INFORMATION
Music is regarded as a praiseworthy science at the Threshold of the Almighty, so that thou mayest chant verses at large gatherings and congregations in a most wondrous melody and raise such hymns of praise at the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to enrapture the Concourse on High. By virtue of this, consider how much the art of music is admired and praised. Try, if thou canst, to use spiritual melodies, songs and tunes, and to bring the earthly music into harmony with the celestial melody. Then thou wilt notice what a great influence music hath and what heavenly joy and life it conferreth. Strike up such a melody and tune as to cause the nightingales of divine mysteries to be filled with joy and ecstasy.
~ 'Abdu'l-Bahá
The Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic doveANNOUNCING A NEW COMPILATION
Click on the book cover to download the free Compilation: (available in both PDF and ePUB for FREE or for purchase) The Divine Melody, compiled by Lorraine Manifold, is a collection of gems from the Writings of the Bahá’í Faith that refer to the Word of God as music emanating from the Mystic Dove or the Nightingale of Paradise. This beautiful and mystical concept refers not only to the Divine Word as a melody but also to the spiritual calling for us to spread the Divine Word in song and to lift up our voices to the praise and glorification of God. "I have not ever pondered the metaphor of Divine Melody for the Revelation, so this was great to read. It’s lovely. I was meditating on that when I woke this morning: the Revelation is our Creator’s song to us." |
The Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove
Compiled by Lorraine Manifold
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Practicing
VOCAL HEALTH
Information about choirs & singing
Australian Choral Conductors Education and Training (ACCET)
Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS)
Australian National Choral Association (ANCA)
Becoming a Skilled Choral Singer, many helpful tips for choristers
Chorus Online, an online ressource for choral sheet music
The Classical Singer
Feldenkrais Method
French Diction for Singers and Conductors
Information about the voice, singing resources
National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS), an excellent source of reliable information about the voice!
Paramount Project: Devotional Songs from the Bahá'í Holy Writings for Community Singing by Michael Knopf
Performance Anxiety Solutions
Tom Burke Voice Studio, has great videos on YouTube
The Vocalist
Voice Care Network
Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS)
Australian National Choral Association (ANCA)
Becoming a Skilled Choral Singer, many helpful tips for choristers
Chorus Online, an online ressource for choral sheet music
The Classical Singer
Feldenkrais Method
French Diction for Singers and Conductors
Information about the voice, singing resources
National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS), an excellent source of reliable information about the voice!
Paramount Project: Devotional Songs from the Bahá'í Holy Writings for Community Singing by Michael Knopf
Performance Anxiety Solutions
Tom Burke Voice Studio, has great videos on YouTube
The Vocalist
Voice Care Network
Composing for AMATEUR SATB CHOIRS
The Art of Choral Composition
Choral Composing and Arranging
Composer's Tools
Professional Arranger (The), by Russ Garcia
Choral Composing and Arranging
Composer's Tools
Professional Arranger (The), by Russ Garcia
Do you want to compose for SATB choirs? Here are the comfortable ranges for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Obviously, you can always extend these ranges, especially if you have singers in your choir who can sing higher or lower. It's best, in my opinion, to have an amateur choir sing a song well, than to have them sing something too difficult to them. When a song is a bit too much out of a choir's comfortable range, the singers lose confidence, they worry about reaching the notes (worry means that the throat contracts, therefore fulfilling their worry), and the audience will hear that the choir is not confident. Singers are at their best when they are confident. |
Meanwhile, it's also good to stretch the singers' ranges, and give them a song that's just a little bit out of their comfort zone and give them time to work on it, so that they feel a sense of accomplishment at having worked towards something and achieving it! It's up to the conductor to find the right balance between the easy songs and the songs that will increase the choir's capacity, without making them fearful of not doing a good job. As a composer, it's highly recommended to work with a choral conductor so that you can get feedback on what works best. |
What is the Bahá'í Faith?
Bahá'í.org: Official Bahá'í website
Bahá'í Blog: Great resource for Bahá'í articles and information
Virtues Project: Always good to keep encouraging one another!
Bahá'í Blog: Great resource for Bahá'í articles and information
Virtues Project: Always good to keep encouraging one another!
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