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aging

CJ Replay: Igniting Senior Voices in Multigenerational Choirs

March 23, 2020 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The February 2017 issue of Choral Journal features an article titled “Passing the Torch: Igniting Senior Voices in Multigenerational Choirs” by Victoria Meredith. You can read it in its entirety online at acda.org/choraljournal. Click “Search Archives” and choose February 2017 from the dropdown menu.
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A multigenerational choir provides an opportunity for singers of all ages to learn with, from, and about each other as they make music together. Depending upon the ages of the members of the ensemble, increased challenges in repertoire selection and rehearsal techniques confront the conductor seeking to achieve musical satisfaction for all. The thrust of this article is to address the age group most prevalent in multigenerational and intergenerational choirs: seniors. Many multigenerational choirs combine senior adults and younger singers of various ages. A brief survey of some typical types of choirs that incorporate seniors is presented below, followed by suggested guidelines for repertoire selection and related rehearsal techniques. There are several reasons for such a focus.

1) As adults mature, vocal changes often occur that make them uncomfortable singing in the choir or unsure that they are making a meaningful contribution to the group. This might be viewed as similar to what adolescents experience when their voices are changing.

2) Most formal training for conductors is focused on working with children and young adult to middle-aged singers. Normally, little attention is paid to vocal changes that aging adults might be experiencing.

3) There are many fine resources about working with children, adolescents, young adults, and beyond but few devoted specifically to conducting senior adults. At a time when the fastest-growing segment of the population consists of retired people, this is a gap that needs to be addressed for conductors working with that age group.

4) Repertoire selection guidelines and rehearsal suggestions that are essential for choral success with older singers can also benefit younger choir members.
***

There is usually a specific purpose for combining singers of various age demographics. Each ensemble has its own reasons for being formed and its own musical and non-musical goals to be met. Membership in multigenerational groups may be by audition or open to all and may include many styles of musical repertoire. One aspect they all have in common, however, is a wide age span, creating unique challenges for the conductor.

The conductor of a multigenerational choir must ask several questions. The answers will probably reveal both musical and non-musical facets that will have a direct impact on the music selected and on the approaches taken to working with the group.

What is the function of this choir?
Who are these different age groups of singers being combined?
Why are they being combined?
How can I best meet the individual and collective needs of the groups in this combination?

People sing in choirs for many reasons as they seek to achieve aesthetic, social, spiritual, psychological, and physical goals. When asked why they sing in a choir, individuals of all ages often reply that they “just love to sing” or that “singing makes me happy.” Why they sing in a specific choir is often related both to favorable personal interactions with that particular group of people and to the types of music that the group performs.

While there is an ever-growing list of physical benefits to be gained through singing, from lowered blood pressure to a heightened immune system, for most singers these are not the primary reasons that they devote their time and energy to choral singing. In fact, most are not aware of these potential benefits. Commitment to a choir is more likely to be explained by a balance between the musical or social aspects of choral singing.

An intergenerational or multigenerational choir offers the added dimension of experiencing the universality of singing by combining voices with people across the lifespan. It is the conductor’s responsibility to make the experience musically meaningful for singers of all ages.

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Read the rest of this article (and more!) in the February 2017 issue of Choral Journal, available online at acda.org.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, aging, Choral Journal, CJ Replay, voice

ChorTeach Preview: Singing Seniors

August 19, 2019 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

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 Nicole Aldrich appearing in the Summer 2019 issue.
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Older adults can bring a wealth of experience, wisdom, and grace to our ensembles. Along with these, they bring their older bodies and voices. And while the older adult voice is not the same instrument as the one the singer enjoyed in her or his younger years, it is simply not true that older adults should accept voice changes as inevitable. Choral directors can do much to keep their “chronologically gifted” singers performing at a high level for years.

Choir directors typically are most aware of the physical changes that singers undergo as they age because these changes have effects that we can hear in rehearsal: loss of vocal range, change in vibrato rate or size, loss of breath control, decreased endurance, pitch inaccuracies, breathiness, and changes in loudness, etc. Some of these physical changes include muscle wasting and related changes in balance, posture, and coordination, reduced vital capacity in the lungs, and stiffening, thinning, and deterioration of the vocal folds, which can cause the vocal folds to bow. Bowed vocal folds do not close as strongly. This can lead to breathiness, hoarseness, and vocal strain. Hearing loss, side effects from medications, and other health problems are also factors for some older adults. The good news is that many of these changes can be halted or even reversed with regular physical and vocal exercise.

Otolaryngologist Robert T. Sataloff notes that the bodily changes characteristics of aging are not unique. In many ways, they are identical to those seen in disease and in disuse such as prolonged bed rest or immobilization of a limb. In particular, muscle disuse causes loss of muscle fi bers indistinguishable from that seen with advanced age. Exercise avoids or reverses many of these changes in the young, and it appears to have the same effect when the changes are caused by aging.1

The choir director can help by encouraging singers to get regular exercise, perhaps helping to establish daytime walking groups for choir members, for example. Inviting a physical therapist or trainer to speak to the ensemble may also be helpful since many older singers, especially women, are unaware of the benefits of strength training. Such a professional can lead the ensemble in simple exercises and direct individuals to other appropriate resources. Over time, singers’ increased physical strength, stamina, and flexibility can result in improved breath management and vocal endurance, allowing greater control of pitch, loudness, vibrato size and rate, and tone quality.

