How do you get the most out of a choir who is sick of looking at you? In every setting we often hit a ceiling after a certain amount of time as their director. Either you’re reusing the same tricks, they’ve already heard that story twice, you’ve gone to the well on that anthem too […]
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Introducing the Center for Congregational Song
If you work in a church or synagogue, one of your primary responsibilities is to spiritually nurture your congregation through music. One of the primary ways we do that is through choosing and leading congregational song. This session will introduce all of the programs and resources available through the newly opened Center for Congregational Song. […]
Help! My Guys Sound Terrible: Quick Solutions to Common Problems
This research was inspired by the clinician’s own personal struggles as a beginning choir director with teaching novice male singers. As a part of her masters thesis, Jaclyn Johnson created a survey to see if other directors (in particular, female high school directors) had experienced similar struggles. During this session, Johnson will briefly discuss the […]
Growing the Population of Male Choral Singers: Boys Tell Us How
This session will focus on findings from an analysis of narrative research about adolescent boys and choral singing, with specific attention to three questions: 1) what attracts boys to choral singing, 2) what deters boys from choral singing, and 3) what are boys’ suggestions for reform in choral pedagogy and performance? The goal of the […]
Get Off the Score with Gospel Music: Increasing Choral Singers’ Aural Skills Using an Oral Tradition
Choral singing that begins with the sounds of the music rather than with the notation can be vital to choral singing, namely by promoting pitch and rhythm-matching accuracy, increasing error detection, promoting critical listening, and enhancing musicianship skills. Gospel music, an example of a music that can be experienced aurally, has become a curriculum staple […]
Fostering Proper Vocal Technique in the Primary (K-3) Grades
How do we encourage correct vocal technique in our youngest musicians? This session will explore the musical activities common to the general music classroom (e.g., singing games, play parties, lullabies) and look specifically at how elementary music educators can encourage proper singing technique through the use of these activities. Specific applications from Kodály, Orff Schulwerk, […]
