Why Does Choral Music Sound So Good?

[@ListeningIn]

Hi everyone! So I can keep creating the best possible video essays, I've now set up a Patreon account: www.patreon.com/listeningin. Almost every essay of mine has a copyright claim, so any support you could offer would be amazing. By the way, what's your favourite piece of choral music?

[@leoniedijxhoorn6239]

of course Stellebosch university choir and for now it is " die donker"

[@AdriaOliSal]

Agnus Dei from Samuel Barber, in the Choir version, is one of the most intense pieces of music I've ever sung. It was so difficult to get right, so much concentration, but so wonderful in concert. Other than that, I also love Dona Nobis Pacem from Vaughan Williams, and the Funeral sentences from Purcell.

[@averages64]

Tallis’ Spem in Alium takes the human voice - and our entire beings through our ears - into outer space with its other-worldly feel.

[@ccflute]

faure, cantique de jean racine.

[@tritionequeen]

My current contemporary one is Sing me to Heaven.

[@eduardovalentin9416]

Pretty sure, 90% of the viewers all sang in church choirs (myself included) and are all crawling here lamenting not being able to do the thing we all really love to do.

[@samanthakaspar8238]

or competitive choirs :)

[@fardareismai4495]

Uni choir... I really miss it.

[@chaplainmattsanders4884]

Yes!!!!!

[@Kobiwan_]

Never participated in a choir in my life, but I'd love to now.

[@Skimeric]

Pretty sure you are 100% right.

[@blakemorgan6470]

Well done on this!! Beautiful demonstrations and nice to see the VOCES8 cameo there at the end. We definitely love those pure intervals!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you Blake! Also used your beautiful recording of Ubi Caritas.

[@HickoryDickory86]

And we choral fans love that you love them, Blake. 🤗

[@mattnbin]

Yes! Pure intervals is just the term I am looking to describe this very thing. If even one choir member starts to insert the slightest vibrato, then pure intervals are near impossible to achieve. That is why I just adore both choirs and fretless instruments with NO vibrato. Such an amazing world of sumptuous frequencies and harmonics opens up when the harmonics lock together in perfect intervals!!!!

[@Joraultechy]

This video is criminally underrated. As someone with an absolute passion for music, harmony, and particularly microtonality and just intonation, this is the most apt, most intuitive way I’ve ever seen harmonics and formants described. And indeed, choirs are a thing of complete beauty.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you so much! This comment has made my day! I’m very pleased you enjoyed the video.

[@Joraultechy]

@@ListeningIn Glad that you enjoyed it! I do come from a piano classical background and have spent quite a few years doing music theory as well as taking an interest in different tuning systems and just intonation as a platonic ideal of music. But describing it, how it all works, without diving into the deep maths of doubling frequencies, pure reduced fractions sounding pleasant, and all of that... it takes a while. Somehow you managed to describe it concisely and without pulling out any graph paper, and that’s just impressive. Keep up the incredible work, and I can’t wait to see where this channel continues to go! 😊

[@min_nad]

absolutely agree!!

[@narayana8249]

Finding this channel was like finding a 10-pound diamond in a happy meal. I was getting used to the same old sub-par stuff before finding something amazing. Subscribed for sure.

[@ListeningIn]

Ha! Well I am very glad you've found me!

[@Ventilatueur]

0:01 The path of Miracle: 4 Santiago by Joby Talbot 1:40 Nunc Dimittis by Arvo Pärt (credits to Sebastian Amadeus Van Brahms, I had no idea!) 3:20 Hymn to St-Cecilia, by Britten (credits to John Swedberg, I also had no idea!) 5:30 Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo 6:19 The Lamb by John Tavener 7:45 Vespers: 6 Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninov 8:50 The Path of Miracle again (4th movement) by Joby Talbot

[@kennichdendenn]

1:40, sorry, its Pärt 😁. Avo Pärt, Nunc Dimittis, If I'm not completeley mistaken it is the incredible Voces8 version.

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

@@kennichdendenn That's it. It sounds familiar to me. Turns out, I've heard The Sixteen's version.

[@Ventilatueur]

Thanks to both of you, I've edited the post to help others, but I credited you!

[@tylerleswing]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@omglolgiraffe]

@@kennichdendenn you should add Richard to your name, youll get Wagner and Strauss. Two for the price of one!

[@Relflow]

I've sang in choirs off and on for 5 years, and your ideas of darkening/brightening vowels to tune the singers to the chord to just intonation is incredibly revealing and makes perfect sense. Thanks for this insight.

[@ListeningIn]

My pleasure! I'm glad that resonanted with (no pun intended!).

