sound attack, uneven registers of choir voices, low

singing position, etc. Vocal education, as well as the education of musical ear, are the most important factors in choral structure.

Among the techniques for working on structure in a choir, we will highlight some:

Singing with notes, using various syllables, with the mouth closed to build a timbre-intonation ensemble;

Intonation “according to the conductor’s hand” of melodic and harmonic structures that are difficult for the choir singers to perceive at an arbitrary tempo and rhythm, using fermats;

Singing out loud and “to oneself”, arbitrary “connection” and “disconnection” of a part from the general sound of the choir “according to the conductor’s hand” for the formation of internal hearing;

Using transposition at the stage of learning a piece with an uncomfortable (very high or low) tessitura;

Inclusion of melodic and harmonic fragments of the compositions being learned into the choir’s singing for the purpose of polishing and combining with all the necessary means of expressiveness.

According to the observations of researchers N. Garbuzov, Y. Rags, O. Agarkov and others, intonation and tuning are influenced by “the degree of emotional perception of music by the performer, the character musical images, sound-pitch pattern of the melody, its mode-harmonic and metro-rhythmic structure, thematic development of the work, tonal plan, dynamic shades, tempo, rhythm, as well as syntactic elements of the musical form” [cit. from: 3, p. 144].

The structure is difficult to classify as a purely technical category. Choral structure is closely related to the creative process of learning and concert performance of the repertoire, in which the intonation colors of sound interact with other means of expressiveness and sometimes depend on them.

Section the process of learning a choral piece with a choir

It should be noted that rehearsal process quite lengthy and complex, covering various aspects of the study of musical material. The rehearsal regime, forms and methods of rehearsal work with the choir can be very diverse and are selected depending on the characteristics of the repertoire being studied, on the personality and qualifications of the conductor, on working conditions choir group, on the level of training of a given choir and other circumstances.

To organize systematic rehearsal work on choral works, a student choirmaster needs to know the following classification choir rehearsals:

A) by composition of performers:

Rehearsals for the voices of choral parts (sopranos, altos, tenors, basses);
- rehearsals in groups (female composition, male composition or first voices, second voices);
- consolidated rehearsals (all choir, with an accompanist, with an orchestra or other groups of performers);

b) by stages of work on the repertoire:

Rehearsals of preliminary analysis (familiarization with the work, sight reading, primary analysis);
- rehearsal of detailed work on a choral work;
- rehearsals for “singing” a choral piece;

V) by nature of activity:

Workers;
- running;
- general.

It should be noted that rehearsal work is based on the results of the conductor's preliminary work on the choral score. The entire multilateral and diverse rehearsal process is conditionally divided into the following main phases of rehearsal work:

1 – sketch or initial;
2- technological or preparatory;
3- artistic or final.

Let us consider each of the proposed phases in detail.

The purpose of the sketch or initial phase is to generally familiarize the choir with the work. The conductor precedes the start of music-making with an introductory brief and informative conversation, in which he communicates the content of the work, the main artistic image, musical and textual features of this work, etc.

The next step is the performance of the choral score on the piano by the conductor himself or an audio demonstration. The performance of the score on the piano must correspond to the performance interpretation created as a result of the conductor's preliminary work. After this, the work is “sight read” by the entire choir 1-2 times. In this way, the choral group receives a primary idea of ​​the work.

The second technological phase involves painstaking, detailed, labor-intensive work on studying the choral texture. First, it is recommended to solfage the choral parts (if there is a divisi in the score, each part is solfed separately). The conductor draws his attention and the attention of the performers to correct and accurate intonation and rhythmic clarity. Further, general choral solfegging of a choral work is recommended; however, with joint solfegging, “phonetic discordance” arises, which does not allow the singers to hear each other. In this case, this essential aspect of the rehearsal work can be completed by singing each part of a single syllable, for example, “lyu”, “le”, “ta”, “di” and similar syllables that contribute to the correct attack of the sound.

Having completed this side of the study of the choral part, one should move on to studying it in conjunction with poetic text. At this stage, the conductor needs to pay attention to the correct uniform sound formation, the timbre unity of each choral part, and monitor the clarity of pronunciation of both individual consonant sounds and syllables, and entire text phrases. In parallel with this work, work is being done to level out the overall sonority, smooth out the registers, the moments of singing attack and strokes, dynamics, musical phrasing are being worked out, and work is being done to regulate the singing breathing of each part.

