When people are located in different places and can’t meet physically, the solution is to connect online. With the pandemic period, people shifted to using online conferencing apps to meet. Zoom meetings work perfectly when there is one speaker at a time, but what of a case of a choir? How can you manage a virtual choir on Zoom?
It’s impossible to synchronize all choir members singing in a Zoom session. So, to do a virtual choir on Zoom, you must simulate a performance where each member sends their pre-record of their vocals, and the choirmaster creates a synchronized mix. Next, members can join a Zoom session and mute their mic such that only the choirmaster can be heard, and members can sing along while on mute. The recorded video can then be edited to add the synchronized mix.
We will begin by understanding whether it’s possible to have s synchronized virtual choir on Zoom. Afterward, we will discuss the steps for creating a virtual choir on Zoom and mention the key tips to focus on to ensure the virtual choir is a success.
Can You Have a Virtual Choir on Zoom?
The pandemic period almost “killed” choirs, but thanks to videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, people could still conduct virtual choirs to rehearse. So, how realistic are virtual choirs on Zoom?
When choir members join a Zoom session, each member uses a different network, meaning their bandwidth is different. In that case, if all members were to sing simultaneously, their vocals couldn’t synchronize.
Singing as a choir relies on timing; an online choir can’t achieve that. But here’s the thing; you can still manage to do a virtual choir on Zoom, and we will see how in the next section.
How To Do a Virtual Choir on Zoom
Simulating an online choir is a challenge for every choir leader. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to synchronize an online choir unless you simulate a performance. The trick is to record the Zoom session with each member singing their part, then add a pre-recorded synchronized mix.
Let’s break down the process.
Create a Set List
The choir leader must create a list of the songs they want to sing during the virtual choir. Create an outline of the songs and, if possible, get the lyrics for the song outlining which vocals should sing in what section.
Share Instructions With Members
Notify the members about the online choir on Zoom. Here, the focus is to request each member to record their harmony. Instruct them on recording, and issue them the lyrics if necessary. Give clear instructions to ensure you get the best recordings.
Also, instruct each member to send their recorded harmony to you.
Receive Pre-Recorded Vocals and Edit
Once you receive the recordings, edit them to ensure they align from start to end. You will need editing software to upload multiple recordings and combine them into one output.
Next, create a mix by mixing the harmony parts depending on the vocal grouping to create a mix of the song. Once you have your choir’s synchronized final audio, you can simulate the performance.
Start the Zoom Virtual Choir
Create a Zoom meeting and invite your choir. Instruct members to mute their microphones and listen to the audio of the synchronized harmony you will play. When listening to the synchronized recording, they should start singing based on their vocal grouping without turning on their microphone.
Once everyone is ready, start the recording and play the audio. Ensure you click on the grid pane to display various members to create different footage for the video. In the end, stop the recording.
Edit the Video
Open the recorded video and edit it to ensure the audio matches the video performance. The idea here is to ensure the mouth movement matches the audio to ensure the audio and video blend together.
Share the Video File
Once the video is ready, export it as a .mp4 file, replay it to confirm the virtual choir synchronized the video and audio, then share it with your choir members or upload it somewhere, such as YouTube and share the link.
That’s how you can do a virtual choir on Zoom using the above six steps.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to synchronize an online choir. However, you can simulate the performance and edit the recorded Zoom video to add the synchronized mix of the choir singing. We’ve seen the steps to follow to create a virtual choir on Zoom using six steps. Follow along, and you will manage to create your virtual choir on Zoom.
