Just as in a symphony orchestra, the choirs and instruments of a choir follow the codes of a score directed by a conductor.

Just as there are score and tablature sites for guitar and piano, there are also platforms dedicated to choral scores. Within vocal ensembles, a choral score is used in particular to determine the distribution of voices in the choir, and to assign roles to soloists and instruments performing a piece sung in chorus. Are you looking for digital scores to work on new pieces with your vocal ensemble? Newzik takes a look at the anatomy of a choral score, and has unearthed 5 reliable websites where you can download new digital scores to enrich your choral repertoire.

What is the structure of a choral score?

Zooming in on the anatomy of a choral score

A choral score contains several necessary indications concerning the performance of a work by a vocal ensemble. In addition to classic data such as work title, arrangement, publisher, composer and lyricist, a score is segmented into several parts:

First of all, there is a header with general information, including :

• Tempo: this indicates the speed at which the piece is to be played.

• Rhythm signature (bar): like 4/4, 3/4, etc. This signature indicates how many beats each bar contains. For example, if the rhythmic signature of a piece is 4/4, this means that a quarter note corresponds to one beat, and that 4 beats can be played in a bar.

• The tonality indicates the major tonic of the musical composition (e.g. C major, A minor).

• Indications of nuances that enable the singer to identify the intensity at which to perform the extract: Mezzo Forte (moderately strong), Forte (strong), Fortissimo (very strong), Fortississimo (very, very strong).

Next, we find the staves of the score:

• Separate staves for each voice are distinguished by the terminologies Soprano (S), Alto (A), Tenor (T), and Bass (B).

• Systems that group together the different voices for each measure of music.

• Text lines with lyrics

  • The lyrics are written under the notes for each voice.

  • Translations of lyrics are sometimes provided as footnotes.

• phrased and technical indications:

  • Slurs and breakpoints indicate where to link notes and where to pause in the musical excerpt.

  • Articulations such as phrased staccato, which contrasts with the musical technique of legato.

  • Breaths are often indicated by a comma or a specific sign.

• Specific annotations such as historical or interpretative references (context of the work, performance suggestions) or conductor's annotations (advice on difficult passages, dynamic adjustments).

The score generally concludes with a double bar at the end, indicating the end of the piece. Some scores include indications of reprise or coda to conclude the work.

💬 Are you new to music theory and notation? Find all our tips here to help you learn to read a score more easily !

5 websites to download your choral scores

You've scoured the websites where you can download piano sheet music and guitar tablature, but haven't managed to find the score you're looking for for your choir? Vary your musical repertoires: discover here 5 platforms where you'll find mainly paid or free access digital sheet music dedicated to choral singing!

1. Voxchori

Also known as "La Voix des Chorales", the Voxchori platform is 100% dedicated to the free sharing of resources for choirs. On the site, you'll find two types of content: scores and voices to rehearse. These scores and resources are available for different types of choir (single or multi-voice, mixed voices, but also for equal voices).

The platform's resources are classified according to different levels (from easy to difficult) and styles (from medieval to contemporary). As for the types of compositions, these are drawn from different cultures (from Western Europe, but also from other continents). Gospel, wedding, pop music, medieval... Several themes are listed among the categories of choral scores.

💡 A search menu with filtering by score name and composer name is also available right from the Voxchori home page.

2. Euro Choral

Euro Choral has been in business for some 30 years, and its website offers an enriched repertoire of scores for choral conductors and choristers. Part of the platform offers the sale of digital scores in PDF format.

The site's eclectic repertoire features scores in a wide range of musical genres: French chanson, variety, world music, sacred song, opera, contemporary and gospel. It's also possible to search for scores by period of composition (Middle Ages, Renaissance, etc.) and type of vocal formation (mixed-voice, equal-voice, etc.).

💡 Some scores are offered in two different difficulty levels (easy or advanced) and in a cappella or piano accompaniment versions.

3. Musical scores

Sheet music platform dedicated to all ensembles (choirs, orchestras, bands, but also singing practice), Partitions-musicales.net is a site featuring a wide repertoire of sheet music. Classical music, art songs, jazz standards, pop hits: the platform features sheet music of every musical aesthetic.

The platform offers sheet music lists for mixed choirs, women's choirs, men's choirs and children's choirs. For a fee, some of these scores are available as digital downloads from the site.

💡 Order online at partitions-musicales.netscores can be downloaded as PDFs or delivered to your home. Once received, you can scan them and save them in your Newzik sheet music library or shared cloud.

4. Free Scores

Free Scores ' digital score library includes a section dedicated to choral scores.

You can filter your selection of choral scores according to musical aesthetic, number of voices in the vocal ensemble, instrumentation, publisher and even desired difficulty.

Depending on your preferences, the Free Scores platform offers sheet music purchase in the form of an online digital download or by post.

💡 Looking for specific choral sheet music with indications for voice and guitar and piano accompaniment? This type of sheet music is available on the Free Scores website.

5. Éditions à cœur joie

The website editionsacoeurjoie.fr is a "choral store" with a catalog including PDF scores for two, three and four voices (equal or mixed voices) and a wide selection for children's voices.

There are also collections of sheet music and other resources such as MP3s, books and accessories. The editionsacoeurjoie. fr site enables users to place two orders: one for downloadable sheet music in PDF format, and a second for sheet music in paper format.

💡 Editionsacoeurjoie.fr offers a subscription system to access the latest additions to the catalog (you'll find different subscription formulas depending on the configuration of your choir and your preferences). This subscription allows you to receive personalized choral scores every quarter.

🎶 As a choral conductor, do you want to annotate and pass on revised scores to your ensemble even outside your choir lessons? Try out the Newzik application where you can save your scores and annotate them at any time. With Newzik, you can easily import your scanned scores! The application supports JPEG, PNG, PDF, XML, MusicXML, TXT and MXL formats. Now it's up to you!