like the words "Sit straight" they have damaged the sound of your choir

If you’ve been around bands for any length of time, regardless of the type of music, you know that good posture is repeatedly stressed. Sitting or standing with poor posture reduces the overall wind power of the ensemble and looks sloppy in playing. However, specifically for choir, poor posture is a major obstacle to developing a good choral sound. Some of the reasons why:

* Being slumped forward, or to either side, compresses the lungs and limits movement of the diaphragm. The stomach is also less able to move freely during inspiration. The singer is therefore forced to take much more frequent breaths, each with greatly reduced efficiency. This makes singing long phrases and smooth lines difficult, if not impossible.

*When the body is bent/bent due to poor posture, the resonance spaces within the body become deformed. This turns what could be a strong voice into a much lighter and less mature sound, often with completely wasted air moving through the mouth. This forces the directors to look for more sound from the ensemble. The together, in turn, have to breathe further often to keep up with your unsupported sound. The same set with good posture would have to work a lot less to produce equivalent dynamics, with a much cleaner quality.

*Poor posture usually indicates a lack of attention, whether in a job interview, at a show, or in an ensemble. It encourages singers to talk more, listen less, and pay less attention to the sound of the choir. Inherently, a less attentive choir will not listen to each other to match, will take longer to learn music, and will be more prone to mistakes.

To combat the problem of poor posture, choir directors have a standard phrase (learned from their parents): “Stand up straight!” Alternatively, in the essay, “Sit up straight!” That simple command tells the array several things, some of which fix problems, some of which create problems. To explain further:

*Tells the team to straighten their backs. A straight back can take pressure off your internal organs, open your airways, and allow each breath to be more efficient.

*Tells the group to suck their stomachs. This looks good, but it means the set can’t let the stomach out when you inhale. If they’re still not allowed to let their shoulders go up and down when they breathe, they’ll go back to really small breaths. (For the record, the shoulders don’t need to move to breathe, as long as the torso is free to expand and contract properly.)

*Tells the team to pull back, or “square,” their shoulders. Pulling them back too far can cause chest tightness and again damage your available breathing space.

*Tells the ensemble to harden their bodies into rigid shapes. Any guess where this is going? That’s right, limited movement means limited breathing. A set focused on looks can’t be as focused on listening and mixing.

To correct both extremes, a middle ground must be found. The easiest way to do this is by rehearsing: we perform the way we practice. I know that every outfit has the power to step up when the spotlight is on. Each ensemble goes the extra mile on performance night. The difference is where the “extra” mile begins. A chorus with good posture to start with will be stellar, rather than passable. Ways to be a stellar chorus (at least for posture and free breathing)?

*When rehearsing seated, ask your singers to sit on the front edge of their chairs and stretch their spines. The head should rest, almost float, on the neck. The spine should continue down the back to the pair of “sit bones” in the pelvis. Feet should be evenly spaced, and both on the ground. This distributes the weight and pressure evenly on the chair and the floor. (The feet should have a small percentage of the weight). The weight and pressure is directed at the supporting structures, not at the individual joints that were never designed to carry loads.

* When standing, have the team place their feet almost directly under their shoulders and settle so that their weight shifts smoothly to the floor. The weight should be balanced on a tripod between the heel, the big toe, and the tip of the smallest toe for maximum stability.

* Encourage your singers to expand from the stomach to the chest as they breathe. If they were filling a glass, they would do it from the bottom up. Do the same with the body.

*Practice long tones in warm-ups to make sure everyone is thinking about how to get the most air.

Doing these things will create an ensemble capable of accompanying you through the longest phrases, achieving the most diverse dynamics and richest sounds possible. Be strict with the well supported but not rigid posture in rehearsal. The resulting sound is well worth your investment of time, and the “extra mile” will be fantastic.

Good luck in rehearsals and on stage.