10 Choral Rules for Expressive Singing

rule of the steady beat

when singing any note value longer than the steady beat value, singers should crescendo.

rule of the diphthong

sing the first sound throughout most of the value and then quickly add the second sound.

rule of the final consonant #1

ending consonant should happen on the rest that immediately follows the note

rule of the final consonant #2

cut-off consonants should be fast

rule of the final consonant #3

make it clean, clear, and mellow while still being intelligible

rule of the final consonant #4

explode the consonants without being overexaggerated

rule of the final consonant #5

voiced consonants

a. gentle [ə] following the consonant sound (i.e. shadow vowel)

b. closing to nasal consonants [n, m, ƞ] for an extended period of time may be appropriate in some cases

rule of the punctuation

requires a lift or break for every punctuation mark throughout the piece or do not break if no punctuation exists

rule of the slur

requires a tenuto over the first note under the slur, followed by all other notes in the pattern sung without a tenuto marking

rule of the word stress

singing louder or with slight emphasis on important words or syllables

rule of dissonance

crescendo on the dissonance and resolve quiter

rule of dynamic contrast

no note should ever sound the same in a phrase

rule of voicing

bring out important melodies or motifs from the choral texture

rule of repetition

always sing repetitive text or musical sequences differently