the swingle singers FAQs

you can ask more by emailing the webmasters
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
* How do I find out where the swingle singers are performing?
All the information about upcoming concerts is on our diary page. The fastest way to get there while navigating the site is to click on 'future shows' in the Quick Links menu on the left of every page.
* Are you going to perform anywhere near where I live?
The best thing to do to make sure you don't miss us is to sign up to our mailing list. The fastest way to get there while navigating the site is to click on 'join the mailing list' in the Quick Links menu on the left of every page. We will let you know in advance when we come to your town !
* How can I buy a CD?
You can buy most of the older recordings in the shops. Yet, we are distributing most of our recent CDs ourselves so you best order on this website or an online distributor like amazon. In the US please buy through our friends at Primarily A Cappella (www.singers.com)
* How can I buy Sheet Music?
Many of our 972 arrangements (estimated) are available as sheet music. You can order recent arrangements on this website. For Ward Swingle arrangements visit www.wardswingle.com, for others www.kikapust.com.
* How do I contact the swingle singers?
Please go to our contact page - you can write to each of the singers, our agents, our office staff... even to our sound engineer !!!
* How can I book the swingle singers?
Visit our agents page ! For any inquiries outside the agents territories please contact our London office
THE GROUP / HISTORY
* Aren't the swingle singers French?
The original group was indeed french, with the exception of our founder - Ward Swingle. Ward, who was born and grew up in Mobile, Alabama, was living and studying in France when he formed the group with fellow session singers. The french group disbanded in 1973 and Ward moved over to England to form a new incarnation of the group, called "Swingle II" ... but you can read about all this in our history section !!!
* What nationalities are the members of the group today ?
The group is based in London, England but the individual members come from many different places and backgrounds. Currently the line-up includes 4 English, 1 Welsh, 1 Scottish, 1 Israeli and 1 German singer !
* Are there several groups?
No, there is only one group and there are the current eight singers. the swingle singers is not a franchise (like "Lord of the Dance" or many musical productions).
* How long has the current group been together?
The group is constantly evolving - once a singer wants to leave, we will look for a replacement.
* How do you manage to stay healthy with all this travel? Isn't it bad for the voice?
Every singer has to be extremely careful to keep their voice in a healthy state - which isn't easy when you are traveling on planes and staying in hotels with air conditioning all the time !
* What happens when a singer is ill? Are there any deputies?
Being ill is not an option ;-) There are no deputy singers - this wouldn't be possible due to the big and ever-changing repertoire, the complex choreography and ... and the need to blend perfectly with the others . The sound of the group is unique, so it would be difficult if not impossible to have someone dropping in just for a concert.
* How long do people stay in the group for ?
It varies wildly - the current members have been in the group for anything ranging from six months up to seven years. On average we have one member change a year.
* Do you still see Mr Ward Swingle? Is he alive? How is he?
Mr. Swingle is alive and well. He is in his seventies but still very active, giving workshops, writing arrangements and being an adjudicator. He is our "musical advisor" and mentor - and we are his "grandchildren" as he likes to call us !!! He lives now with his wife Françoise just outside Paris. He comes to many of our concerts in France, rehearses with us occasionally, writes arrangements, advises us on musical questions and is just generally very supportive and a wonderful and inspiring person to be around !!!
* How do you join the group? Does the group advertise for new singers?
Once a singers decides to leave (and we are over the first shock), the recruitment/audition procedure kicks in. We usually advertise (in magazines like "The Singer" or "The Stage") and spread the news by word-of-mouth. Then there are several rounds of auditions - the first round will be solo and from the second stage onwards the auditionee will sing swingle singers repertoire together with us. Usually there is a third round where we try to spend more time with the person to find out how compatible they would be socially - an important aspect when you are on tour with each other (as in living together !!) for five to six months each year !
ON STAGE / MUSICAL
* Do you all have perfect pitch?
No, only Tom has perfect pitch. We all have a very good sense of relative pitch though.
