Dear Michael,
You aren't dense.
"I do not understand what is the problem you
are concerned about.
Here is how I see it:
the alto section at your colleague's church choir has a number of
what you term "short-range sopranos". First of all, by short-range I
assume you mean short on the top end - these are women whose voices
you feel are truly sopranos."
Bingo, Michael! You win! These ARE topless sopranos (NOT the kind you see at
the Cha-Cha Club out by the Interstate, but rather these ladies have no idea
what to do with their upper passagio!)!!
"My dense question is - how is this a problem? Is the problem that the sound in
the alto section is not as "rich" as your friend would like? Are these women
unable to handle the low notes? Are they straining their voices?"
Not a dense question. Tone quality, lack of tone on the part, incorrect "shape"
of the voicese singing the part (i.e., altos have big bottoms (We're NOT back at
the Cha-Cha Club, Michael!) and their voices traditionally get lighter at the
top. When you need the tone on the bottom, there isn't one. When you hear the
choir recorded, you have a hard time picking out the alto part. Example: big
bottom (chocolate fudge brownie) light top (KoolWhip). In these two choirs (and
many, many more, I can ASSURE you, the brownie is very thin and on top of the
KoolWhip!
"My bias is that if the women are not straining, I don't see a problem
with "sopranos" singing in the alto section."
Agreed. No problem if they're audible! We're talking lots of breath and very
little tone here.
I've never heard "tweenie"! The term I've heard is "bariten"! I'd imagine the
voice teacher would be a bit unamused that she was training you in one direction
and you were singing in another direction, but we have no control over what our
students do outside our studios!
You aren't dense, now Michael, but remember that brownie that we're topping with
KoolWhip IS or rather SHOULD be dense!
Thanks!
Ed
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