What’s the cause of the intonation troubles your choir showed today in measures 39-43?
- They needs to learn the notes more carefully.
- An alto leader had a rough night caring for a sick sibling.
- Vowels need to be unified.
- Everyone is in various stages of getting or getting over a cold.
- There was a sudden barometric change just before rehearsal.
- Choir needs to do a better job of mixing head and chest voice for the range.
- Your conducting isn’t clear so the singers are tentative.
Only some of these can be fixed in rehearsal. So before you leap into micro-aggression or solve-it mode, assess the reason for the problem. If it’s out of your control, move on.
(Only one problem – you have smart singers who also recognize the problem but might not have the experience to assess the cause. So you need to gain their trust, so that their frustration doesn’t lead to a negative outlook and productivity spiraling downward.)