Should you make a virtual choir?
By: Sara Langworthy, PhD
Founder of DeveloPlay, LLC
It depends.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news in the choral world at all, you know that it doesn’t look good when it comes to singing together anytime soon. Choral organizations all over the world are now tasked with figuring out how to move forward in planning ANYTHING in-person when so much is uncertain.
The reality is we’re going to be living in this online space for a while, so we’d better get used to it.
In the first few weeks after COVID-19 came on the scene, we saw an explosion of virtual choir videos on our social media feeds. Popularized by composer Eric Whitacre many years ago, this technique has singers recording themselves singing their parts alone to their webcams or phones. Then videos are edited together to create a virtual choir performance.
And in the time of COVID-19 so far, we’ve seen some really moving and excellent virtual ensemble performances. This post over on Chorus Connection highlights a few really great ones.
But…it’s not as simple as it seems to pull off. 😆
(This is why we can’t have choir rehearsal on Zoom.)
Unfortunately, lots of well-meaning friends and colleagues have casually suggested “just do a virtual choir” since we can’t sing together in-person. As many others have pointed out, this is very difficult in the school choir context, and even for adult choirs or larger choral organizations with more resources, it requires expertise and money that most organizations hadn’t planned for.
The backlash against virtual choirs is understandable. Especially for those new to video editing, putting together a virtual ensemble will take many hours, (and likely a good amount of *headdesk*) to produce. Hiring professionals is an option, but depending on who you work with, how many ensemble members you have, and how quickly you need it done, it can be really costly.
However, I’d hate to see people write off doing a virtual choir just because it seems too hard.
As a choral singer, and a video producer, I’m a big proponent of the virtual choir as ONE potential way to engage effectively with your singers and your audience.
I’ve even created some free resources explaining the process for people who want to try to take on a virtual choir project of their own, and offer editing help for those who don’t.
It’s possible, but not easy.
However, whenever people ask me if they should do a virtual choir, my answer is always: IT DEPENDS.
A virtual choir can be a really powerful tool, or it can be a waste of time. It all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.
Here are some questions to consider as you’re thinking about whether or not to put together a virtual choir:
What goal are you trying to accomplish with a virtual choir?
If your goal is to try to maintain connection with your singers and provide them an outlet to socialize and sing together, a virtual choir may not be the best option. Consider virtual rehearsals instead as a way to engage with your singers.
If, however, your goal is to stay connected with your audience, a virtual choir might be a really great way to provide some music they’ll enjoy and share with people they know. As an outreach strategy, it’s not a bad one, though do consider that because “everyone is doing it” there’s likely to be some competition for attention.
You could also use a virtual choir as a part of a larger virtual event. If you’re starting to think about performance or fundraiser options, then you may be best served by putting your time and resources into producing a virtual event. The video featured here is the virtual gathering I co-produced several weeks ago for the National Lutheran Choir.
Other groups have jumped on this opportunity as well. Here is a great how-to guide from Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir on putting together a great and engaging virtual event.
Do you have the time to learn to video edit, or do you know someone who can edit for you with the resources you have available?
Let’s face it. Most choral organizations don’t have the capacity to have a full time video producer on staff. This means, you, or someone else who is a part of the organization, are going to need to devote the time necessary to learn to edit these virtual choir videos effectively.
It may not be worth your time or energy to spend your effort learning to video edit, especially when resources are tight. So, you could hire a professional to do it, or get scrappy and see if one of your singers or supporters happens to have video editing as a part of their bailiwick and wants to donate some time to put videos together. You won’t know who is interested in helping you out until you ask. (I got my start as a video producer for choral organizations, by volunteering some editing time for the National Lutheran Choir several years ago.)
Do you have the copyright for this piece of music?
Copyright is probably the biggest hurdle for most virtual choir pieces. Here’s what I recommend to all my clients: Reach out to the publisher and ask about a synchronization license. That is the type of license you need to put your video of a piece of music online. It’s different than a mechanical or performance license. And synchronization licenses often (but not always) cost money.
How much money? Well, I’ve heard rumblings of anything ranging from free up to $1-2K per piece, per year depending on the publisher and the piece of music.
In fact, I suspect in the coming months we’ll see self-published composers could get really creative about packaging a synchronization license into their pricing as a marketing tool to make it much easier for groups to perform their music online to share it with a broader audience.
Is the outcome worth the resources?
For a virtual choir, it’s worth considering whether the value you get out of it is worth the resources (time or money) you put in to it. Just because “everyone else is doing it” is not a good enough reason to do a virtual choir piece.
For years, I’ve been a big proponent of choral organizations getting creative with using video to share their music more broadly. (I’ve written previously about how I worked with the National Lutheran Choir on live-streaming their concert programs online as a part of a larger strategy for growing online audiences.)
And now, when we’re going to be operating in online spaces for the foreseeable future, it’s even MORE important for choral organizations to figure out how to work in virtual environments to best share their music and mission. Virtual programs, fundraising events and sing-a-longs are other ways to potentially reach your audience, engage with your singers, and raise funds.
A virtual choir is only ONE of many ways to make music during social distancing.
As the months of social distancing drag on, choral organizations are going to have to grapple with questions of mission, outreach, relevance and value. Choruses are going to have to get really creative with the opportunities and constraints of virtual spaces. And I have no doubt choirs will rise to the challenge and create some really powerful music in the process.
Because we cannot keep from singing.
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Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for help to create a your virtual choir, or need someone to talk with about developing a new digital strategy in the time of COVID-19, let’s talk! I provide free one-hour consultations. Get it touch over here!
And here’s the link to those virtual choir resources I mentioned as well.