r/Choir

I am trying to create a bass track for my section. I have it all scored in MuseScore with the lyrics but the playback doesn't track to sing the lyrics, nor does it sound like a 'good' voice particularly.

Is there something within MuseScore or a third party service I could export to get a better vocal track? Curious on your workflows. Wondering if at this point I just sing it back into an audio file - but if there's a service that can give it a good go I would like to give it a go.

Look, I get it. Gospel pieces go high. But as a Tenor 2 still working on my confidence above the staff, it annoys me when I'm going from a D3 to a G4 with no breath in between.

Elijah Rock was more manageable because there was that bass response measure, but hitting the A5 was rough after the A4. (I think my numbers are wrong btw but that's how I learned octave numbers, sue me.). I ended up doing falsetto for that because I was still in that "anything above an F is going to kill me!" phase. The curse of perfect pitch is real unfortunately.

Now I'm doing Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel, and the Tenor 2 part reminds me of my Bass 1 roots (that was fun too. I have fomo during Daemon sometimes.) with the D3s. But as stated above, there's that "every man" to "hallelujah" which is that d to g jump that gives you a microsecond to prepare.

I love Gospel. It's the closest I get to Vocal Jazz when it's not Wednesday. As much as I love the chants (O'Magnum) and folk tunes (Magnificent Horses), Gospel clears. I just wish that composers let me skate by without technique training (this is a joke. I love technique training. sometimes.) and not have to lock in during Children Go Where I Send Thee (not Hogan but still) when I have to blend and sing straight Gs.

Skill issue? Yes. Am I still annoyed? Kinda.

I’ve joined a choir for the first time in ages and we are doing some songs that have solo parts in it. We’d be able to audition for those spots. One of the songs we are doing is When You Believe from the Prince of Egypt. Should I try sing it like I would in a musical theatre role or should I try to keep the style of choir? Is there a difference?

I’d also love to tips for someone who’s just joined the group whose members have been there for a long time or just auditioning in general! :)

Hi everyone — I'm the developer of Solfa. I wanted to share a hymn example because changing the key for a singer or group often means rebuilding a perfectly readable score.

The idea is to preserve the original typesetting: move the notes to a new key while keeping the lyrics, spacing and page layout in place, instead of generating a newly engraved score.

The comparison shows Amazing Grace from a 1913 hymnbook, transposed from G major to F major (a whole step down). It's a real historical scan, and I haven't manually corrected the notes or text in the result.

It transposes the uploaded score as a whole; it doesn't rearrange SATB parts, isolate voices or change clefs. It's still in beta, and the example includes small notation/text artifacts, so please proofread the preview before using a result in rehearsal or performance.

You can upload a PDF, scan or photo and inspect a preview before deciding whether to spend a credit on the download. New users get two free page credits after phone verification; further pages are paid.

If you'd like to try it: https://solfa-music.com

For choir directors and singers: would keeping the familiar printed layout be useful when you need a hymn or vocal score in another key? What would you need to check before trusting a transposed copy?

Source: Coronation Hymns (1913), no. 282, listed as public domain on Hymnary: https://hymnary.org/hymn/CH1910/282

https://preview.redd.it/9o1kq6ay53uh1.png?width=1645&format=png&auto=webp&s=a797ffb3750fddf70f8c82bc23af775445a40cde