Directors should also encourage their singers to seek out voice lessons or vocal therapy. Several studies have investigated vocal exercises to improve voice quality in the elderly. Some of these studies focused on improving speech quality and efficiency, but since they address the same age-related physical changes, older singers who try them may also find improvement in their singing voices.

1 Robert T. Sataloff et al, “The Aging Adult Voice,” Journal of Voice 11, no. 2 (1997), 157.
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Read more in the Summer 2019 issue at acda.org/chorteach.

Filed Under: ChorTeach Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, aging, ChorTeach

One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

August 24, 2018 by Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts 1 Comment

Week 23: Friday, August 24, 2018 

“Hidden Memories (Déjà Vu)” by Gordon Thornett
Text by Linda Marcus
SSA, a cappella

Sweet, simple, innocent. Gordon Thornett’s setting of Linda Marcus’ text is all those and more. Based entirely on the pentatonic scale, the musical motifs are reminiscent of childhood songs and melodies, while the poetry recalls poignant moments from the past.

On first glance, this piece could be brushed off as “too easy” or “childish” (by the conductor or by the singers), because of the heavy reliance on a limited selection of pitches. Don’t be too quick to dismiss it though! I would argue that the limited range and pentatonic nature allow the ensemble to focus on so many other things in rehearsal. Shaping of phrases, ensemble blend, intonation, dynamics, and overall musicality are just a few aspects that can really take this song to the next level. [And, if you aren’t yet convinced of the power of the pentatonic scale, I encourage you to watch this clip of Bobby McFerrin at the World Science Festival, demonstrating the universality of the pentatonic pitch sequence!]

The text includes references to snowflakes and the white moon of winter, so this could easily be a non-religious/non-sacred addition to your November/December concert. It is much more than a seasonal piece though. It is also a beautiful tribute to memory and the passage of time, if you need a selection about collective history, mindfulness, loss/grief, childhood, or aging.

Part of the unique beauty of Thornett’s setting is his variation of texture. The piece begins in unison, with small echoes from the other two voices. It then becomes a two-part canon, with one voice exactly mimicking the other after two beats. The dovetailing pitches and dynamics create a lovely series of ebbs and flows. After the two-part canon, the piece expands to three-part canon, with the same melodic material and two-beat delay.

After all three voice parts have completed the larger canon, the texture changes to three-part homophony, with strong vertical harmony. Next comes imitative but non-canonic SSA, and then another canonic passage to close the piece. The canons themselves are a bit haunting in how the pentatonic pitch patterns overlap, which makes the shifts from canonic to homophonic all the more striking.

For the canonic sections in particular, the teaching process can be greatly simplified in rehearsal by having everyone first learn the melodic material in unison. Then, once pitches and rhythms have been established, move into phrasing and shaping. After internalizing the phrasing and shaping, the choir can be divided into the appropriate voice parts to experience the canon as intended. Rehearsing the musicality of the material as a unison group can expedite the learning process, which will help solidify the identity of each voice section as they split up into parts.

Dynamics range from ppp to f, and include both long slow diminuendos and molto legato crescendos. An ensemble that sets aside time to study the dynamics, the phrasing, and the word stress can create quite a number of beautiful moments within the work.

This selection will quite likely make its way into my next festival guest conductor repertoire list. It is the perfect piece to start a rehearsal block. By first singing the canonic sections in unison, it can get everyone learning how to shape a phrase and breathe together as a new collective unit. There are so many moments of quiet introspection or emotive phrasing. I am definitely looking forward to programming this lovely meditative work with my multi-level college choirs, or for a future festival.

Title:Hidden Memories (Déjà Vu)
Composer:Gordon Thornett
https://www.swirlymusic.org/composer/gordon-thornett/
Date of Composition:2014
Author/Text Source:Linda Marcus
Subject(s), Genre:Winter, memory, grief/loss, history, mindfulness
Language:English
Listed Voicing:SSA
Voicing Details:Unison, 2pt, 3pt
Ranges:S1: C4-F5
S2: C4-D5
A: G3-D5
Accompaniment:A cappella
Duration:~2:45
Tempo:90, Andante semplice
Publisher/Distributor:Swirly Music
Further descriptions and details, including program notes, audio, perusal score, and purchasing:

https://www.swirlymusic.org/composer/gordon-thornett/

Until next week!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts


Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is associate professor of music, Director of Choral Activities, and music department chair at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

 

Filed Under: One From the Folder, Others, Treble Choirs, Women's Choirs Tagged With: aging, childhood, Gordon Thornett, grief, Linda Marcus, loss, mindfulness, snow, Winter

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