Step 3- Tailor your improvisation exercises to the size of your group (a.k.a “Don’t play ‘small group’ games if you do not have a small group.”)
Large Group Improvisation Games (20 or more students/members)
1) Call and response
a. Begin a repetitive chord progression on the piano or with a circle song
b. Choose one student to be the “leader.” He or she sings a short improvised riff over the chord progression and the ensemble immediately repeats it.
2) Improvise with repertoire
a. Eric Whitacre’s “Sleep.” Teach the students the last six bars, starting on measure 69. Have one section hold a note (like the sopranos) and the other sections improvise a two-note progression, and repeat it several times. Every time they repeat the progression, they should adjust/alter their notes to fit the developing tonality.
(The ACDA National Conference is just one of the many benefits of membership in the American Choral Directors Association. Join ACDA today.)
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