Altered Version 1: Details
Problem: The pitch drops at the descending line B flat - G - F (d - l - s) in b. 3.
Possible solutions:
- The conductor prepares the singers for this challenge by using warm-ups involving do’ and soh, to strengthen the feeling of the first and fifth degrees of the key (do and so) and to make the perfect 4th (B flat descending to F) secure before adding the lah (G). Follow the advice of music theorist Per-Gunnar Alldahl: ‘Remember to always make the fifth degree sufficiently bright.’ (Alldahl, Choral Intonation, Gehrmans Musikförlag, 2008, p. 12)
- The conductor draws attention to the tendency of this motif to drop in pitch, and encourages the singers to ‘lift’ the la and the so, and to feel the place and function of these notes in the key of the piece.
- The conductor uses supportive gestures and facial expression to encourage brightness in the singing of this descending line, to help maintain good tuning.