The whole is more than just the sum of its parts. How many times have you heard that expression? One singer is a solo, two singers are a duet, three singers are a trio, four singers are a quartet, and so on. Anything more than a solo becomes more complex if the goal is to sing together in one accord. Whether in unison or in parts, there are certain things that need work in order to have ensemble singing. It doesn’t just “happen” no matter how much we might wish it did.

Even to the untrained ear, the difference between singing as an ensemble and not singing as an ensemble is quite evident. But what makes for a good ensemble sound? If we can identify and understand those components then we can make it happen.

It is said that singing is sustained speech. English, as with many languages, is composed of sounds that have been classified in diction as vowels and consonants. Of the two, only the vowels can be sustained. Therefore, vowels are a good starting point when it comes to ES (ensemble singing). Vowels can be further classified as open or closed and also in terms of color (bright, brassy, round, etc). The terms open and closed refer to the relative position of the mouth during speech. When the dentist asks you to say “ah” that’s because the “ah” sound is one of the open vowels and you will tend to open your mouth when pronouncing an “ah.” A photographer might ask you to say “cheese” because the “ee” sound is a closed sound, which is typically pronounced with a spread position of the lips much in the same way you smile.

In a nutshell, we can achieve a better choral sound by achieving a compromise between the vowel sounds. That means open and closed vowels need to approach the same shape. I like to suggest tall vowels, which can be accomplished by imagining the space in your mouth to be like a cathedral with tall lofty spires and plenty of space. A yawny feeling can help, but whatever you do the goal is space, not tension. Open vowels become more closed and closed vowels become more open so that as you change from open to closed and closed to open there isn’t a drastic change in the shape of your mouth. There has to be some change for the sake of distinction, but the less change helps balance the tonal characteristics of the vocal sound. And that will lead to a sound that can be better blended in choral singing and can also be easier to tune.

I briefly touched on tension as something to avoid in the mouth, particularly in the jaw. Some say to “drop” or relax the jaw. Correct vocal technique involves freeing the voice from bad habits and many things that we might think helpful, but are not. One of the biggest obstacles involves tension or any kind of effort that tightens the jaw, tongue, and other muscles in the head and neck. If you stop and think about it, tension can also work against you in other endeavors such as in playing tennis, many other sports, or even an instrument such as violin or piano. Ironically, it is by relaxing and letting go that we accomplish much more than we think we can by applying “great effort.”

Next, let’s consider the role of consonants in speech. These sounds are grouped according to the way they are produced. Some can be sustained but for the most part, the main purpose of consonants is to help the listener understand what we are singing. After all, as in speech, the goal of sung text should be to communicate. Music allows us to amplify not only the sounds we make but also the emotion behind the expression in that we can sing with intent. Otherwise, we are just making pretty noise. Yet, still noise.

The challenge in singing consonants is that they need to be crisp, clean, and heard. Next, they need to occur early, but quickly, so that the vowel sound happens where the note is supposed to sound. Otherwise, the sound will seem late. Also, since we are sustaining the vowel sound, we need to collect the consonants in each syllable so that they group together to begin the next vowel sound. Here’s an example: To sing alleluia, we need to sing the syllables grouped in this manner: a-lle-lu-yah

The best way to imagine this is to speak as if you were the stereotypical vampire from Transylvania:
“I vah-ntoo-dree-nkyuuo-rblu-duh!”

Other areas that affect ensemble are “little” things such as:

• Intonation – singing in tune, melodically and harmonically
• Rhythm – accurate note values, beginning and ending notes together
• Cutoffs and breaths
• Dynamics – singing the correct level of loudness
• Balance – allowing the important lines to be heard and, harmonically so that all notes can be heard
• Change in tempo – singing together even when slowing down or getting faster.

Hopefully, an understanding of these concepts can lead to a better ensemble sound when applied.