Rehearsing Your Choir with YouTube

Comments

1. Marie Grass Amenta says

   March 4, 2011 at 5:16 pm

   Hi Philip,

    

   Meant to respond yesterday and was hoping I wasn’t too late….I’m disappointed no one else has said anything.

    

   I think so much depends on what kind of choir/chorus you direct.  When directing a high school or college group, unless you are truly doing something really difficult, I say make the kids work on it–woodshed, get together themselves etc.–you are just giving them a crutch with things like this.  I remember as an undergrad in music school buying a recording of a  work (Thompson’s “Peaceable Kingdom”) and singing along with it and mentioning it to my choir director–he about had a canniption fit! Musicianship has to be worked on and the place to have the foundation built is when you are young.

    

   In the real world I live in now, I give my singers–I direct a semi-professional chamber choir made up of choir directors, music teachers and music advocationists–CDs burned with parts, recordings and links to YouTube performances and YouTube ChoirParts (only of few things in our rep are in their library at this point).  Anything to help them learn the parts–they’re busy people–and I’m not above tap dancing if I have to to get them to learn them!

    

   I’m sure others can add to my humble ideas.

    

   See you in My Town next week!

    

   Marie

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