John, in principle we proceed as Leeneia describes; the singers, though very proficient and good music readers, must learn their parts individually at home, since my arrangements tend to be much more difficult than the few ones I uploaded to Mudcat as contributions to discussions.

For common rehearsals, an ordinary piano suffices.

CDs have the disadvantage that the only thing the singer can influence is the volume. The same applies to MIDI files when played straightforward, e.g. using the Windows Media Player. We want to control some parameters during the individual training, particularly including the relative volume between the singer's own part and the rest of the arrangement. Some time ago I tried "vanBasco's Karaoke Player" and found it usable for the purpose; now I am looking for alternatives (also for Linux), and reports from persons who used them.

Of the contributors to this thread, only Bill D seems to have any experience with that sort of software. --

Like many Mudcatters, I sometimes feel like founding a church, not only to save taxes, but mainly to preach when nobody can escape. I am not sure whether I'd use MIDI files or play myself. In either case, my congregation will not be allowed to delay the tempo, otherwise I'll sack them and elect a new African-American congregation.