PART ONE - SINGING WITH OTHERS (Choir).

Singing with others: A time to blend, a time to stand out.

In singing as in all else,  "There is a time for everything under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

It is as irritating to hear a group of singers singing with individual voices sticking out like wild hairs as it is to hear a soloist sounding they could disappear into the wallpaper. When you do what would otherwise be the right thing at the wrong time, it is inappropriate and ineffective at best.

You need to know both how and when it is appropriate to:

Step out with individual communicative power,
step back to add your important presence and resonance to the blended power of a group of singers in such a way as to make it hard to pick you out of the mix.

For solo or step-out singing:

Make sure you are in the right mindset: As a solo you are SUPPOSED to be heard above anything else.
This is no time to be shy or timid, you should understand that you goal to capture the audience's ear is no ego trip, it's a job description.

If you just wrap your head around that, it will cause you to automatically assume a more distinctive sound so your message can be understood clearly.
When your musical and lyrical delivery has been made you can fade back out of the center of attention until your solo voice is needed again.

For group or choir singing:

Again, make sure you are in the right mindset.
As a group singer you need to blend with other voices or you will distract the audience and detract from the message in the song. How do you do this?

What are your thoughts, success methods and experiences with appropriate or inappropriate vocal tone for solo and group? Comments most welcome.