[@romarinthym]

Now I know why every time I listened choral, I feel I heard the the whole universe. What a fantastic video.

[@33Jenesis]

It is still hard to make digital human vocal sound real and emotional, unlike instrumental modules out on the market. It is like the magic of Jacob Collier is in his vocal harmony arrangement.

[@ListeningIn]

Completely agree

[@simonfrasch3066]

I don't think there are any instruments you can accuratly recreate digitaly

[@33Jenesis]

@@simonfrasch3066 you are not a working composer, are you? Digital instrumental module has been on the market for close to 20 years. What do you think the different sounds on digital keyboard are? They are sound modules.

[@simonfrasch3066]

Well I actually kind of am. I know there are digital instruments. But they are created by sampling. So basically they record different pitches played on an instrument and save them into a big library of pitches. I mean I could be wrong, but that is my undserstanding of how it works. Of course there are digitaly created instruments, but they usually sound way worse then the actuall instrument. Sorry if my comment seemed rude, I just wanted to clarify not attack your opinion :)

[@anuel3780]

As a hobbyist musician that is one of the challenges I want to attempt, completely synthetic digital choral music with the same effect as traditional human choral music. But that's probably a goal for myself in like, 15 years from now lmao

[@Murrlin27]

4:44 Mind blown. She sounds like a vocoder!!

[@graciekirkland]

Makes me miss proper singing with the church choir, especially for the upcoming Christmas Mass.

[@Nienpet]

I miss singing so much 💔🥺 What a privilege it is to sing in a brilliant choir. Best times of my life.

[@ConstanzeWeber]

That made this choral singer very happy!! Especially since I swear I saw my choral director at 8:47 !!!!!

[@AndyChamberlainMusic]

This was really interesting and of course wonderfully produced! I had thought of singers naturally adjusting in real time to be more in tune but it never occurred to me to connect formant control! That's a really cool point. That brighter emphasis in the professional choir spectrogram was really interesting as well. I've always wondered about this question and I'm so happy you've addressed it!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you so much Andy! This one was so much fun to put together.

[@scheeny]

Astonishingly insightful. As a long time vocal student and choral singer, I’ve never seen these concepts presented so meaningfully. Helps me understand why participation has been transformative.

[@ngershon]

Mind completely blown. This explains so much about singing rounded when being voice trained. I knew increasing the overtones (sqillo) is what makes a voice literally bigger and makes it sail over a full sized orchestra, but didn't realize it wasn't just about loose singing and breathing control, but that the mouth actually has such a big role in shaping the tone.

[@2000wattz]

When they showed Jessye Norman, my heart melted... RIP Jessye

[@karendinkel9040]

Listening in: *complex choral and musical details Me, with basic piano music reading skills, nodding along: definitely makes sense.

[@brendandowse]

"Choral music is currently going through a renaissance with hundreds of professional and amateur choirs singing all across the world" - in 2020 when singing in choirs is literally illegal

[@Tijaxtolan]

Brendan Dowse sources for claiming it is illegal?

[@franciscasilva8406]

@@Tijaxtolan covid, can't have that many people together. Illegality depends on the country though

[@kirigayakazuto2585]

Just sing 6 feet apart lmao

[@helenryan5217]

Worse than illegal; it can be fatal.

[@Nikioko]

@@kirigayakazuto2585 Depending on where you live, this isn't allowed either. Because of the aerosols, Singing is only allowed in small groups up to 5 people and with space of at least 3m in each direction.

[@adampayton4695]

So excited whenever you upload! Nice insight into the impossible complexities of the human voice. Imo, since each voice is made different, it becomes so much harder to understand than any man made instrument out there. There is such a high skill ceiling!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you! That's true, there is huge complexity in the voice.

[@primtones]

It can all be broken down into which overtones are present, so is it really as complex as it seems firsthand?

[@adampayton4695]

@@primtones Yes. How a voice sounds us not as simple as deconstrting the overtones present. The timbre of each and every person's voice cannot simply be replicated in singing. Sure, impressions of their voice can be rather convincing sometimes, but singing like another person would be incredibly difficult. Master the tool of the voice is nowhere near as easy as "master control of your overtones". I could go into dynamics, articulation, phrasing, breathing, diction and each would have their own art and craft worthy of years of practice and research.

[@primtones]

@@adampayton4695 Timbre is just the overtone signature. People sound different due to differences in our vocal chambers, which affect the overtones. The techniques you list are just ways to manipulate overtones. I'm not saying it's easy to master our voice, but the underlying principle is simple.

