Rehearsing Vocal Pop and Jazz

This book helps you become more skilled at rehearsing with a choir. How do you efficiently rehearse individual parts? What's the best way to combine voices? How do you give starting notes clearly? How do you count in effectively? How do you achieve good rhythmic and tonal alignment? What does it take to polish a song? How can you help singers shape expressive musical phrases? How do you create a beautiful, well-blended sound? How do you work on intonation? And how can singers communicate the lyrics clearly? All of these topics are covered in this book.

This book is intended for students enrolled in a conservatory program or those who have already completed one, but it is also suitable for advanced amateur musicians. You are expected to read music fluently, play the piano, understand chords, and have substantial experience with singing. It also helps if you have some background in vocal pop and jazz — for example, knowledge of swing feel, the backbeat, different styles, bass lines, and drum grooves.

You can study this book even if you're about to rehearse with a choir for the first time. So prior experience as a choir conductor is not strictly required. That said, many of the topics will make more sense if you've already spent some time working with choirs.

This first part focuses on the initial phase of rehearsing: learning individual lines and combining them into a multi-voice arrangement. It also covers practical skills such as giving starting notes with a tuning fork, counting in, sight-singing, reading rhythms, and giving concise instructions.