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Choir in the Time of COVID; Part II: Making Lemonade out of Technology
“When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”, so they say. Dirait-on. Now, I would like to modify the saying to “When life hands you lemons, try like crazy to pivot and make technology work for you in a medium that is ill-equipped for a decidedly analog art form.” Rolls right off the tongue. But in reality, this is what thousands of musicians and directors have had to do in the time of COVID-19. As a society, we have had to figure out ways to meet and connect without actually being in the same room. Thankfully, many people now have computers, phones, or other devices that have high-quality cameras and audio within them; therefore, many have been able to attend work meetings, socialize with friends and family, and otherwise stay connected, such as it is. You might think this would be an easy way for choirs to substitute for an in-person rehearsal, but it has been a challenge.
The inherent issues with Technology-based rehearsals and choir meetings
I teach voice to students from middle school up through retirement age. When this initially happened, I thought, “what a great opportunity to be able to teach any student anywhere!” I quickly realized that, even though it is 2020 and technology is very advanced, it is not at all a substitute for working with someone in person. This may not be true for ye average office worker delving in spreadsheets and software all day. There are many things that can be done remotely, with great success or perhaps even more success than in person. A voice lesson is not one of those things. And neither is choir practice.
In teaching private lessons online, some of the issues I have encountered have included these:
There have been basic technical difficulties, like when the student cannot see or hear teacher or vice versa. There have been audio issues such as when a student cannot play an accompaniment track to sing with. There are basic technology limitations like lag, delay, or “latency”. While this may be moderately annoying in your average online budget meeting, they are maddening when dealing with music. Imagine playing scales for a student to sing back – what you are playing arrives to them a few seconds later, and what they are singing to you arrives a few seconds later. If you attempt to play along with your student, you will never be synchronized, so you get this unpleasant Carl Ives effect of two pieces happening simultaneously.
I have had to resort to playing very minimally in lessons. I will do some modified warm-ups, but then all audio has to be played from the student’s side. Most students cannot accompany themselves, so I work to find them suitable recorded accompaniment. You would think that would solve all latency issues, but most of my students are using a wireless connection. Sometimes the connection is spotty, with audio cutting out intermittently. Sometimes you can hear what sounds like a very warped record being played on an inconsistent turntable, for those of us who have experienced records and turntables. The track and singer speed up, slow down, or whole seconds drop here and there. Working on consistent rhythm is borderline impossible, but I still try.
Then take the average microphone that is embedded in whatever computer the student is using. While this technology is remarkable, it is still not superior audio quality, and definitely nothing that can mimic live sound in a room. Even the most terrible, dead, tiny closet of a voice studio is a superior audio experience to these ubiquitous not-meant-for-refined-audio-experience type microphones. In cases in which a student is using a webcam external to the computer or tablet, while that is certainly an improvement, it still has much opportunity for distortion. Any louder phrases or high notes run the risk of the sound being so distorted that you really cannot accurately analyze the tone the student is making. And there is also the matter that sometimes you cannot hear the singer clearly over the accompaniment.
You can see how everything that works in an in-person lesson must be retooled to work in the new environment. And these are merely the issues of a one-on-one online lesson.
Now imagine the latest Zoom meeting you were in, for a friends-meet-up video cocktail hour, the office budget meeting, or a virtual memorial service. Remember how sometimes it was hard to hear, sometimes it was hard to see, sometimes video or share-screen was not working, sometimes voices were competing with each other, sometimes your WIFI was acting spotty, and whatever else was difficult or annoying about it. Now try to translate that to a choir rehearsal, in which listening is the main activity for everyone, there is a (perhaps large) group of people whose main reason for coming together is to hear and be heard. Online format for choir rehearsals with today’s technology falls somewhere on the spectrum between “frustrating” and “nightmare.”
Some choirs have opted to mute all singers and have one person unmuted, such as the director, pianist, a single demonstration singer, or even a rehearsal track. Each singer at home sings along to what she/he/they hear, but cannot hear other singers, only themselves. While this “better than nothing” approach is commendable, and not without benefit, in most cases, it is not what the singers signed up for. I heard from many people something along the lines of “I am not a soloist, I don’t sing in choirs to be a soloist, I want to sing with other people not by myself”.
And we aren’t even addressing issues of “equity” which is to say, does everyone have access to technology and connectivity they need to participate? Even child care could become an issue for members trying to participate in rehearsing at home. As well as having enough privacy if you are sharing living space with others.
Some choirs have opted to just not meet until the virus is spreading less, a herd immunity is reached, a vaccine is developed, or all of the above. For some choirs this is an option, particularly when their funding is not tied to things like singer dues, concert ticket sales, gig revenue, etc. Still others are desperately trying to figure out how to meet sooner than later, for so many reasons.
Some intrepid companies and DIYers have designed or created masks specificially made for singers, in which there is a somewhat rigid frame so the mask stays off the mouth but still covers mouth and nose. I have not seen any scientific tests regarding these masks and their validity as a protective mechanism against respiratory droplets emitted by singers. It appears that they arose out of a concern to not inhale mask material while breathing in open mouthed (as happens often in singing).
In a subsequent blog post, we will discuss how various directors are investigating ways to conduct rehearsal safely. But first, let us discuss the virtual choir phenomenon.
Virtual Choirs – process form the inside
Online rehearsals (and performances) are inherently flawed, at least in comparison to what in-person meetings can achieve. So, what’s a choir to do?
By now, you have likely seen a song performed by a “virtual choir”, a group of singers who recorded his/her/their part as a solo video, then a brave person edits the sound and video together to make a “choir”. Examples of this abound, from the homegrown to the very polished and professionally produced versions.
