#obbi

hello so @lovingtogetic is starting a project where we all do a mass choir arrangement of GLaDOS' Song from the Portal series. if you know about this project, your voice type and whether you can sing melodies, just skip to the paragraphs starting with "***".

for those of you interested, I will arrange sheet music for it, but I'd like to know your voice parts (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass) (if you are a mezzo or a baritone you may have to lean in one direction depending on the responses.

i also wanna know which people of which voice parts can sing harmonies. in my experience, you either are naturally drawn to harmonies or you can only sing melodies but i'm sure everyone varies.

basically, im trying to figure out which voice part to give the melody to and which voice parts can reliably hold a harmony.

a few helpful links before the poll starts:

a song with an example of 3 harmonies combining into a melody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iToG7boxo64

a youtube video harmony breakdown for those who are new to singing and unsure if you can sing harmonies (it starts with all parts combined and then breaks down each part by character): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj08xI8Hvig (white diamond is about a soprano, maybe mezzo with the one low note harmony, blue diamond seems more alto, yellow diamond seems tenor maybe baritone.)

***poll instructions: even if you can sing multiple voice types, (for example I can go from soprano to high baritone) pick one that you're most comfortable with. if you don't know your voice type, we're gonna rely on the sex binary for a moment, as i am not aware how being intersex affects the voice, and am only vaguely aware of how hrt affects the voice if at all(?):

soprano: highest voice, usually afab voices, usually these singers can go up but not too far down

mezzo soprano: second highest, may end up singing the soprano line and singing the lower note if the soprano line splits, usually afab, very unique range from singer to singer and most lean towards either soprano or alto, if you're pretty rangey and are okay with soprano lines pick this one

alto: "lowest" afab voice, usually if I'm reading an alto line I'm not happy if the notes stop being ledger lines below the treble clef; but beethoven has altos singing in the mezzo soprano range, usually altos can go down but not as far up.

tenor: highest amab voice, if you're amab and you can sing "Sugar" by Maroon 5 you're probably a tenor, can potentially go as high as the soprano but i probably won't make you do that, if you can go up but not down pick this one

baritone: like the mezzo soprano but for amab people, i believe most baritones lean towards bass lines tho(? could be wrong), think of "Agony" from Into The Woods, those princes are both baritones

bass: lowest voice before you start adding the word "contra" to voice types (don't worry abt it) sings at the bottom of the bass clef and can go above bass clef (even on treble clef if Beethoven's writing. sorry just performed his 9th symphony "ode to joy" so it's fresh in my head), sings the bass line which is like a counter-melody more than a harmony in classical music, think The Wolf from Into The Woods he has a duet with Little Red called "Hello, Little Girl"

***more poll instructions! so there will be two of each voice type it'll go something like "[voice type here], i prefer melodies" and "[voice type here] i can sing harmonies" if you can do both, pick harmony so I know that's an option for your voice type, especially if you're a soprano y'all never get harmonies and i think descants (harmonies written above the melody) are super cool. Sorry mezzos and baritones i had to cut you out due to lack of poll options, try your best to lean and I'll split a couple lines for ya.

Hancock: Nope. Hancock. Nerves. Steel. *T-Poses*

Y/n: How high are you?

i have finished the score for all 4 parts for the mass choir project performing GLaDOS' Song.

Here is a link to the burner google drive folder so you all can access the sheet music, as well as tracks for individual parts with and without guitar! I'm going to write the next few sections with those who've never read sheet music before in mind, so there might be some quick explaining in the individual parts sections.

FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW: these are MIDI recordings so you will have to look at the sheet music to get the words that you are singing and when. the MIDI recordings are all "ah"s. it'll probably be better to practice with the recordings with the guitar added in so you can get a sense of rhythm for your part with at least the guitar. When you are up for challenging how much you've learned try singing with the "all_parts" recording and then just the guitar audio.

this is going to be audio only, @dont-say-goodbye-mcp is going to be making art for the visual portion of this piece. if you would like to listen to the MIDI recordings while you record your contribution, please use headphones so we don't have to find a way to edit out the "ah"s and the 800 layers of MIDI guitar. try to get it in one take, or if you are pretty good at timing with DAWs, you can do multiple takes but make sure when you're ready you submit ONE (1) audio file. please label your audio file with your voice part, and if you can and know how to, feel free to cut out the silence before your first note, but leave the silences that come after, those are important for timing.

rhythm will also be super important, since we won't all be conducted by a conductor. i suggest either listening to your track in headphones while you record, the guitar part, or a metronome set at quarter note = 209 (you can get a metronome on your phone as an app, watch out for viruses and such)

if you can't read sheet music, there are note charts on google images that will tell you which line or space on your clef will be what letter, and you can use a piano (real or online, apps or websites babey) to play each note you sing, especially if you're having trouble with a note, hold it on your version of a piano and sing it multiple times just to get your voice used to it. you can also listen to the midi tracks (probably with guitar so you can get a sense of timing and such or the all parts track) and sing along with the words or if you really need on an "ah" like the tracks, then the words.

FOR SOPRANOS:

you will be singing pretty high for this piece, so if you're more of a mezzo, feel free to switch between the soprano and alto line between phrases (think of phrases as the lines of text, there's usually punctuation or a pause between two phrases). specifically it'll be a high A at the highest, as well as the note under that, a high G. if you cannot hit these notes, drop down an octave, but for those who want to try but are unsure, singing high requires a bit a bravery, it's hard to do quietly, and you gotta relax your throat/larynx. don't try with tension, you're gonna wanna use your head voice/falsetto. let the high notes float, and treat singing high like a stamina skill: the more you do it the easier it gets.

i also tried to give you guys the harmonies as much as possible, but you will have the melody in the second verse and chorus, as the original melody was a soprano melody and sounds more like a melody in the soprano range.

FOR ALTOS: you will have most of the melody, except for in chorus 2. the original melody was written for the soprano range, so i lowered the first verse an octave, but in chorus 2 you will be harmonizing, and i'm aware a lot of you said you prefer melodies, but that's just how the arrangement landed. i'm naturally drawn to harmonies, but sometimes they're harder to hear. you will want to listen to your isolated part with guitar and utilize the piano as needed if harmonies really aren't your thing. you can do this!

you also kinda carry the song, most of the time the other parts are harmonizing around you, so be prepared to do most of the singing. sopranos will be singing an octave up a lot, but you will have most of the words. in verse 2 you will be doing what the sopranos are doing in verse 1 but an octave down.

FOR TENORS: you will be singing significantly less than the sopranos and altos, but you and the basses add the *spice* to the piece, i think. you're mostly harmony, which is what I think you all voted as your strong suits. in chorus 3 you will be copying the harmony structure the sopranos have in chorus 1 and that the altos have in chorus 2. the timing of this exchange would be the trickiest as you will wait a beat and then sing the same thing an octave lower, abouts.

FOR BASSES: you have a lot of the one-note wonder harmonies. I personally find those fun, but it really grounds the piece in the lowest part. if you need more spice to your part, add the love and heartbreak into your voice as you sing the words, just make sure your voice doesn't break too far from the notes. i believe you have a couple harmonies that involve multiple notes, so the real challenge is being ready to break out of the one-note harmonies.

if anyone is super lost, having tried the audio tracks and trying the piano, my ask box is open and i will answer privately. you can also look up how to read sheet music on youtube, as rhythm is part of the notation and not explained here. if you are asking me for help try to figure out what lyric/line you're stuck on as well as your voice part, and that'll help me narrow down what's goin on and what needs to be done. i am NOT a professional voice teacher, but i have been singing my whole life and i can give a few pointers.

if you're disabled could you describe what disability is in one word in the replies?

so far I have like "a challenge" and "community"

do you really need the handicapped stall? why? if you're going to use it anyway, assume someone who needs that same stall is walking in the bathroom in 2 mins, and can't hold it.