Having carried out detailed work on the parts, the choirmaster proceeds to “gluing” all the elements into a single choral sonority, adjusting it in relation to the performance intention, moving on to the artistic phase of learning the work. At this stage of work, the conductor conducts careful work on melodic and harmonic structure, works on all types of choral ensemble (metrorhythmic, tempo and agogic, dynamic, line, timbre, ensemble of choir and accompaniment, ensemble of choir and soloist). At the same time, work is being done to establish relationships between the content of the choral work and the form of its performance. It is this creative process of creating an artistic image that is the most interesting and crucial moment where the “mind and soul” of the conductor are revealed. According to the authoritative choral conductor A.A. Egorov, at this stage the conductor is like “a painter-artist, choosing any choir and freely disposing of them, creating long-remembered artistic images.”

The entire rehearsal process ends with a final or dress rehearsal, where the results are summed up, the achieved results of technical preparation and the artistic maturity of the performance are checked. The purpose of the final rehearsal is a rehearsal of the concert performance, the so-called “run-through”, at which the timing of each piece and the entire program is determined, the order is approved choral works in the concert program, the exact location of the choir and other performers (soloists, accompanist, ensemble, orchestra) on stage is determined, and the entrance and exit of the performers is practiced.

Lecture 10. Part 3

A. Study of the score by the conductor
1) Analysis of the content of the literary text on which the music of the choral work is written. Historical information about the authors of music and text.
2) Analysis of music and musical theoretical analysis of the work.
musical form, musical themes, mode-tonal plan, meter, rhythm, tempos (agogics), dynamics, intervalics, harmony, voice leading, musical phrase in connection with the phrase of a literary text, etc.
3) Vocal-choral analysis. Type and type of choir - homogeneous, mixed, how many voices. Ensemble.
Structure (intonation), range of each part, degree of use of each part and tessitura, breathing features, character of sound, vocality of the text and features of diction, etc.
4) Plan of artistic execution. Musical phrasing and connection between text and music. Conducting techniques.
5) Drawing up a plan for choir rehearsals and a method for conducting them.

B. Learning a piece of music with a choir
1) Introductory talk about the composer, his life, work and this piece of music.
Brief information about the author of the literary text.
2) Technical analysis of the work:
a) separately by voice for each party (if classes can be organized in different rooms at the same time, or by studying with each party at a specially designated time);
b) groups: male and female or sopranos with tenors in one group, altos with basses in another (this division depends on the texture of the work); c) in a general chorus for individual smoked musical constructions(the order of the parts in the general choir also depends on the texture of the musical work).
3) Work on the structure and ensemble.
4) Work on diction. Reading text with good articulation in the rhythm of music under conducting. Working through individual constructions, syllables and words in order to develop clear diction. The connection between what has been worked out and singing.
During all classes, it is necessary to monitor the sound quality of the singers and avoid loud singing. The rule - to save vocal resources - should always be kept in mind when working with a choir, especially during the period of technical analysis of the work.

B. Working with the choir artistically
1) Artistic processing works. Analysis with the choir of the content of a literary text in order to understand the artistic tasks in performance.
2) Establishing a plan for artistic performance based on a synthesis of the content of literary and musical texts: dynamic shades, tempo (tempos), character of sound, nuances of individual parts, sound balance, musical phrasing as a whole.
3) Dress rehearsals (at least two) and performance of the learned piece on
stage.

Task 1. Analyze the scores of two choral works that you are planning to learn with the choir, and describe the process of your personal preliminary preparation as a conductor. The description must contain: a) analysis of the literary text; b) musical theoretical analysis of scores; c) vocal and choral analysis of scores; d) a plan for the artistic execution of the work.
Task 2. Make a rehearsal plan for learning the choral works you intend to perform (see task 1) with a detailed indication of the content of each rehearsal.
Task 3. Keep a diary of choral lessons for learning the works planned for task 1, and record in it the entire process of fulfilling the planned plan. When the works are ready to be performed on the stage, compare the data from the preliminary plan and the diary. Identify the discrepancies and explain their reasons.