Scope

(See also the documentation page.)

The Choral Calculator is the result of several years of the author’s research on techniques for selecting repertoire for amateur adult mixed choirs—groups composed of adult individuals of both sexes without professional ties to the choir. As part of his doctoral research, the author focused on the early stages of this musical practice, that is, the first half of the 19th century. Technically, the structure of the Calculator was conceived based on the repertoire composed during this period for such choirs. Nevertheless, despite its historical basis, the functionalities of the Choral Calculator are applicable to repertoires from other periods, earlier or later, provided that the compositional characteristics of the repertoire are mostly aligned with the original repertoire.

This initial version of the Choral Calculator can be used to:

  1. Organize your technical registry of choirs, including multiple versions of the same choir for diagnostic purposes;
  2. Organize your technical registry of choral works, also including multiple versions of the same work;
  3. Issue vocal range alerts in the relationship between a choir and a choral work;
  4. Estimate the rehearsal demand for preparing a work by a choir;
  5. Calculate the mean difficulty level of a work for a choir;
  6. Presume the feasibility or inadequacy of a work for a choir.

The Choral Calculator still has some limitations regarding the repertoire and type of choir. For now, it works only with:

  1. Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass formations;
  2. Defined pitches;
  3. Regular meters—in each measure, all beats have the same duration;
  4. Constant meter or changes of meter between sections of the work;
  5. A single language for the entire poem.

The Calculator does NOT YET cover:

  1. Formations with fewer or more voices, including divisi within the section;
  2. Non-traditional vocal or bodily effects;
  3. Irregular meters—beats with different durations within the same measure;
  4. Constant meter alternation;
  5. Multilingual works.

Access the documentation page to understand the registration of a choir, the registration of a work, and the results of a calculation.