Well, it looks like you're aleady doing what u can do man. When I'm figuring out choir parts, I try to follow one voice throughout the whole song. The only other option is to get the sheet music.
that makes good sense following one part throughout
at least this way you are working on a line
where this gets troublesome is when the two parts meet up
or in the case of some choir parts like hezekiahs tenor and alto heavy choirs
it is difficult to hear the sopranos on some lines.
but this is a good idea just the same and I will utilize it
Sometimes listen to the music using headphones...sometimes inner-ear headphones will allow different frequencies to be more prominent...depending on the specifications of the headphones. Then try the regular big joints. They give a different sound as well. Also try (if you have a mixer) panning the sound all the way to the left and then to the right. Sometimes the vocal parts are mixed in different directions if you will. If anyone has noticed, on Kirk Franklin's "Hosanna" the female vocals are panned on this part like so:
the lamb that was slain
right: for my sins
left: and the one
right: I adore
left: King of kings
right: ruler of
left: everything
or maybe vice versa on the sides...but being able to hear that helped me not to just make all of the ladies sing the whole thing but to split it and have the sopranos and altos split it. I hope this helps.
Sometimes listen to the music using headphones...sometimes inner-ear headphones will allow different frequencies to be more prominent...depending on the specifications of the headphones. Then try the regular big joints. They give a different sound as well. Also try (if you have a mixer) panning the sound all the way to the left and then to the right. Sometimes the vocal parts are mixed in different directions if you will. If anyone has noticed, on Kirk Franklin's "Hosanna" the female vocals are panned on this part like so:
the lamb that was slain
right: for my sins
left: and the one
right: I adore
left: King of kings
right: ruler of
left: everything
or maybe vice versa on the sides...but being able to hear that helped me not to just make all of the ladies sing the whole thing but to split it and have the sopranos and altos split it. I hope this helps.
Thanks mason that is an interesting idea using two types of head phones
mixers even
I never noticed that about the kirk song I did know from looking at the music that there were what I used to call auditory illusions
which is incorrect because illusions refer to sight, however that makes sense what you are saying because It was a difficult part to teach even with the sheet music,
I will try the head phone idea
what i have been doing also which I didnt mention is once I get the line I run the track with my finger on the mouse it is set to the track counter indicator and I keep clicking creating like a one second loop while playing my keyboard usually set to strings or a good choir patch usually a fast attack choir patch like a jazz doos on the roland
I will keep playing the section and my part until I am sure I have matched it
this helped me out with God favored me
I couldnt hear the yes's at the end of the song and playing it over and over while matching with my hand
I went through three different choir part choices until I used this technique and discovered the correct choir part
what I am gathering is that it is just sometimes very difficult to hear these parts
and like anything else I suppose practice makes perfect.
I just dont want to be like the M.O.M at ,my church she just puts something together on the spot
right there at rehearsal
sometimes she comes up with something decent
but a lot of times especially with certain songs that dont have typical arrangements she comes up with some really bad choices and we end up scrapping the song,
great ideas fellas
thank you both
