![]() What needs to vary? Almost everything-style, tempo, text, level of difficulty, length of selections, mood, language, key signature, text origin, time signature, accompaniment…you name it! Providing a variety of musical experiences will give you the best chance of engaging everyone in the choir at some point. Whether you are programming for a concert or for the classroom, variety is crucial. But every great meal also includes dessert, so be sure to serve up an experience that students will feel is a “treat.” Just as filling up your plate with sugary, low-nutritional value foods won’t produce a strong body, loading your program with the same kind of music won’t produce strong and long-lasting musicians.Ĭonsider these 6 criteria for choosing choral literature as you construct your menu: You’ve got to build them up with a steady diet of “meat and potatoes” literature-music that is full of things that are good for them, like developing musicality, expanding their musical vocabulary, and performing music with a historical context. Provide a well-balanced (musical) diet.Īs a music educator, you have a responsibility to ensure that your choir is being fed musically. The octavos in the folders are the framework around which you will build the school year. Regardless of how you feel about the process, the decisions you make about the music your choir will sing are among the most important you will make as an educator. ![]() Taking the time to do this the first year really allows me to speed things up when they return in 7th and 8th grade.Choosing literature for your choir can be the most exciting or the most excruciating task for a director. I do this because I really want to reinforce the basics of solid vocal technique, and music literacy before moving on. ![]() Moving forward into the new semester, I generally stick to a similar format with sixth grade classes. Beware homophony with 6th graders, and only use it is really hard for them to hear and hold together at first!)Īt least one piece should be a "tone builder," meaning you can really focus on creating solid, beautiful toneĪlso, don't forget to give your students opportunities to perform solos! OK, here is my actual formula (drum roll, please):Īt least one piece that gives them experience singing in 2-part (stick with easier pieces that use partner melodies, rounds, or only use 2 part splits in sections.not the entire song. Spiritual, with a slightly different vocal technique than the other pieces. Great for teaching beginning ears part independence. Moves from unison to 3 parts, but easily accessible since all parts are independent melodies. Lots of great opportunities to work on beginning and ending consonants Sherri PorterfieldĢ-part, with some sections partnering, and some in homophony Slower tempo, great for tone building and focus on pure vowelsĮasy to learn, so students experience quick success.Ģ-parts, with some partner song-like sections, and some homophony That way, you can see how the pieces I chose reflect back on the formula itself: Before I go more in depth, let's start with the actual concert repertoire (and some bullet points about why I chose each) that my 6th graders performed in the video above. You can cover multiple rules in one piece, just depending on what works best for you and your students in the moment. While I don't always stick to these rules hard and fast, keeping them in mind generally helps me insure that I'm covering all of the bases I want to cover with my beginners.
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