What is Choir (music)?
{{redirect|Choir}} [[File:Wiener Saengerknaben.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Vienna Boys' Choir]] A '''choir''' or '''choral group''' is a collection of people who [[sing]] together. They typically [[rehearse]] together with a leader and perform [[concert]]s or sing during [[religion|religious]] [[service (religion)|services]]. Some choirs are [[professional]] (the singers are paid for their work in the choir). Some choirs are semi-professional (the leaders are paid at a professional rate for their work with the choir but the singers are not). Some choirs are [[amateur]] or [[Recreation|recreational]] (the leaders are either not paid or are offered an honorarium and the singers are not paid). Some amateur choirs invite anyone who is interested sing with them. Professional, semi-professional, and some amateur or recreational choirs require interested people to [[audition]] and then select their members based on a set of audition criteria. == Parts of a Choir == The singers in choirs are grouped by their voice types and choral music is usually written with distinct lines or [[Part (music)|parts]] for some or all of these voice types. Voice types are typically organized into four groups. From highest vocal range to lowest, these include: * [[Soprano]] (S): typically sung by higher-voiced, adult females or children * [[Alto]] (A): typically sung by lower-voiced, adult females or children and less-typically by males who sing in their [[falsetto]] range * [[Tenor]] (T): typically sung by higher-voiced, adult males * [[bass (vocal range)|Bass]] (B): typically sung by lower-voiced, adult males Music composed for choirs, or choral music, usually has at least two distinct vocal lines or parts that create [[harmony]] with one another. Although four vocal ranges are typically specified, [[Composer|composers]] of choral music often write more than four vocal lines. If the music divides into more than four parts this subdivision is typically shown by repeating the initials of the four voice parts to show which singers should