Homophonic arrangements are worthwhile for a choir. In such scores, all choir members sing the same lyrics at the same time. In this way, there is a strong connection between the singers and the choir will have a strong unified performance on stage. Below are the advantages of homophonic pieces.
If you are looking for new repertoire for your choir, you have to estimate whether a piece fits the level of the singers. For that it’s helpful if the level of difficulty of arrangements is indicated. The scale that is mostly used for arrangements ranges from level I (very easy) to level V (very challenging).
In an earlier message we have looked at characteristics of the different levels. To understand the levels even better, in this post there are examples of the levels. All these examples are arrangements of a fragment of Rosanna by Toto.
Before buying an arrangement for your choir, you want to know whether it is suited for the level of your group. On my website, the level of the arrangements is indicated on a scale from I (easy) to V (very hard). The same kind of scale is used by a number of well-known arrangers from the States.
How does this scale work? What does an arrangement of a certain level look like, and what does a choir have to possess to sing it? Let’s start at the extremes of the scale, at level I and V.
Most choirs rehearse once every week. What is a good build-up for such an afternoon or evening? What is a reasonable number of songs to work on in a meeting?
A good start for rehearsing is to do warm-ups. In this the choir members sing exercises to loosen the voice and to focus on the choral sound. The singers get a chance to focus on the group. Warming up is very useful. But it shouldn’t take too long, because it reduces the time of the actual rehearsing. Ten to fifteen minutes will mostly suffice.