[@joyceolib]

This video made me a little emotional. I miss singing in choir so much I can't wait to do it again in the future. I really resonated with the idea that it's easier to sing with a group of people than it is by yourself and I had no clue is was because of the harmonic series. Thank you for making this video!

[@matchboxmatt]

This is a beautiful essay, and the perfect thing to watch at a time like this, where most of us can’t make choral music due to COVID. Looking towards that light at the end of the tunnel, whenever it comes.

[@SimonClark]

**video opens on the Path of Miracles** **dabs self into the shadow self**

[@ListeningIn]

Oh my God I LOVE Path of Miracles. I heard it live a few years ago and I became obsessed.

[@SimonClark]

@@ListeningIn easily my favourite choral piece. I was lucky enough to hear Tenebrae perform it in Exeter Cathedral a few years ago and it was the closest I've come to a true spiritual experience. Just incredible.

[@ListeningIn]

Completely agree. I heard them sing it in Tewkesbury Abbey. I cried so much.

[@josephaugustinerhodenhiser1353]

Opening with Path of Miracles is a move. I was fortunate enough to see Tenebrae in person, and listening to recordings does the experience little justice.

[@tylercriss6435]

Choral pieces are absolutely a connecting experience. We all meld together in the sound, ceasing to be an individual. It's a spectacular feeling.

[@CreativeIsolation]

This was awesome. I’m sending this to my choir now! I’ve never heard this explained so well before. As always, nicely done.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you!

[@mironosicesubotica]

Beautiful story. Greetings from Serbia to all chorists around the World.

[@gregoryawsmith]

I am so completely overwhelmed by this, I never knew half of this was possible! How incredibly extraordinary our voices are! Now how do I learn to control it like this!?

[@guikentaro]

This morning my teacher told me about intonation and now I'm studying it on the violin. Guys, it's weird, but also amazing to listen how an E must sound differently when played with an A and then with a G.

[@wormswithteeth]

I'd recommend listening to John Tavener. The choir really glows there. Mesmeric.

[@bandnvand]

I was genuinely astonished by this. I knew that the voice was a surprisingly complicated instrument, but I never knew that it went quite this deep. Extremely entertaining and educational, like every one of your videos that I've seen. Thank you so much!

[@benjaminstaniforth1277]

Fantastic video. So well put together and explained. The part about the formants was fascinating, as I’ve dabbled with overtone singing and never quite understood it, but with this video it has really helped my understanding, so thank you.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you Benjamin!

[@katherineedwards8057]

I really love the observations you put together in the video! As a continuing choir student, I think it is important to recognize elements in the vocal tract to really get a feel for how we are able to produce the sounds we make. Thank you for reminding me why I love choir so much! :)

[@sanferrera]

You deserve a ton more views. Great video!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you!

[@nunobaptista8243]

I really like your essay, both in content and in format. The only thing I would point out is the lack of a counterargument or an opposing view.

[@GeorgeAustria]

Great visuals in this vid! Cool and effective.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you George!

[@sophiereiland7882]

Thank you for this video. This spoke very much to me as a professional ensemble singer and singing teacher. Beautifully explained.

[@micahsnow346]

I subscribed after 10 sec of the video. Idk why but I just knew instantly that this channel was quality material. Thanks for sharing your passion for music with us!

[@amandaweemes7187]

Love that you ended with Zadok the Priest. It makes me think of my senior year of high school! I sing in the choir and I was one of those kids that had vibrato at 10 years old. I’ve always been a classical singer and it makes me happy that there are other people that love classical music and love to sing classically as much as I do.

[@janellapalm1687]

This is so freaking cool omg I'm singing the overtone stuff to myself now and my mind is exploding a little!

[@infectedbanana591]

This video is done beautifully. I've never seen anyone explain this concept more clearly

[@mrbisse1]

That was great! Thanks!

[@ARC9652]

I need a full list of every track used in this vid

[@AndreFernandesMovies]

same

[@alejandropineiro2960]

Same

[@Ventilatueur]

I don't know them all, but surely someone will be able to fill the blanks! 0:01 The path of Miracle: 4 Santiago by Joby Talbot 1:40 I don't know, My guest would be some Whitacre 3:20 no idea, but it's nice! 5:30 Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo 6:19 The Lamb by John Tavener 7:45 Vespers: 6 Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninov 8:50 The Path of Miracle again (4th movement) by Jody Talbot

[@calebruziska5975]

3:20 is part II of Hymn to St. Cecilia by Benjamin Britten

[@bedrosbb]

1:40 Pärt-Nunc Dimittis 2:40 Harris-Faire is the Heaven 9:40 Handel-Zadok The Priest

[@dzlfiqar]

this channel is so greatly underrated, you deserves millions of subs and views

[@Koyaanissparris]

I was almost completely distracted by the excellent singing in the background from choirs I know and love. ;) Great video though, never occured to me that we singers actually may change formants to better match the overtones!

