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Taking Our Rehearsal Temperature

April 30, 2018 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The May 2015 issue of Choral Journal contains an article from Hilary Apfelstadt titled “Taking Our Rehearsal Temperature.” Choral conductors and music educators always seem to be looking for more articles on rehearsal. In this article, the author provides a rubric for learning music with notation, although these tips can apply generally to any type of choral learning experience. An excerpt of the article follows. You can read the rest in the Rehearsal Break column of the May 2015 issue of Choral Journal here! (Click “Search Archives” and choose May 2015)

Note: this article originally appeared in the Canadian Music Educator, issue 55 (1), 2013.

  1. Effective rehearsals are organized around a “whole to part to whole” structure. Does your rehearsal follow this model?

The first “whole” comprises an overview of the music. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. For example, one might play a recording of the music to introduce the piece or, if the ensemble’s skill level allows, have the group sight-read the piece on a neutral syllable or with the words. One of my university teachers always had us sing new short pieces on “loo” while he played the parts on the piano in order that we would have a sense of the music’s shape and structure.

While one could quibble about the fact that we were not really sight-reading but rather following along with the piano, it was a strategy that always resulted in our having a sense of the whole piece. (Later I came to regard this approach as “spoon feeding” because it did not make us independent of the piano or make us accountable for our own rhythm and pitch but understood that it was one approach to getting a sense of an entire short piece.)

The “part” comprises the detailed work that leads from accuracy (getting the rhythm and pitch correct, along with other musical details) to artistry (conveying the expressive intent of the music). Here we use teaching strategies developed according to our analysis of the music. For example, if the composition has repeated dotted rhythms, we might present those initially in the warmups and then help the singers find them in the music as they listen or as they scan it visually.

If the music is based on a minor scale, we might sing that scale prior to the detailed rehearsal to get the tonality established and give singers a chance to tune their ears and voices to that minor mode. The final “whole” is putting back together all of the parts into a cohesive unit that is artistic and expressive. It might take one rehearsal or many rehearsals to accomplish this, but each rehearsal should offer some sense of whole. Perhaps it is only the A section that is really accurate by the end of the allotted time, but before leaving that piece to go to something else, we can have the singers perform it as best they can to experience a sense of musical closure for the moment.

In planning for a rehearsal in this whole-part-whole paradigm, the teacher needs to do several things: analyze the music, discern its teachable elements, develop appropriate teaching strategies, implement them, and finally, evaluate them.

Read the rest of this article in the May 2015 issue of Choral Journal here! (Click “Search Archives” and choose May 2015)
Note: you must be an ACDA member to read the Choral Journal. If you are not already a member of ACDA, join today! Associate members can join for only $45 a year and receive access to the Choral Journal online and other ACDA benefits.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, choir, Choral Journal, choral rehearsal, CJ Replay

Relationships: Their Power and Importance

April 16, 2018 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The May 2018 issue of Choral Journal includes a short article on the importance of relationships, specifically within the choral music classroom. Written by Jason Sickel, 2017 Kansas State Teacher of the Year, the author writes that “school choir directors are in a unique position since many of our students enroll in our choirs for multiple years. We have the ability to build strong and lasting relationships with students and colleagues.” This article presents ideas, tools, and activities that “might promote a culture of caring and an attitude of mutual respect and trust.”

An excerpt from the article is below:

There are two foundational practices that I incorporate from day one of the school year and challenge myself to continue throughout the year:
• Greet every student at the door for at least the first two weeks.
• Learn every student’s name as quickly as possible.

While both seem logical and almost cliché, it is true that students will never feel validated, accepted, and respected if you don’t call them by their first name after the first week of school. We communicate indifference and a lack of concern if we don’t learn names quickly. Greeting students at our classroom door sends a welcoming message and also allows teachers to get a visual reading on each student and assess how his or her overall mood might be.

Is it difficult to be at your door when you have just finished a class and the next one is about to begin? Absolutely! I find that I must stay quite well organized to ensure that each choir’s music is in order and my warm-up exercises are posted on the projection screen.

Although my evidence is anecdotal, I can tell you that when I do miss greeting the students at the door, the class seems to take longer to settle and get focused.

