SCORE TERMINOLOGY page
SUCCESS WITH THE CHANGING MIDDLE SCHOOL VOICE
(A SPECIALTY OF THIS WEBSITE)
Although these Music By Special Arrangement scores will work with adult choirs - especially if you use women in your tenor section - most of these scores are arranged to work best and most beautifully with middle school voices. The following designations - coined by the arranger for use in his seminars - will help you make an appropriate choice:
cT = changing tenor. Perfect for boys who are in what the arranger calls the first voice change. Unless they use falsetto, changing tenors need to sing within the vocal range of an augmented fourth, usually g up to middle c# for older singers such as grades 7-8 in U.S. schools; one-half to a full step higher for younger singers such as grades 5-6. (NOTE: Altos will also find this range very comfortable. This means your guys singing harmony will have plenty of company if they need it. If you have an adult choir, this voice part is great if you use women in your tenor section!)
nB = new bass. Parts are for boys in what the arranger considers to be the second voice change. Parts limit the vocal demands to a fifth, usually low b flat up to f. NOTE: If you have no basses, the nB part can often be eliminated without hurting the good sound of the arrangement! In those cases, the bass clef reads "bass (optional)."
dSmA = descant soprano/melody alto voicing is used occasionally to switch the melody to the altos and give the sopranos a harmony role. This voicing accomplishes two things.
(1) It places the melody in a range where most of the girls are using their chest voices. (In traditional SATB, sometimes middle school altos using their chest voices overpower the sopranos who are exploring their head tone, which may still be thin. This ruins the choir's balance. By giving such strong altos the melody, the balance is restored.)
(2) It trains the sopranos to sing harmony.
Helpful Information
"Vocal parts only sheet music" indicates that the piano score is not included. Since you really need only one or two copies that include the piano score, compressing the score in this manner will save you tons of paper when you photocopy the download for your choir. Sometimes there is a version of a particular title with the piano part included, and sometimes there is not. We're working on that.
"For use with" scores. Sometimes a song title will have the words "For use with" in front of the actual title. I have written some nice harmonies for certain copyrighted melodies. (A good example would be "God Bless America.") However, I do not have the means to purchase rights to produce full arrangements of such melodies; thus, I cannot legally provide you with the melody or lyrics to such songs. So to avoid violating copyright laws, I just write out the harmony without the melody and without any lyrics. Then you are supposed to go to your local music store and purchase enough published copies of the melody for your choir, and teach the harmony by rote. If people will do what I am suggesting, this process theoretically will result in more sales of the copyrighted scores for the publishers, because the song becomes more useful to you once you have the middle school harmony parts.
Check back for updates. Revision dates now appear in most titles, and the arranger is constantly seeking to improve these products.
(A SPECIALTY OF THIS WEBSITE)
Although these Music By Special Arrangement scores will work with adult choirs - especially if you use women in your tenor section - most of these scores are arranged to work best and most beautifully with middle school voices. The following designations - coined by the arranger for use in his seminars - will help you make an appropriate choice:
cT = changing tenor. Perfect for boys who are in what the arranger calls the first voice change. Unless they use falsetto, changing tenors need to sing within the vocal range of an augmented fourth, usually g up to middle c# for older singers such as grades 7-8 in U.S. schools; one-half to a full step higher for younger singers such as grades 5-6. (NOTE: Altos will also find this range very comfortable. This means your guys singing harmony will have plenty of company if they need it. If you have an adult choir, this voice part is great if you use women in your tenor section!)
nB = new bass. Parts are for boys in what the arranger considers to be the second voice change. Parts limit the vocal demands to a fifth, usually low b flat up to f. NOTE: If you have no basses, the nB part can often be eliminated without hurting the good sound of the arrangement! In those cases, the bass clef reads "bass (optional)."
dSmA = descant soprano/melody alto voicing is used occasionally to switch the melody to the altos and give the sopranos a harmony role. This voicing accomplishes two things.
(1) It places the melody in a range where most of the girls are using their chest voices. (In traditional SATB, sometimes middle school altos using their chest voices overpower the sopranos who are exploring their head tone, which may still be thin. This ruins the choir's balance. By giving such strong altos the melody, the balance is restored.)
(2) It trains the sopranos to sing harmony.
Helpful Information
"Vocal parts only sheet music" indicates that the piano score is not included. Since you really need only one or two copies that include the piano score, compressing the score in this manner will save you tons of paper when you photocopy the download for your choir. Sometimes there is a version of a particular title with the piano part included, and sometimes there is not. We're working on that.
"For use with" scores. Sometimes a song title will have the words "For use with" in front of the actual title. I have written some nice harmonies for certain copyrighted melodies. (A good example would be "God Bless America.") However, I do not have the means to purchase rights to produce full arrangements of such melodies; thus, I cannot legally provide you with the melody or lyrics to such songs. So to avoid violating copyright laws, I just write out the harmony without the melody and without any lyrics. Then you are supposed to go to your local music store and purchase enough published copies of the melody for your choir, and teach the harmony by rote. If people will do what I am suggesting, this process theoretically will result in more sales of the copyrighted scores for the publishers, because the song becomes more useful to you once you have the middle school harmony parts.
Check back for updates. Revision dates now appear in most titles, and the arranger is constantly seeking to improve these products.