* How many songs do you know?
972 - that's how many arrangements there have accumulated in the library over the past 42 years. The "working repertoire" that you will have learnt after the first year includes about 100-150 songs.
* Does it take long to memorize all those songs?
At first it seems impossible to cope with the huge amount of music but after a while each singer develops their own technique of memorizing until it becomes easy.
* How often do you guys rehearse? How many hours a day practice must you do?
In an average week at home in London we would have two days of rehearsals with about five hours of singing. This varies widely though. Things will become more intense when a new singer joins or a new program is coming up. We also tend to rehearse quite a bit on tour - since we are all in one place anyway; whereas in London it takes people about an hour to get to our rehearsal venue !
* Who writes all your arrangements?
The musical director of the group contributes the major part of arrangements. This is complemented by other members of the group and arrangers that are commissioned by the group. Many contemporary music composers have included us in their works though and we enjoy very good working relationships with them. You can learn more about them on our repertoire (visit the 'Music' section and click on 'repertoire') and our associates (visit the 'Friends' section and click on 'associates') pages.
* You all look as if you're having lots of fun on stage - What's it really like?
We do get along very well as a group of people offstage and of course that does help on stage ! We have a big respect for each other as musicians and as persons and we feel very privileged to perform with each other - for you ! Another factor is the extremely varied repertoire: One night we will perform at a Bach-Festival, then in a jazz club, the next night with an orchestra singing contemporary music... it's impossible to get bored. Not to forget our international travel schedule that takes us all around the world - every audience and every country is different !
* Do you have your own Sound Engineer?
Yes, it is essential for us to always have our very own sound engineer with us for this specialized and highly complex music. Phil is a brilliant musician himself and so it's always the nine of us traveling together.
* Is there a tape in the background playing all the instrument sounds?
Many people ask this question after having seen us perform. But all the sounds that you hear during a swingle singers show as well as on most of the records are made by the human voice - or the human body !
* Do you ever sing any words?
The original French group did not sing a single word for ten years !! There is one exception: "Sinfonia", a piece by the italian composer Luciano Berio, that was premiered with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1969! It included, apart from the usual scat, actual lyrics and texts that are recited in different languages throughout the piece. And yes, since then, we've added quite a few arrangements with words - in a wide range of languages.
* Do you use lots of special effects in your shows?
Very few - the swingle sound is very "pure". We do use reverb, sometimes compression and the occasional echo effect.
OTHER
* Why do we not see your new CDs in the shops? Where can I get hold of older recordings ?
All of the recordings of the French group have been reissued on CD. Unfortunately that is not the case with many of the records from the 70's and 80's. For a complete list of recordings, please go to our discography. If the album you are looking for is not currently in print, try some of the specialist online stores listed on our links page.
* Are the swingle sisters the four women when they sing together? This seems to pop up on a search but I can't find the reference.
There are many, many different versions and typing mistakes of our name: We are used to anything from "single swingers" to "swingle fingers" - but most commonly we are called " the swingle sisters" - even after people have seen our show !!! To our knowledge their is no other group with a similar name in existence.[ A side note: an American group tried to cash in our success by recording an album with Bach music under the name of "the single swingers" in the late 1960s. Oh, and then there was this british porn magazine called "Swingle" :-) ]
* ...the question asked by a little boy in Cerritos, California : 'What were you thinking when you joined the swingle singers?'
I think, most of us were screaming and jumping around with joy... ! For many of us it has been a life-long dream to perform with this group and we are all very happy to have the privilege of being part of the history of the swingle singers !
* What microphones do you use ?
We are working with AKG Acoustics and sing on their brand new WMS 4000 microphones. Find out more about them on our sponsor page or www.akg.com !
* Who makes your costumes ?
We have different sets of costumes that we use for different programs. We've engaged many different designers for costumes in the past, but currently we have no coctume sponsor.
you can ask more by emailing the webmasters