Latest Blog Posts

It’s a common scene in summertime blockbuster movies.  The hero has just overcome some tremendous obstacle and just as he (and we in the audience) breathes a sigh of relief, all you-know-what breaks loose.  The walls cave in, imminent danger rears its ugly head, and our hero finds himself scrambling for his life.   That […]

MY GO-TO WARM UP, by Brody McDonald (Kettering High School)   This is a simple, chordal warm-up that I do regularly with my choirs. I didn’t write it, but rather “borrowed” it from a barbershop chorus rehearsal I attended.  There are five total chords, and while I’ve notated them in quarter notes (then a whole […]

Do working mothers face specific vocal challenges?  Are those women/mothers working in specific vocally-intensive professions more susceptible to issues related to vocal health?   A new study currently underway at the Northern Illinois University seeks to understand such issues.  One of the co-researchers, Mary Lynn Doherty, has commented frequently about vocal matters both on this […]

COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig   (Each week we look at one or two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on ChoralNet.  This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.)   The Birds by David Basden for […]

THREE Choral Journal UPDATES YOU SHOULD KNOW, by Amanda Bumgarner   A few months ago, I introduced a Choral Journal reader survey, and I have had hundreds of responses so far. For those of you who have not yet offered feedback, the survey will remain open until the end of 2014 and is available at: […]

Last week’s discussion of software to convert PDF examples from public domain sites into editable documents elicited a reaction from one software group eager to be recognized:     MuseScore is a free and open-source notation program for Windows, Mac and Linux. The software is an alternative to the big two of Sibelius and Finale, […]

With Halloween coming up, here’s a little taste of Disney’s take on trick-or-treat, circa 1952.  

C.S. LEWIS & CHURCH MUSIC by Thomas Vozzella   I recently came across this essay by C. S. Lewis entitled On Church Music from the book * Christian Reflections. It does not need much introduction as C. S. Lewis has been a voice in the Christian community for decades. Yet, I have never read his […]