[@ironmonger100]

A fascinating documentary, explained with clarity, thank you

[@christianjeffress5312]

Incredibly informative and entertaining as well, thank you very much

[@kamila.4305]

Omg, your channel is what I’ve been looking for a long time

[@sophelet]

Thank you for your excellent, attractive, informative video. Really fascinating. I miss singing in ensembles desperately in this long struggle with the coronavirus; most weeks I have two rehearsals and one "performance" (a service in an Episcopal (Anglican) church), and choral singing and conducting have been central to my life. Now there is only a void until we can gather to sing and listen again. Thank you for this reminder. Well done with amplifying the harmonics at the end!

[@garaughty]

Brilliant insights and analysis !!!

[@Ryan-wr8fx]

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who loves choral music. It's some of the most peaceful music I've ever heard.

[@alexchristodoulou]

The best moment though was that victorious smile of yours in the end!

[@suzannec7497]

Ii used to play around with this when I was a kid, not knowing why. I have since then sung and taught opera for the last 50 years! Thanks for such a great video.

[@MrGeorgeBaj]

Man, what a great video! Thank you for the inside look.

[@jacobspeth6464]

Please do us all a favor and never stop making these videos!

[@ericrawson2909]

I had to replay that many times over from 4:40 where Anna Maria controls the harmonics. I would never have imagined that was possible. Totally amazing. This is one of the best videos I have seen in a long time.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you! I know, it's amazing what she can do.

[@katherineheasley6196]

I sang with my college choir, which was pretty good; not professional level, but it was good. I miss it a lot. There's something so satisfying about joining your voice with others. I hope I'll be able to find a good choir to sing with in the future. Thank you for this video.

[@michaelpaulsmith4619]

I very much enjoyed this video. Thank you. I'm just wondering whether a string quartet might get close to 'true' intonation since all string players know that playing an f sharp is very slightly different from playing a g flat. But I do applaud this and all your videos... such clarity and scholarship.

[@flaconsius]

Great Video. I discovered Choir singing quite late in my life, but it became a pasison.

[@quinterbeck]

Very interesting to learn how formants relate to choral tuning, fantastic video. As a linguist, I'm only disappointed that you didn't go into fact that formants define vowel quality! (e.g. [i] 'ee' is low F1, high F2; [u] 'oo' is low F1, low F2 etc.) I am curious where the resonances given for the pharynx and mouth at 4:01 come from - my understanding was that the way articulation precisely relates to the formants produced is complex and not yet well understood. So I'm surprised to see specific resonant frequencies shown here.

[@Eriblu]

Well then i suppose i will sleep later

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

well, i have a playlist containing choral songs about sleep or rest

[@Hari-jb5hj]

@@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083 please share it

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

@@Hari-jb5hj Here Only in sleep - Erik Esenvalds kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKezqqGDfpuIo8U Grace before sleep - Susan LaBarr kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGrQlGqreNdsfas Music of Stillness - Elaine Hagenberg kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXyXaZRmh9h5fsU

[@matthewhouston2376]

Fantastic video! I came into the video a little apprehensive because I am an extremely picky musician and I take choral music very seriously. You chose great choirs and great pieces to play as examples, and even accurately identified many subtle nuances to choral technique. Many college educated musicians don't understand the cultivation behind good choral music, so bravo! However, I will say that "professional singers" are different than "professional choral singers". Actually most professional singers do not do great ensemble work... at least in America. Developing a voice for choir and developing a voice for solo work are two different roads, as you hinted at towards the end of the video. I am currently trying to navigate my way down both roads at the same time, wish me luck!

[@mattnbin]

You are so right!!! The solo voice is different than choral. I guess there is a place for the operatic style, but for some reason many Americans seem to think that using opera voice in choirs is acceptable. Personally I cannot stand to hear them!! Even solo voices I prefer with little or no vibrato at all.

[@valaya.3]

Wow!! Most of the science of this I already knew, but your application of it and especially with the formats is super interesting and eye opening. KZbin really knows me haha. I think this may also help me to be a better singer, to remember and be more mindful of my vowel shapes. Ah, if only I could be back in my old choir under that wonderful director

[@lindsaycole4077]

Fascinating - a joy to the eye and ear as with all your videos. Such a wide range of topics too. Can't wait for the next one.

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you Lindsay!

