There are times when no matter how steadfastly a Cantor maintains the pitch, the congregation's intonation slides downward. My personal favorite is the Creed. There are services where everyone basically stays on pitch. Then, there are services where the pitch slowly begins to slide, culminating in harmony in thirds by the end.

At the center of intonation is the need to maintain pitch by proper breath support- using thoraco-diaphragmatic muscles to support the sound as well as to project it. Those who have not studied voice, singing, or a wind instrument, may be unaware of what is needed.

If any of you who are involved in parish congregational singing have observations about how to work this problem effectively for services, I invite you to share them here. This is not an isolated problem, but recurs wherever congregational a cappella singing is done, and usually there are no rehearsal opportunities where a fix can be practiced.

Jim,

I have seen this problem in a few parishes. Fixing it requires perseverance.

Surround yourself with those who can keep pitch but can also follow your lead. It’s best for any cantor to have 5 or more people standing with him, even if none of them are cantors. They contribute to a solid lead voice. [Very often the drop in pitch can be traced to a very nice individual who cannot carry a tune.]

Also, practice singing the Divine Liturgy with the radio blasting. It will help to develop the ability to keep pitch under challenging circumstances.

Admin / John

Well, I haven't had a problem keeping the pitch, but have noticed some parishioners have decided to move to other pews in an effort to get away from one tone-deaf parishioner. Apart from that, sometimes singing louder does help, though I must admit that once the congregation knows what it needs to do, it is better to crown their efforts than to ride roughshod over them, metaphorically speaking.

Some cantors take the Creed faster, too, but I try to establish a consensus of tempo so that I don't leave some people behind, and as many as possible still sing.

Having a group at the Kliros would be ideal as you suggested. My own parish is going through a lean period in that regard, with several recent cantors suffering illnesses.

It does depend on the source of the intonation problem, as to what is done to fix it. If it's one of the cantors, there may be some training to be suggested.