Latest Blog Posts

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH (part 2), by Dina Else   (During our last discussion, we shared an instructional yoga video that has a great image of the diaphragm in action that I show my students: www.3Dyoga.com  I turn down the volume to avoid the yoga lesson but the visual is awesome!!.  For those having difficulty opening […]

COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig   Welcome back to the Composition Spotlight.   Each week we look at a piece 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 written by ChoralNet composers.  These are pieces your choirs will love to […]

Sharing audio examples with our singers is a great way to reinforce the "choral language" out of the rehearsal room. Singers with examples of choral tone, other language singing, or stylistic differences in genre and era will be more able to recall and execute them in the rehearsal and on stage. Unfortunately, it's not always […]

One of the challenges in programming for women’s voices is that much of the repertoire is – sorry to say – a little bland.  Sometimes it seems that there are a few too many “pretty” selections about a wee lass in a lovely meadow reading a book of sonnets while litte birds twitter happily overhead. […]

FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: VOCAL JAZZ by Greg Amerind   1. “Route 66.” Bobby Troup. SATB plus combo, arr. Barduhn. Hal Leonard 08743681 Feels, smells, and sings like pure jazz (and it is!). Lots of alternate phrasing, lush and sometimes surprising harmonies. Opportunities for extended improvisation. Good for intermediate and advanced ensembles.   2. “Fool […]

FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: SACRED by Bryan Black   1. “O Taste and See.” Ralph Vaughn Williams.  Oxford 0-19-353511-4  Sublime motet written for HRH Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.  Miniature masterpiece, 35 measures long.   2. “Psalm 100.” Eleanor Daley. Alliance AMP 0655 Bright, energetic scoring for two choirs in D-major.  Ideal for opening of concert or […]

It’s one of those “Catch-22” moments.  People want to sing, but they don’t want to sing alone, but part of what develops confidence is learning to sing alone, but they are scared to sing alone . . . but . . . but . . . but . . .   Developing self-assuredness is one […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article “New Hints on Choreography,” by Audrey Grier)          Choreography is a vital part of the Swing and Show Choir Movement in the United States. If taught properly and if precisely executed, it can enhance the total music program. At no time, however, should choreography take precedence over […]

Hmmmmm . . . got millk?  

An introduction to the family of instruments, Walt Disney style.