Definition
The African American gospel choir arose in Black churches in the United States in the twentieth century, from spirituals, hymns and blues (Thomas A. Dorsey is considered the father of modern gospel from the 1930s). Today it ranges from traditional gospel (Mississippi Mass Choir) to contemporary (Edwin Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Franklin, Hezekiah Walker, Fred Hammond). Gospel harmony (chords, passing chords, voicings) is covered in the Harmony sheets; here we describe choir writing and direction.
Instrumentation
- Very often three parts: soprano, alto, tenor (SAT). Male basses often sing with the tenors or at the octave; the bass line is given to electric bass and organ.
- A leader (soloist) and sometimes a group of soloists.
- Rhythm section: Hammond organ (B-3 V in V Collection), piano, bass, drums, sometimes guitar and horns.
- The director leads with hand signals: repeat, stop, go up a key, lower the volume.
Teaching by ear
Parts are often taught by imitation (by rote), singing them to the choir section by section, without a score. This favors simple, memorable harmonic blocks, repeated parts and a lot of interpretive freedom.
Typical voicing
- Parallel triads in close position, with the melody often in the sopranos or altos.
- In contemporary gospel, clusters and seconds (e.g. over C: C–D–E or G–A–C), ninth and eleventh chords, sevenths in the choir.
- Strong unisons for key phrases.
- Example over F–Bb/F–F (I–IV/I–I) in F: S: A4–Bb4–A4, A: F4–F4–F4, T: C4–D4–C4.
Call and response
The leader sings a phrase (often improvised or varied), the choir answers with a fixed phrase. The response is short, harmonized and repeatable; the leader can overlap it with ad-libs.
The vamp
The vamp is a short section (2–8 bars) repeated many times, often at the end of the song:
- the choir repeats a single phrase, as a block;
- the leader improvises over it with increasingly intense phrases;
- the band builds in dynamics;
- the director has the key go up by a semitone at a time (step up), even several times;
- the director may have a single section sing, then add the others (sopranos only → altos → tenors → tutti).
The shout (praise break)
A moment of fast tempo and high energy, often instrumental or with very short choral phrases, with organ and drums in strong eighth or sixteenth notes (“shout music”). It is the liturgical and choreographic climax (people dance, clap on 2 and 4).
Other stylistic traits
- Expressive delays and anticipations: the choir “behind the beat”.
- Sudden crescendos and sharp cutoffs marked by the director.
- Modulations: in particular raising the key by a semitone or a whole step for the last repetition.
- Hand clapping on 2 and 4, very full voices (group belting).
Examples
- The Edwin Hawkins Singers — Oh Happy Day (1969): an eighteenth-century hymn rearranged in gospel style, a major international success.
- Kirk Franklin — Stomp (1997): contemporary gospel with funk and hip hop elements.
- Hezekiah Walker — Every Praise (2013): vamp with step ups.
- Aretha Franklin — Amazing Grace (1972, live with the Southern California Community Choir directed by James Cleveland).
Use in pop
The gospel choir is widely used in pop and R&B for final choruses and emotional moments (Madonna — Like a Prayer, 1989; Kanye West — Ultralight Beam, 2016; the Sunday Service choirs). A small choir (8–12 voices) is often recorded several times to simulate a large choir.
Practice exercise
Write a 4-bar vamp in Ab major over Ab–Db/Ab–Ab–Eb/G (I–IV/I–I–V6) for SAT choir with a 3-word response phrase. Plan 4 repetitions with semitone step ups (Ab, A, Bb, B), adding a choir section on each repetition. Record an improvised leader line over it.
Links
Gospel Harmony, Call and Response, Ad-libs and Vocal Runs, Pop Choral Arranging, Modulation Techniques.