There are some principles that do not change whether they are for instruments or vocalists.  You will live and die by the music you pick.  You success depends on good music that your choir can sing well.  Every time I break this rule it costs me dearly.  Here are some basic guidelines in picking music and some places to begin learning the repertoire.

You need:

1. Good music.  Pick songs that are well-crafted and fit both the text and the voice.  When you spend a lot of time with anything you will either appreciate it more or less.  A good looking boat that leaks won't get you anywhere.

2. Appropriate music.  This is so important and where you earn your keep.  I have a stack of fine music that I haven't done yet.  Consider these factors:  range, tessitura, rhythm, harmony, independence of parts, accompaniment.  Can your singers sing all the high and low notes?  Do you understand the rhythm well enough to teach it?  Is the harmony understandable to them and are they strong enough singers to hold their own part?

3. Varied music.  There is only so long you can rehearse a slow song and eventually a hard piece will wear them out.  Look at musical style, difficulty, and text.  Select pieces that will appeal to the variety of people in your choir and your audience.

4. Interesting music.  There must be something about a piece that sparks a response:  musical, esthetic, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, visceral, something.  Well-crafted music that does not speak to who we are will not capture you, your choir or your audience.  And if it can't do that then you have the wrong music, and you won't survive if it doesn't.

As a closing note remember this important principle:  You are not picking music for yourself.  You are picking music for your choir and for the audience (whether it's parents, judges or a congregation).  Too many conductors pick music they like at the expense of their choir and audience and don't understand why they struggle.  This doesn't mean you ignore your tastes.  Your tastes must guide you to musically satisfying pieces but temper your stylistic preference with your instrument and its critics.

Finding Good Music
If there ever was a painful and rewarding process it is finding good music.  We spend our musical lives searching for good music for our choirs.  Here are some places to begin looking.

• Begin with music you have done.
  Not only are you benefiting from music you know but you are benefiting from people that gave you your musical heritage.  Cull this ground carefully.  You will learn a lot about your mentors by the music they chose for you.

• Learn from music you hear.
  Listen to other choirs, not only for musical learning but for repertoire.  For every piece I choose there are at least 10-15 pieces I don't choose.  That means for an eight song set there were 80-120 songs considered.  When you listen to a choir you are hearing the "best of" and "most appropriate for" that the director can find.  That, if the director has any worth, is a good place to start.

• Collect programs.
  Keep every program from every concert you hear and make notes as you listen.  If a song is terrible then cross it off.  Mark the ones you like and order some of them.  Also, look for published sources.  The Choral Journal publishes a list of All-State repertoire every year.  Here you are benefiting from the opinions of the finest conductors our nation offers.  You can also find programs on the internet now if you know where to look.

• Listen to recordings.
  This is not as helpful for high school or middle school choirs when you are listening to a professional choir.  But very often you will find pieces that you can do, and you also learn about choral composers.  Perhaps the piece they do is too difficult but if you find others by that composer it will give you a point of reference.  It is also a great way to learn what a choir can sound like.  This benefit is priceless.

Music Dealers
Every dealer below is a national retailer that is experienced and able to provide you quality choral music.  It is not an exhaustive list but a very good place to start.