By Molly McLinden For many choral singers, performing can be very intimidating! Although they may have no problem lifting their voices up in song during rehearsals, the thought of spotlights and a live audience terrifies some singers. Stage fright is extremely common among both solo and ensemble performers. The good news is there are several […]
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Unearthing a Lost Masterpiece: A Conversation with Michael Driscoll
Question: You had not heard of the late African-American composer Florence Price until you read a New Yorker article about her in February 2018. As Alex Ross, the author, wrote: “She is widely cited as one of the first African-American classical composers to win national attention, and she was unquestionably the first black woman to […]
The BEST place to buy sheet music is . . . well, it’s complicated
By Elizabeth Alexander, guest blogger When I was growing up, my house was filled with sheet music, with everything from Mozart piano sonatas to Broadway songbooks. My family bought most of it from Childers Music Center, a small storefront run by Dan Childers, also known as “Dandy Dan the Music Man.” In addition to running […]
CJ Replay: The Choral Educator’s Guide to Teaching Outside the “Comfort Zone”
The April 2014 issue of Choral Journal features an article titled “You Want Me to Teach What? The Choral Educator’s Guide to Teaching Outside the ‘Comfort Zone’” written by Kyle Zeuch. Following is a section from the article._______________________________________ Many choral educators find themselves teaching students with a wide variety of skills and even age ranges, often teaching […]
Kinesthetic Gestures to Aid Your Choir
by Jennifer Berroth, Contributing Author, DevelopingVoices.blog Movement is often used to engage a singer’s breath, energy, and musicianship. Young singers can benefit from using gestures throughout a rehearsal to help them understand musical concepts they are performing. Here are some kinesthetic gestures I use to help my own singers. Staccato gestures Staccato phrases can […]
Part 2 The human voice, an instrument in residence
Breathing allows you to take in the oxygen and expel carbon-dioxide waste. But when you exhale, you also breathe out a lot of water. Humans exhale up to 0.59 fluid ounces of water per hour and about four times that amount during exercise.