Many choirs have been meeting online for some time now, and different groups will have found their own ways to navigate the intricacies of Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and livestreaming on YouTube and Facebook. The choir leaders involved in the Love Singing project recently met to talk about their own Zoom set ups, how they manage their groups and support their singers to give them the best experiences possible and from this, we’ve distilled our top 10 tips.
We’d love you to join the conversation by adding your own top tips in the comments section at the end of the page and do let us know if there are any technical topics for which we can provide you with ‘how to’ videos or guidance.
10. Mute all participants
One of the most useful features to be aware of as a host is the ability to mute participants. It’s very possible for a participant to disrupt the flow of your session by having their microphone unmuted. Zoom always picks up the loudest sound in the room, and unwanted chatter or background noise can be distracting for both the choir leader and participants – not to mention embarrassing if you’re unaware that your mic is on and you’re unintentionally sharing a private conversation with a family member! You can see who is unmuted through the ‘Participants’ tab – simply select the individual concerned and hit mute. We would also advise ticking the ‘mute participants on entry’ option found in your Zoom account settings to prevent latecomers from disrupting a session which is in progress.
9. Share computer sound/screen
We love the ability to share backing tracks, videos and scores with our choirs through the ‘Share Screen’ function, which is found on the bottom bar of your Zoom meeting. We like to have any files open and ready to share in advance and we always run a sharing test before our sessions, both to refresh ourselves on how to share quickly and to minimise any fumbling at a crucial moment which could disrupt the flow of a rehearsal. You can only share in Zoom if you are a host or co-host, so if someone else is hosting the meeting, they may need to give you permission. When sharing audio or video files, make sure ‘Share sound’ is ticked to get the best sound quality through your computer – if you are only sharing your computer audio, Zoom will select this for you (see the ‘Advanced’ tab to select this option).
8. Having the right equipment
Whilst sharing computer sound may be sufficient for your needs, it’s worth noting that there are limitations. After a lot of testing, we discovered that there can be a delay between your microphone audio and your sound share, which means your live singing may not be synced up with your backing tracks. This problem seems to be more pronounced when hosting calls with larger numbers of participants and can be a symptom of varying internet speeds. We recommend to our participants that they use a wired internet connection if possible, rather than WiFi, and we always ensure that our hosts and co-hosts use ethernet cables connected directly to their routers. We also use a microphone that has an inbuilt audio interface – our mic of choice is the Samson G-Track Pro. This allows us to combine both the backing track and microphone input into one signal, preventing these synchronisation issues. Whilst there are other solutions to this problem, this was the easiest and most reliable for our needs; depending on the size and scale of your sessions, your needs will vary.
7. Use original sound
Whilst currently being used for everything from fitness classes to digital theatre, Zoom was originally made as a video conferencing solution. This means there are some inbuilt features that are great for speech but don’t fit our purpose when running an online choir. The chief culprit here is Zoom’s automatic audio compression which can negatively affect audio quality as it doesn’t allow for the dynamic range or subtleties of music. But there is a solution – original sound. This somewhat hidden setting must first be activated under the ‘audio settings’ menu and once enabled, a button will appear in the top left of our Zoom window enabling us to turn on original sound. Essentially, this means that our singers will hear exactly what our microphone picks up, bypassing Zoom’s automatic audio compression. When working with music, this setting should always be turned on for best quality. Do be aware though that this may affect some other audio settings, so make sure to thoroughly test your sound quality before inviting your choir members in!
6. Use high-quality backing tracks
Having good backing tracks can really take the pressure off during a rehearsal. Rather than struggling with complicated tech setups and live instruments, we’ve found a peace of mind in using pre-made recordings, complete with clear and accurate vocal parts. It has also been invaluable to share these with our choir members, giving them a resource to practise with outside of rehearsals. However, creating or finding these resources can be very challenging, especially if you are working on your own. As part of the Love Singing project, we’re going to create some song resources which will be freely available to download and share. In the meantime, if you have any links to quality backing tracks, please let readers know in the comments section below.
5. Create an accessible experience
All community choir leaders know how important it is to thoroughly consider the needs of their singers and that due to factors outside your control, not everybody will share exactly the same experience. Some will join on computers with large screens, others will watch on a tablet or phone and some may not be familiar with all Zoom’s settings. Anything we can do to streamline the experience will be helpful. We always use the spotlight function when attention needs to be on the choir leader, as this brings them to the forefront regardless of the viewing device being used. It’s also important to have your microphone set to a strong level – being too loud is generally better than too quiet as your participants can always lower their own volume but may not be able to turn it up any higher. We also consider visibility when preparing files to be screen-shared, testing them to make sure that music, text and images are large enough to be read from a phone screen.
4. Leave space to chat
We’ve found that although many of our members join mainly to sing, there are a significant number who equally enjoy connecting with their choir community socially. This hasn’t changed with the move to online, so we leave time at the end of each session for a catch-up and to get to know each other through use of breakout rooms – spaces where smaller groups can chat outside of the main Zoom room. You can set how many people will join each breakout room and can assign attendees manually or randomly. As we’re a large choir, we sometimes suggest topics of discussion to help get the conversation going. We’ve also found it a great opportunity to listen to our singers to gauge how they are finding the sessions as well as to hear feedback on how happy choir is making them!
3. Write your own tech checklist
We’ve touched on this above, but one of the most useful things we do prior to each rehearsal is a tech check and it helps us to keep a technical checklist to make sure nothing gets forgotten about. For us, this involves our team joining the call before letting any choir members in to run through all the technical elements we’ll be using, including checking our microphones, testing playback of backing tracks and screen shares, checking our Zoom settings haven’t changed with any software updates, and making sure the team understands the session structure. As we have multiple co-hosts, we leave time for everyone to run through their individual set ups. It is also very useful to have an extra pair of ears for your tech check, since someone else can listen from a choir member’s point of view and alert you if there are audio issues or your mic can’t be heard. Which leads us on to…
2. Get a helper
At points it feels like there’s a lot that needs to be done to make a session run smoothly. While it is possible to do everything yourself, you can reduce a lot of stress by having a trusted helper. This person could share files and tracks, monitor the chat and mute participants for you, leaving you free to focus on the delivery of the session. It also means that someone is on hand to help with any technical issues that your singers might have. The amount of pressure this can take off is immense! If you don’t have a team or colleagues to work with, you could ask your choir for volunteers – we’ve found that one of the great joys of being part of a choir community is that someone is always delighted to help.
And finally…
1. Keep it fun!
It’s undoubtedly really hard work for choir leaders to deliver fun, engaging rehearsals online without receiving the audio, visual and instinctual feedback that we’d usually feel in person and be able to react to in the moment. We’ve found that singing light-hearted warmups at the start can help to build energy and engage people from the get-go, as can letting go of the tension of getting things wrong by laughing together at any mistakes we make along the way. Keeping it light, remembering to stretch out and being aware of our posture throughout can help with a sense of levity and relaxation, and chatting with choir members helps us to retain that happy, connected community spirit that we all love.
So, that’s our top ten tips. Let us know what yours are in the comments box below.
We’ll be making some help videos and tutorials on various aspects of using Zoom for choir, so if you’d like us to let you know when those are published, sign up to our newsletter. And if you have suggestions of topics you’d like us to cover, please let us know.
Leave a Reply
Comments?