https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 05:27:14 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-126028 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 22:13:24 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion paul donnelly https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-126028 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125941 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 14:45:02 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125941 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125934 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 11:22:49 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Jonsi https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125934 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125412 Fri, 16 Sep 2005 03:04:18 +0000
http://www.cpdl.org/

You also might pick up a hymnal, that will at least have four-part writing you can look at.]]> Guitar Players Discussion dsparling https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125412 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125255 Thu, 15 Sep 2005 17:29:16 +0000
Unfortunately, if you're singing "contemporary Christian" music, the current trend is to force men to sing like teenage girls. It's difficult and unpleasant to do, and it doesn't sound good. But if you've got a choir director following the fashion of the day, you're stuck with it.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Ricochet https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125255 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125226 Thu, 15 Sep 2005 14:56:14 +0000
For reading practice, you could actually use popular music in easy arrangements. Choral music is usually written on either three or four staves - if there are four, there's one for each voice, if there are three there's a treble stave for the female voices, then a grand staff for the male - tenor on the treble stave, bass on the bass stave. So it lines up just like a piano/voice arrangement. (Tenor voices are written one octave higher than they sound, exactly the opposite of the guitar)

Vocal arranging can be pretty complicated. Here's a few thoughts:

1. You can approach it as you would guitar, with lead/rhythm - the lead voice (usually the soprano) does the melody line, the other voices form chords to harmonize it.

2. You can write it as counterpoint. In that approach, it's usually the middle voices that carry the tune - just pick one of them to be the main melody. The other middle voice will harmonize at a third or sixth; the top voice then takes a complimentary melody, usually in fifth species (florid) counterpoint; the bass outlines the bass notes of the implied chords.

3. You could do a full-blown four-part harmony, like any other music composition. If you do that, remember the general rules of harmony - parallel fifths are usually bad, etc. - and that voices are usually harmonized at thirds and sixths. Because the tenor voice is actually written an octave higher than it sounds, you want to keep the written voicings close - the top three should all lie within an octave of each other. If they don't, the male voices will sound detached from the female - there'll be a two-octave plus spread to the tenor in performance, and probably three or more to the bass. Think of it like a piano composition with three voices in the right hand and one in the left.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125226 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125224 Thu, 15 Sep 2005 14:37:36 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Jonsi https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125224 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125215 Thu, 15 Sep 2005 13:43:36 +0000
Guitar music sounds an octave lower than written.

I can't answer the other questions, but someone will come along who can.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Musenfreund https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-125215 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-11710 Thu, 15 Sep 2005 11:57:00 +0000
I've gotten a great opportunity. Suddenly I was invited to a great, great gospel choir by a great singer, without question the best I've ever met. I don't even have to pass a test, the leader of the choir just trust this singer so much. I don't know what happened but sometimes you're just lucky, I guess. I'm a baryton, but they treat me like a tenor...

Well, I need some help. I have no former exprience of singing in a choir and now I'm a little bit confused. I have three questions:

1. When writing music, is the guitar transcribed an octave up? Or down?

2. Does anyone now a good site with information about choir arrangement theory?

3. Where can I find choir arrangements on the net? I want to train to read music.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Jonsi https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/choir-arrangements/#post-11710