Choir Practice with Superscope

By Rev. Barbara Lorchbach Naperville, Illinois United Church of Christ At Hope Church, music is an important part of our worship service. We're not the largest of choirs, but we put our hearts into it. Like many church choirs, we sometimes use CD accompaniment both for practice and performance. Many of the CDs that we use for practice are "split track" choral recordings that separate parts into the right and left channel.

When we were in the market for a new CD player, we looked for one with a balance control knob to turn down the right or left track to isolate parts. We also wanted a CD player that was very portable and one that produced quality sound output. The Superscope PSD230 portable CD player fit the bill to a T!

In fact, because the unit is specially designed for music rehearsal, it does things that boom boxes and "Walkman"-type CD players simply can't do. It's about the size of a hymnal and is battery operated. For Sunday worship, we connect it to our sound system, and use it occasionally for prerecorded accompaniment for soloists or to play background music at the start and end of the service. Since our church meets in a middle school every Sunday, our entire sound system must be broken down and stored from week to week, so portability is important.

In addition to having the balance control and sound quality we wanted, it has EQ controls, a built-in speaker, a microphone input, and stereo outputs for hooking it up to portable speakers or a larger sound system. For rehearsals with the Hope choir, I use it with a pair of powered computer speakers and crank up the volume. I can even plug a mic directly into the Superscope unit and use it as a small PA.

The key and tempo controls are very valuable for music rehearsals. Some songs I want to use aren't in the key that is best for our group or for a given soloist (including myself). The PSD300 lets me easily change a song's key by pressing a button. I can raise the key a step or half step while the tempo stays the same. It sounds great and works like a charm. Less often, I might adjust the tempo of a song. When I do, the CD player will retain the original key. There is even a button that lets me automatically repeat a section of music that I want to focus on. I can avoid rewinding, as in the old days of tape, or waiting to get to that part of the song on CD, as with our old CD player.

A lead vocal reduction switch can even reduce a lead, which can make even a standard store bought CD a specialty accompaniment CD. This lead vocal reduction only works, however, for stereo recordings when the vocal is centered between the right and left channels.

Our singers like to plug a mic into into the unit, and monitor their singing with headphones as they manipulate songs on CD and sing along. It's convenient enough to slip into a purse or bookbag, and take home for extra practice before a performance.

We're very pleased with the Superscope CD player. It's a great little practice aid.

Note: Our PSD230 production run has ended, but you can still enjoy the same fantastic music practice features in our dual drive CD recorders, now enhanced with even more valuable tools.

Also see Superscope CD Recorders in Houses of Worship

Resources

• Superscope CD Recorders
• Superscope CD Recorder System Packages
• King of Kings Lutheran Church
• Easy CD Recording for All Ministries
• Superscope Sound Systems in Houses of Worship
• American Choral Director's Assocation
• Chorister's Guild