Here are other important aspects of my relationship-building process:
• Positive phone calls home. I find that if I don’t set a reminder on my e-mail or my cell phone, these calls don’t happen. I also find that when I do make a call, the result is so positive and uplifting for me that I want to call more students than I had planned! I also love it when students come back to school and tell me that they were very excited to hear that their parents had received a positive phone call from me. The ripple effect of this simple two-minute phone conversation can have lasting effects.
• The choir room is A SAFE PLACE. It has to be. End of story. Singing is one of the most vulnerable things we do. It is deeply personal, and it is inherently a part of our core being. Adolescents who sing with their peers must understand that no matter what sound emanates from their mouths, they, the student, are normal, accepted, and valued as a member of our ensemble.

Read the rest of this article from Jason Sickel in the May 2018 issue of Choral Journal here!
Note: you must be an ACDA member to read the Choral Journal. If you are not already a member of ACDA, join today! Associate members can join for only $45 a year and receive access to the Choral Journal online and other ACDA benefits.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, choir, Choral Journal, Teaching

ChorTeach Preview: Fall 2017

January 8, 2018 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online magazine for choral directors and music educators. The articles in each issue are gleaned from ACDA state and division newsletters and from submissions. ChorTeach is specifically designed for those who work with amateur singers and are looking for practical material to apply to classrooms and rehearsals.

Below is a preview of the articles in the Fall 2017 issue, available for download here. The annotated ChorTeach index has also been updated. Click here to view. Email editor Terry Barham at for submissions or questions.

Relationships: Their Power and Importance by Jason Sickel

The author of this article, named 2017 Kansas Teacher of the Year, shares advice for how to build strong and lasting relationships with students and colleagues, including tools, ideas, and activities for the classroom.

Can We Really Sing Religious Music? by James Benjamin Kinchen, Jr

What is in your folder and why is it there? This article discusses guidelines for choosing music with both sacred and secular texts for use in the public school system. A list of resources for further reading is included.

Thinking about an International Tour? Plan Ahead! By Terry Barham

Find solid, easy-to-implement advice for international choir tour travel in this helpful article, including tips for bookkeeping, fund-raising projects, scheduling, and more.

Not Your Grandparents’ Choral Concert: Creating Engaging Programs for Today’s Singers and Audiences by Richard Schnipke

Conductors need to create programs that will keep singers and audiences excited and engaged. This article offers practical ideas to consider when planning your next concert.

Three Reasons Why Brain Research Should Guide Arts Scheduling in Schools by Anthony Mazzocchi

Brain studies conducted over the past two decades have revealed that arts education, and specifically the choral arts, has a profound impact on a child’s life. This article discusses three specific things choral music provides students in their school day.

Click here to read ChorTeach!

Filed Under: ChorTeach Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, choir, ChorTeach, ChorTeach Preview

My Problem with the Online Choral Publishing Industry

June 27, 2017 by Adam Paltrowitz 9 Comments

Choral Clarity Blog Presents:

While I love the concept of online choral publishing companies, self-publishing, and instantly downloadable sheet music, I tend to order choral sheet music from traditional brick and mortar publishing companies 95% of the time.

I’m wondering if you are suffering from the same main issue as I am.

My Problem with the Online Choral Publishing Industry

 

Filed Under: Choral Clarity Tagged With: ACDA, choir, Choral, choral clarity, Repertoire

Don’t Waste Your Final Rehearsal(s)

May 30, 2017 by Adam Paltrowitz Leave a Comment

Choral Clarity Blog Presents:

Many of us think of the last day of class as a day of yearbook signing, collecting missing music, and a free period with lots of selfies. Sure, those things might happen during the last day of class, but making the final day meaningful is so important for building tradition within our program.

Don’t Waste Your Final Rehearsal(s)

 

CLICK HERE to find out the FINAL approach that works for me

Filed Under: Choral Clarity Tagged With: ACDA, ACDA Membership Benefits, American Choral Directors Association, choir, Choral, choral clarity, classroom management, Teaching

Does Every Student Deserve An Award?

May 23, 2017 by Adam Paltrowitz Leave a Comment

Choral Clarity Blog Presents:

I agree with the criticism about the “award-bearing” adolescent world we live in today. Every student gets a trophy. Students get participation awards just for breathing.

Does Every Student Deserve An Award?

The answer isn’t as cut and dry as you might think…..

 

Filed Under: Choral Clarity Tagged With: ACDA, ACDA Membership Benefits, American Choral Directors Association, choir, Choral, choral clarity, high school, Teaching

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