Augmenting a Choral Performance: Keeping the Balance

Purists would argue that a true musical performance would not use any electronic enhancements, that only the talents and abilities of the performers are needed to create great music. But many performance situations faced by high school vocal ensembles require such assistance to ensure that everyone in the audience can hear those talented students.

Each performance site carries with it a different set of challenges and possibilities, just as every chorus does. For pure control, having a microphone on each performer allows the technician to control all aspects of balance and presentation. The purist would say that creates a false impression of what the performance sounded like and what the musicians were capable of, more a recording than a concert. So how do you augment the sound of a vocal group without negating their balance and ensemble qualities? You capture the actual sound being created by the group and simply extend its reach.

To do that requires three things: the best possible use of the performance space, a public-address system that can properly project the music being performed to the audience, and a way to capture that performance as it truly sounds. Placing your chorus in the best possible arrangement in the best possible location will make capturing their great sound easier. And with high school musicians, having the performance arrangement match their rehearsal arrangement provides them with the familiarity they need to be more confident and more successful on stage.

Groups that rehearse in one setup and then perform in another, even with a dress rehearsal on-site, are negating an important aspect of those many hours of rehearsal – the interaction each voice has with those around them. If your group, like most vocal groups, is arranged in groups by voice part, and not in lines, then make sure those groups are the same on stage. If you perform on choral risers (as you should), then make sure your rehearsal space either has similar steps or use those choral risers for rehearsals as much as possible. And if possible, curve your group slightly so that singers are singing to each other somewhat – not just straight ahead.

Once in the performance space, center the chorus in front of your audience and position them directly under the proscenium – inasmuch is possible. If you have sound shells, use them to either surround the chorus, or if too few, placed at intervals straight-up behind the group. Do not run a curtain directly behind the chorus if possible as it absorbs too much sound, but a curtain further back will help lose the sound if the space is very large. If performing in a room (gym, cafeteria, activity room, etc.), position the group with a solid wall 10 feet or so behind them. Use the strength of the space’s reverberation to your advantage so that the sound bounces around the audience as well as coming to them directly from the performers.

Your speakers should be placed in front of the performers on either side. Do not use them as monitors by placing them behind the group. Point them so that the speaker’s coverage angle (usually 90 degrees of more) covers the audience and is centered on the listeners. If possible, position the speakers so that a hard surface is included in that angle to the far side. Never put speakers on the stage floor or down in front of the audience. They should be high enough so they can be aimed over the heads of the audience toward the back wall of the space. By doing so, the audience will hear the direct sound from each speaker and the bounced sound from the side and back walls. Even if a mono sound, it will sound stereophonic in nature and better share the balance of the performance with each person in the audience.

Lastly, place your microphones to capture the ensemble at its best, performing the music balanced as they have rehearsed and as the conductor has heard many times. The easiest way is to have a pair of microphones mounted on the same stand right over the conductor’s position. That works if the group is curved enough that all are singing in that direction and not pointing out to the audience. If the group is straighter across the stage, mount a series of microphones, two or more, that match that lineup. Each mic should be as high as possible and pointed toward the middle row of the chorus, trying to be as close to the performer in the back as to the performer in the front. This usually means that the stand is very close to the front row with the mic well overhead. Consider the distance from the mic to the performer in the middle row, double it and that is the distance from one microphone to the next across the stage. If you have the equipment, you can combine those two types of mic placements for a better overall sound. And if you have a solid wall behind the group, placing one or two mics there, facing away from the chorus, can add depth to the sound.

All of the microphones are then run to a simple mixer that sends out the balanced sound to the amplifier/speakers and the audience. If one mic is picking up too much or too little, adjust the mic placement before making significant changes to the input volume on the mixer. If possible, listen to the group rehearse in the space by moving through the audience area to see how it sounds there and adjusting the aim of the speakers to get the blend you want. Each microphone type has a slightly different pattern, so read the documentation you have or do a search for your mic to see what the very best placement would be.

By adding a bit of technology to your vocal ensemble performances, you can not only give your students the support they need to be successful, but provide your audience with a much better experience. With this balanced sound being captured, the addition of a recording device to the mixer, be it a smartphone or computer or digital recorder, can now properly save the moment for your students to share and for you to use for your next rehearsal.