[@kamila.4305]

You’re doing great stuff

[@hervedavidh4117]

Such a great video for us members of choir! Thank You!

[@guitarandrums]

I watch this video every few months. I love it.

[@pjbdm1517]

lmao the little smile at the end after the harmonics, im sure thats one hell of a party trick for the uninitiated.

[@marodrey]

Fantastic video! Amazing powers! Thank you!

[@ukaszk.8305]

Very insightful, thank you!

[@launchfromphobos]

omg quite an insight. It's absolutely mindblowing for me

[@Fumozart]

The video ended with one of my favourites from Handel

[@fernandaabud8491]

I love your videos! So interesting to nurture our minds with your essays.

[@aadityakiran_s]

This content is great. Just keep at it. You'll make it.

[@musical_lolu4811]

Growing up in the Anglican church and being an organist for years I've found that question difficult to answer. Dunno if this video makes any much difference to that lol. Appreciate it though.

[@mattnbin]

What question?

[@sergechorny9916]

Thank you so much man, I've been looking for information about formants for a long time and you are the first one to make it so clear. And your personal example is very motivating:)

[@ListeningIn]

My pleasure!

[@Jonathantuba]

Fascinating, thank you for posting!

[@stephenweigel]

good video! Voces8 has some really incredible by-ear tuning in their singing.

[@AtulJataayu]

Splendidly explained. Thank you.

[@ListeningIn]

My pleasure!

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

What I learnt from this is that as a musician who wants to use his own voice to create this choral like effect by recording voices in multiple takes then I have a dilemma because I cannot tune each voice live to the other voices in the moment. However, I see plenty of others doing it so they must be doing something to overcome this issue. Maybe retakes or maybe they hear the sounds (music) in advance (yeah I know that's supposed to happen) and therefore they enter with the correct ad(just)ments. Thanks for sharing this. It was super interesting. I've already watched it twice and expect to watch it a few more times yet.

[@andyputra5338]

Where music meets science, it delivers the best experience.

[@novasomar2623]

Very good job

[@molybdnum]

If you want some real wild formant manipulation as in overtone singing but in a more traditional choral approach, look to barbershop. Probably the most alarmingly in-your-face example of an overtone 'lock' on youtube is The Vagrants - Chordbusters March .

[@alex-ni5ko]

As a music major studying voice, this is perfect

[@DevashishGuptaOfficial]

So beautifully presented! ❤️

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you Devashish!

[@henrymontgomery5196]

Great Video!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you Henry!

[@RemedyUnderTheSun]

I can't thank you enough for this video.

[@michellec3871]

Thank you for making this video! It is really fascinating!

[@NomeDeArte]

Hahaha, good for that armonic series. Great video!

[@SoundsGoodChannel]

so cool! i loved the formants explanation. it was quite elucidating to see it in that visual representation!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you!

[@bret6484]

Dude, the handwriting and the pencil scratching is so satisfying. I love the treble clefs :)

[@okjhum]

Yes but it disturbs me to see the G clefs tied to the Bess line instead of the G line. Apart from that little detail, I highly agree with all the praising comments.

[@DanielKRui]

What are all the names of the music featured in this? I know the Rachmaninoff at 7:50-8:28

[@brycedelany8211]

At 6:23 is a song called “the lamb”

[@bedrosbb]

Opening is (the final movement? of) Path of Miracles by Joby Talbot

[@barisam35]

There's also Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo

[@grantheineman]

Always love and appreciate the effort you put into your videos man. You should check out Barbershop Harmony!! My personal favorite just intonation vocal music -- since it revolves around V7 chords the sevenths get to be really flat and in tune

[@sitrakaforler8696]

Yes. GREAT VIDEO MAN !

[@hannahh8119]

I'm far from being a professional singer but I really really miss singing in my choir this year... 🎶

[@johnfrobin]

Excellent work! Thank you.

[@jenniferchough]

Damn but I love a good choir singing Britten! Miss my choir buddies so much!

[@andrenewcomb3708]

Kind of like covering all their bases at the same time . . . as long as they don't suppress their friend (harmonic). Rotundas/domes of churches help add to the completeness. It's why string sections are so numerous, so that the palette has a good foundation (backdrop) before taking listeners on a journey.

[@AnjaHuebel1]

That was fascinating, thank you! In my youth I played the viola in various orchestras. These days I'm an amateur singer and I think I try subconsciously to find this just intonation. Sometimes , though, that strategy is not so useful, for example when singing complex Bach harmonies with orchestra and keyboard instruments, which of course use well-tempered intonation.

[@RafaelRivasFLores]

Wow wonderful explanation! I love it!