Help: Alto Part in Songs

[Tankhead02]

Undoubtly for me and most people i think...the hardest part to here sometime is the alto part.....i get it and can teach it most time....but wat is a good rule of thumb when listenin for and teaching the alto part? I can hear the soprano and tenor part very well....just give me some pointers please....im alittle new in the ministry so thanks for your help....God Bless

[jonesl78]

Undoubtly for me and most people i think...the hardest part to here sometime is the alto part.....i get it and can teach it most time....but wat is a good rule of thumb when listenin for and teaching the alto part? I can hear the soprano and tenor part very well....just give me some pointers please....im alittle new in the ministry so thanks for your help....God Bless

If you are familiar with basic triads of a scale, 1=Major 2=Minor, and so on, you could use this concept to try to figure out the alto part. For example, if a song is in Eb Major and it just so happens that you already figured out the tenor part (Ab) and Soprano part, (Eb);  then more than likely the the alto part is a "C" because this forms an Ab major chord. This is not always the case but it is a good starting point for a process of elimination.

[ferrente]

Welcome To LGM,  Tankhead02

[Maestro87]

Honestly the only thing that I can tell you is to pick up some of your favorite CD's and practice really listening for the Alto parts.  Force yourself to listen critically for those inner parts.  Practice and patience, Practice and patience.

[TaffyApple]

I know what you mean.  My friend was singing "Available To You" and she was singing the alto part the entire song.  It sounded like a different song. 

When I listened to the actual song, I still have a hard time hearing the alto part.  The alto part is definitely the hardest part to hear and sing.

[divinemusician]

Undoubtly for me and most people i think...the hardest part to here sometime is the alto part.....i get it and can teach it most time....but wat is a good rule of thumb when listenin for and teaching the alto part? I can hear the soprano and tenor part very well....just give me some pointers please....im alittle new in the ministry so thanks for your help....God Bless

wow really? I find it so easy to hear the alto and then soprano and tenor... once i pick up that alto key i am so good to go.. i guess becasue i am a alto and have always tried to hear my parts when listening to a song in choir rehearsal it started to come natural now as a musician and on the praise team i can teach parts because i guess i trained my ear to hear those different keys

[seemunny]

Man, this sounds like a version of "Where's Alto?"....i think he's the one over there, with the red & white stripe shirt on!

Very elusive and very hard to find!
Why yall giving me that look? lol

[divinemusician]

Man, this sounds like a version of "Where's Alto?"....i think he's the one over there, with the red & white stripe shirt on!

Very elusive and very hard to find!
Why yall giving me that look? lol

cause you crazy...lol

[musallio]

Some posts I see here scare me..
Is it really that difficult to find choir parts when you know how a song goes in general?

In the few choir practices I've visited, the guy in charge would normally make the group sing, then if some1/ a certain group was getting their part wrong, he'd hum/ sing/ the specific part with them & just play it on the board..& he'd proceed to show them how all the parts fit together by playing full chords.
Maybe that's why I've always thought it's not very difficult finding the parts, but what is dif is being patient enough with everyone to sing their arts correctly

[Angel4ever]

I know what you mean.  My friend was singing "Available To You" and she was singing the alto part the entire song.  It sounded like a different song. 

When I listened to the actual song, I still have a hard time hearing the alto part.  The alto part is definitely the hardest part to hear and sing.

I sing alto also, I still have a hard time with that song. I can teach the soprano and the tenor part but the alto I can't hear it at all.

wow really? I find it so easy to hear the alto and then soprano and tenor... once i pick up that alto key i am so good to go.. i guess becasue i am a alto and have always tried to hear my parts when listening to a song in choir rehearsal it started to come natural now as a musician and on the praise team i can teach parts because i guess i trained my ear to hear those different keys

When I was younger the alto part use to be easy for me to hear and to sing. Even though I could sing soprano, I loved sing alto. Maybe because cause it the most challenging part. I joined a community choir last year, I am lost at the alto part ( thats probably because I stopped singing 2 yrs prior). I hope I get back to singing it naturally again.

[jonesl78]

Some posts I see here scare me..
Is it really that difficult to find choir parts when you know how a song goes in general?

IMO, this is what makes gospel music somewhat challenging. Developing a good ear is very important if you want to sing most of the contemporary songs.  In most genres of music, choir parts are already written down and it is just a matter of reading and playing. Basic sightreading can take a matter of months up to a year. Developing your ear can take years.  For example here is the choir parts for the beginning of hezekiah's "lift him up in" in Fm:

He is worthy,  He is worthy, He is worthy,
Fm 1st inv.     CM 2nd inv.    AbM 3rd inv

To see this and apply it is just a matter of knowing your basic triads. To hear this( for me) was challenging and still is at times. At the same time, this is no different than trying to learn a song by ear. Eventually, you find that everything in music is a pattern and can be conquered.           

[musallio]

IMO, this is what makes gospel music somewhat challenging. Developing a good ear is very important if you want to sing most of the contemporary songs.  In most genres of music, choir parts are already written down and it is just a matter of reading and playing. Basic sightreading can take a matter of months up to a year. Developing your ear can take years.  For example here is the choir parts for the beginning of hezekiah's "lift him up in" in Fm:

He is worthy,  He is worthy, He is worthy,
Fm 1st inv.     CM 2nd inv.    AbM 3rd inv

To see this and apply it is just a matter of knowing your basic triads. To hear this( for me) was challenging and still is at times. At the same time, this is no different than trying to learn a song by ear. Eventually, you find that everything in music is a pattern and can be conquered.           

Ditto!
It is the toughest thing indeed to develop one's ear..I still struggle to figure out parts from contemporary songs..It can take me the whole day to figure out 1 song!
I can hear the bass & the soprano/ melody note, but the alto is indeed difficult to pick up from recordings..it's especially worse if you don't have a wide range of chords in your pocket...The more you listen to recordings though, as you said, the more you start to pick up stuff with less difficulty..

To pick up the alto, I normally rely on the soprano part.