Vocal Music Advice

I’m 35, never took choir or voice in school, and looking back I regret not doing that. I joined a church choir a year ago and was placed in the bass section. I think I can sing fairly well, I can match pitch and generally blend with the basses. Unfortunately with not having the background others have, learning the new staff has been tough for me. I know the names of the notes but I’m just finding it very difficult to know what each note sounds like. Unless I have the other basses there I couldn’t find the note without the aid of a piano. Is there any way to learn the bass notes and would taking lessons at my age be of any benefit? Thanks.

Answer: Bill, You’ve asked a good two-pronged question.  So, there will necessarily be two answers to cover your question.  I’ll actually answer the second one first.

Would taking (voice) lessons at my age be of any benefit?

1.  Taking voice lessons, that is, lessons on how to sing with greater clarity, freedom and expression is a worthwhile endeavor even starting at age 35.  I taught a man who didn’t begin lessons until his mid fifties – and he ended up being the president of a major symphony chorus.

Is there any way to learn the bass notes …?

2.  The purpose of voice lessons is NOT to teach you to read music.  The purpose of voice lessons is to enhance your singing ability.  What I think seems to be more important to you is the fact that reading music is difficult for you.  But let us suppose for a moment that you could read music well; that ability does not qualify you or anyone to pull the actual pitches “out of the air” so to speak.  Most of us trained singers have what is known as “relative pitch.”  That is, when we see a note on the bass clef we can guess its approximate pitch because we have learned how it feels in the voice and how it sounds (tonal memory).  When young children are systematically trained to read, listen and memorize notes—as they are in China—relative pitch becomes quite accurate.  However, a few rare persons are born with the natural ability to have memorized musical pitches, so that they KNOW the pitches they read without necessarily any reference to a piano or other instrument.  At this time in your life, you can still develop a good sense of relative pitch if you find a teacher, or a college freshman ear-training-and-sight-singing course.  What you have to develop is both the reading aspect (notes and their relationships with one another as well as rhythmic values) as well as your tonal memory.  Developing these skills will definitely help you become a much stronger choral singer.  These skills are not acquired quickly, but take time to develop.  You love to sing, so taking aural development and sight-singing courses would be a worth while investment of money and time.  Any university or college with a reputable music department can provide what you need.

I hope this has been helpful to you.

Best wishes.