An Evaluation of Various Seating Plans Used in Choral Singing

THIS IS A REPORT dealing with the investigation of certain choral seating practices which have gained widespread use throughout the United States.l The problem was to determine whether any particular seating plan provides significant acoustical advantages over other seating plans, and whether any particular seating plan provides significant practical advantages over other seating plans. The seating plans tested and analyzed included these four: (a) the sectional block plan, which places sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses in homogeneous groupings; (b) the quartet plan, which places singers in heterogeneous groupings of four singers each, including a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass; (c) the scatter or scramble plan which, without regard for sectional grouping, organizes compatible pairings or groupings of well-blended voices in such a manner that no non-blending voices are in immediate proximity; and (d) the random distribution plan, in which singers assume positions on the risers without regard for section, voice blend, or any other practical relationship.