Hello choir member!
While lockdown is keeping the choir from singing together, let’s try another way to blend our voices. This is a virtual choir recording and you don’t even have to leave home!
We are starting with a well-known song Beautiful Saviour – same tune as Fairest Lord Jesus. The parts are relatively easy, and we should be able to do this within 2 weeks.
NOTE: You can record as many time as you like until you are happy before sending in the track. Professional musicians will often do many ‘takes’ before they are happy with a performance. Remember too that your voice will be blended with the others – it is not a solo!
You’ll need 3 things
- The score – available below
- Something to play the accompaniment – a computer, tablet or smartphone
- Something to record your voice – a smart phone is best
Have a look at the video below and you’ll see the three steps involved in creating a virtual choir from home.
1. Learn your part
The first thing is to learn the music. The first 3 verses are in parts and the last is in unison.
Here’s a link to the score – you can open it in a new tab, or download a copy:
Practice until you can sing your part confidently.
Here is the accompaniment and your part – choose the way you like to hear it.
2. Record yourself singing to the guide track (your preferred rehearsal track above)
Once you know your part well, record yourself into your smart phone while listening to the accompaniment through headphones from your playback device. You can record video or audio only – either is fine (instructions in video below).
Dr Guy Bunce has a good overview of what we are trying to achieve (and has a good sense of how much fun it can be) – this works whether you are recording audio only, or video and audio:
3. Send in your audio file
Upload your completed audio or video file into this Dropbox folder (adding your name and email address), then that’s it!