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Here Comes Da Coach
By Joni Bescos, Rich-Tone Chorus, Region 25
Once upon a time, most choruses did not have coaches. Today almost
every chorus has, at one time or another had a coaching session.
Even the “best” chorus directors –those at the
helm of our top-ranked choruses– bring in outside coaches.
Even those directors who spend most of their weekends coaching other
choruses bring in outside coaches because they recognize the need
for outside eyes and ears. The chorus director generally assumes
all members will look forward to coaching sessions as eagerly as
he or she does, and the number of absentees often surprises the
director. (Not to say there aren’t valid reasons for absence
— one of my members broke her leg playing softball the night
before a coaching session!)
As I travel around the organization, though, I wonder what the chorus
member expects from a coaching session, and whether she realizes
how much her absence lessens its effectiveness. I share the frustrations
of chorus directors and other chorus members when some members are
not in attendance, and I sometimes wonder if members think the coach
is only there to coach the director. I always suggest that, at the
next rehearsal, members not present at the coaching session sit
out and listen as the chorus runs through the songs that were coached.
In the past 10 years Sweet Adelines has tried to place emphasis
on simplifying our lives. In some instances this approach has attempted
to place fewer demands on chorus members, and to create a realistic
balance between the demands of chorus life and the differing demands
of our members’ “real” lives. Today there are
more women who work outside the home than there were in 1973, the
year of our first International Chorus Competition. More women have
responsible positions that require them to travel on business during
the week. More family members, particularly children, are involved
in outside activities such as soccer or band that require some degree
of parental involvement. All of these factors combine to make rigid
attendance policies unrealistic.
One of the potential solutions to attendance is advance scheduling
that notifies members of coaching dates at least a year in advance.
One of the choruses I coach publishes, and regularly updates, a
three-year calendar of chorus rehearsal and performance dates. Few,
if any, members have dates committed more than a year in advance
for anything other than chorus activities. Coaching sessions scheduled
at the last minute are certain to run into conflict with commitments
of some chorus members. Members can be encouraged to keep two calendars
— one on the wall at home in addition to the pocket calendar,
and to write future chorus dates in both places.
At the same time, though, technology has made participation easier
for our members. The unwieldy reel-to-reel tapes and 8-tracks of
the early 1970s have been replaced with cassettes, CDs, MP3s and
Ipods. MP3 files of part tapes can be downloaded by chorus members
from the chorus Web site, along with video clips of choreography.
Technology even makes it possible to record rehearsals or coaching
sessions with a laptop computer.
The goals of any chorus coaching session are defined by the level
of the chorus at that moment in time. Here are some possibilities:
• Riser Placement. Many directors
ask me to do riser placement. In some choruses this is the one
session members rarely miss. They believe their chance of staying
on the same side, or in the same row, is much better if they
are present. Bottom line, no coach can place a voice that is
absent. It doesn’t matter if the coach knows the voice,
or if others say “she sounds like Jane.” The goal
of riser placement is to achieve the best unit sound and it’s
only possible to evaluate the unit achieved by the voices that
are there.
• Vocal Production/Breath
Support. Depending on the level of the chorus, there may be
valuable work on vocal production or on the techniques of singing
a particular voice part. While no coach can magically transform
voices in a single-day session, he or she can map out a plan
for building the skill levels of all singers and can introduce
concepts to be applied by the musical leaders.
• Unit Sound. Riser placement
is never the cure-all for achieving unit sound. Unit sound is
achieved when all members of a section sing each word or syllable
element at the same precise time, on the same precise pitch,
with the same approach to tone production and resonance. Only
those present can achieve the desired unit.
• Interpretation. If the chorus
has recently learned new material, the director may want help
with the interpretive plan before habits are formed. The director
may also want to get tempo and rhythmic emphasis defined so
that the visual plan can be designed to enhance the desired
musical delivery.
• Music. It’s not unusual
for a coach to make minor note changes for a variety of reasons.
Perhaps the chorus director is struggling to achieve a soft
dynamic where the chord voicing indicates loud, or vice versa.
Perhaps the inaccuracies resulting from a difficult part line
can be lessened by a minor change. In one case I recall performing
major surgery on a contest arrangement by eliminating two pages
of the medley (wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the
next rehearsal!).
• Visual Performance. Most chorus
members would rather die than miss a choreography learning session,
particularly with an outside coach. It’s never quite the
same second-hand! But movement isn’t the only aspect of
visual performance. There’s also attitude, facial animation,
body angles, and the congruence of movement with music. I (yes,
even I!) frequently change or add movement either because it
conflicts with the interpretive plan or because some movement
is needed to provide or enhance a musical effect.
• Synchronization. Most scoresheets
list synchronization errors as a problem. It’s not always
possible to devote the time and attention to this area at a
regular rehearsal. At a coaching session, rhythmic values can
be defined along with the desired word or syllable stress that
helps to achieve internal synchronization. Members not present
for these “refinements” become part of the problem.
• Balance. Barbershop sound
is bass dominant, lead predominant. It’s particularly
difficult for a coach to determine the needs in the area of
balance if basses are missing. I recall a session where I was
to do riser placement. All the tenors were there! About 25 percent
of the leads were missing. More than 50 percent of the baritones
were missing. Maybe 5 percent of the basses were missing. In
a situation like this it’s impossible to know what the
balance needs are because there’s no way to evaluate the
effect the missing voices will have on the overall unit.
Bottom line, your attendance
at coaching sessions is vitally important. Coaching is often a sizeable
line item on the chorus’ annual budget. If nothing else, chorus
members need to get their money’s worth! The next time the
coach is coming, resist the temptation to think, “I know my
notes, it won’t matter if I’m not there.” When
everyone is present it’s possible for a chorus to take giant
steps toward musical improvement. Take it upon yourself to make
that possible.
To paraphrase the late John Kennedy– ask not what a coach
can do for you, but what you can do for a coaching session. BE THERE!
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