How the Voice Works
YouTube videos and pictures of the voice box:
Some of the information in this video may be too detailed and technical for young students. Watch with them and focus on the main points – the location of the voice box, what it looks like, and the shortening and lengthening of the vocal folds to create lower and higher pitches.
Images:
Choirs
YouTube videos, CD recordings from the library:
- Praise To the Lord
- Ain’t Got Time to Die
- Shannandoah
- Prayer of the Children (just men)
- Prayer of the Children (lyrics)
- Prayer of the Children (performed by 14 – 16 year olds)
- A rehearsal
- Eric Whitacre’s virtual choir
Small Groups
Barbershop Examples:
This is from the musical The Music Man and will help you hear the different notes each part sings.
This groups brings humor and play to their music.
This is a brief How Do demonstration that will also help you hear the different parts.
Modern Examples:
- My Foolish Heart/Moth – Sacramento State Jazz Singers, Spring 2012
- Arc Vocal Jazz Ensemble
- Home Free – Ring of Fire (featuring Avi Kaplan of Pentatonix) [Johnny Cash Cover]
- Straight No Chaser: The 12 Days of Christmas (2008 Version)
Madrigal Examples:
The word madrigal refers to vocal music written during the Medieval and Renaissance time period. Its sound is starkly different from our modern music but is quite fun to experience. These singers are in costumes from that time period, and the music is in foreign languages, mostly Latin.