OurSong’s first attempt a a virtual choir video was to record “O Love”, text by George Matheson from the hymn written in the late 1800s, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go”. In this piece, the new music by Elaine Hegenberg does not much resemble the original hymn, but it is a stunning and beautiful modern treatment of this moving text. “O Love” is published by Beckenhorst Press.
A little bit of history (and opinion): The choral world owes a debt of gratitude to composer Eric Whitacre for his groundbreaking work on virtual choirs. I am not saying this would not have organically evolved, eventually, without him; knowing human beings and video technology, virtual choirs are a natural evolution. But Whitacre was really the first to have the idea in force, and to take this to a massive scale. You can read about the origins, over a decade ago, with a brainstorm around his piece “Sleep.” After that, his first so called Virtual Choir (VC) was him conducting 183 participants singing his composition “Lux Arumque”. While that is bigger than most of the choirs you and I have seen or sung in, he did not stop there. Whitacre has completed six virtual choir projects thus far. The latest project, Virtual Choir 6 debuted on July 19 and featured an astounding 17,572 singers performing a song he wrote specifically about the pandemic, titled “Sing Gently”. This particular piece was edited together beautifully, too, so it becomes a piece that is as visually appealing as it is musically. Whitacre’s is a thrilling use of technology, and it will probably continue to grow.
For smaller than thousands-of-people type choirs, though, this is a bit a different prospect. Suffice to say, it is not as easy as it looks. Lately, some groups have even taken the virtual choir concept to new levels. Some excellent productions have come through, showing a lot more creativity and forward-thinking in this medium. One thing about that is it takes a lot of technological know-how, from editing the soundtrack to editing the video. Some choruses are filled with (or led by) people who tend to be more experiential, and less tech-savvy. Some choirs are blessed to have tech-savvy members, or monetary resources to pay a technological guru, and they would have no issue with the monumental task of creating a watchable video from …let’s just say… a variety of video submissions. But again, for your average choir, the virtual performance is more difficult to achieve than it appears.
While it is glorious to sing and hear your choir in any way possible, I should note being in a virtual choir is not a “sing with” activity. Once the video is completely edited, you could argue you are singing with each other, in a sort of third person sense, as an observer rather than actually “singing with” in the moment. To be sure, this is a valuable exercise. For example, it allowed me to witness how much (TOO MUCH) I was overusing my eyebrows while singing. Fix that, would ya? For a perfectionist, it was also challenging to be ok with whatever happened in the take. (And some of us had many, many takes before we were ok with submitting what transpired.) For me, singerly in-your-head demons kept rearing their heads in the process, such as trying to control background noise, being ok with how much phlegm was distorting my voice, feeling out of practice, and on and on.
Quelling the inner critic can be tough in a normal performance situation, but add to your performance a video that you are actively watching while performing, and it can get a little soupy inside your head. Some singers struggle with this. Sometimes the struggle can be greater in people who are old enough that they did not grow up with constant video surveillance or the camera-is-everywhere-because-it-is-in-a-phone paradigm. Fact: technology has been experienced – and accepted – quite differently in each generation. Taking a video of yourself singing is the ultimate long exposure “selfie”; some people are fine with selfies and some would rather not, thank you very much. Still other members patently refuse to submit video recordings of themselves, either because they feel too self-conscious, or because they do not care for “solo” singing. No amount of arguing “yeah, but it won’t be a solo once it is edited” can convince them to participate.
Participating in a virutal choir can be an act of faith, certainly, because you have to know that the end product will be a whole lot greater than the sum of its parts. And we aren’t even delving into the hours of editing required by those involved in the behind-the-scenes of trying to make the audio and visuals into a presentable finished product.
In a live performance situation, you do not get a do-over. Whatever happens in the moment is it. That is the fun, challenge, terror, and exhilaration of being a musician in a live performance scenario. You practice for a period of time, try to achieve perfection; then comes the moment when you must surrender to the “controlled chaos” that is singing. Furthermore, as a choral singer, you are engaging in the controlled chaos WITH your compatriots. Now, I will grant you that all choirs are made up of individuals. In any chorus of any size, it is only ever a group of ones adding up to the many. But it is not a “melting pot” in which the individuals disappear. It is more like a salad, in which each component remains individuated, but together they create harmonious blend of ingredients, if you will. That said, there is still an alchemy that occurs when these individuals get together and pool each talent into practicing and performing the same piece. The good, bad, the ugly all happens on a together spectrum. It is part of the bonding that occurs within singing groups. It is the vocal version of “did you see that, when I was on the tightrope?” “Yes, OMG, I was holding my breath! I was so proud when you achieved that,” and so on and so forth. The choir-on-video scenario is totally different. It is a metaphor for what many are having to endure at this time. Trying to make “together” a thing – through the benefit and stress of technology – when in reality we are individuals doing these activities individually, more so than ever before.
Music is an art form that happens in time. Look at a painting, or a sculpture. A person painted that or formed it, completed it, and now it hangs in permanence on a wall. It progresses along. Changes to that painting or sculpturemay occur, over hundreds of years, due to UV rays, exposure to the elements, or what have you, but the thing has a tendency to be static. Music performance is the opposite of static. It happens on a linear timeline, and then is over. It is unlike many other art forms in this way. Most of us who love participating in the choral arts love this authenticity of the moment. We lose a little of this in-the-moment analog realness when we engage in things like professional recordings, in which we are trying to polish the finished product using technology. And the same is true of virtual choirs.
Still, having few other options at this time, virtual choirs are a substitution that gives us something. It gives us somewhere to hear each other, and something on which to focus that keeps us connected to our chorus when we cannot meet in person.
Stay tuned for additional blog posts exploring this topic. In the meantime, go sing something!
Ellen Chase