By Stuart Hunt Why your students will love you for raising the bar I struggle writing this. My passion for building musicianship drove me to create a business whose sole focus is to address literacy in the three parts of sight-reading: counting interval recognition part-singing For me it is both imperative for our students who […]
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Leading Voices: How Do We Actively Engage Students in Lifelong Music Learning And Participation?
How do we actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation? 1985, The early years For my first three years of teaching, I taught kindergarten through fifth grade general music for two elementary schools in Texas (one had no air conditioning!). I traveled from room to room teaching the Texas Essential Elements with my […]
Leading Voices: In the Beginning . . .
1985, K-5 General Music As a first-year teacher in 1985, my emotions ran high as I meet with the principal of an elementary school in San Antonio, Texas. She welcomed me to the school and began to inform me of my teaching responsibilities: kindergarten through fifth-grade general music. There was not a music room available, […]
An Overview of Vowels (and Consonents) for the Singer, and for the Choir: A Practical Primer
The singer lives or dies on vowels. – Vocal proverb As conductors and artists, it is incumbent upon us to help young or learning performers and students to communicate text, with clarity and expression. That is only possible once the basics of diction, no matter in what language we sing, are mastered agreed upon, so […]
Centering Vocal Pitch Is Not Difficult, and Can Be Great Fun!
By Stuart Hunt Beside accurate counting, looking ahead to “pre-hear” rhythms and pitch (audiating), singing accurately and in-tune is a primary skill for all vocalists. But is it typically taught, or just caught? Our instrumental colleagues have posters that read “Tune it or die !”, which presumably refers to effort, not impending doom. Think about […]
I Heart (Love) Sight Singing!
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly publication for choral conductors and teachers at all levels. It is published online, and each issue contains four practical articles. If you are not already a member of ACDA, you can join and receive access to ChorTeach online. Below is an excerpt from an article written by Jane Vanderhoff appearing in the Spring 2019 issue._____________________________________ Sight singing […]