Beyond the Downbeat. Choral Rehearsal Skills and Techniques
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Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
Author: Sandra Willetts
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2000-04
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Label: Abingdon Press
Number Of Pages: 128
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Customer Reviews
Excellent book 
2008-02-19
Highly recommend this book for anyone needing some refresher material in rehearsal techniques. Easy to read, follow and understand, Willettes gives practical examples that can be incorporated into your routine very easily. Good reference material.
Good reference 
2007-02-16
This treatise seems more geared to a school situation with trained singers, however the discussions about intonation and diction are excellent. If your chorus is a community group, just realize that she's writing for school choruses.
Willett's text leaves much to be desired 
2006-06-26
Sandra Willetts has an impressive résumé and wrote an earlier book on choral conducting, so I had higher expectations for this text on choral rehearsal skills and techniques. While there is some useful information here, I did not find as much as I had hoped.
Chapter One covers vocal/choral warm-ups. Other chapters examine diction, singing in Latin, intonation problems, count-singing, score study, as well as other subjects.
This book does have some helpful sections. The concept of eventually making the choir's warm-ups optional and starting ten minutes before rehearsal is a good time saver. I also like that Willetts emphasizes count-singing, score study, and meticulous rehearsal planning.
There are many chapters, however, which are of little or no value. Willetts wastes space covering the basics of singing in Latin (this can be found in many places) and spends 15 pages discussing the myriad sectional formations. While this can affect the sound, many aspects of choral rehearsal are much more vital.
Willetts' book may be helpful to the novice choral conductor with little experience, but I would actually recommend other books first (by John Bertalot and William Dehning). More experienced conductors will find less benefit in Beyond the Downbeat.
