A Hybrid Choir

In between trying to put a 2.5 month old down for naps- the kid is so curious, he'd rather stay up all day and look at everything than sleep even when he is CLEARLY sleepy.  When do they start develop reasoning again?... what was I saying?

Oh yes, in between trying to get him to nap, I have started to look at music.  I've eliminated some pieces, but I have kept many out.  I have no idea yet as to the numbers of singers in my choirs and I have no idea what to expect as far as how to program... yet.  I am keeping out a variety of difficulty levels.  I have plans to do some research into the catalogue of some composers (like Schütz).  I love this.

I have been faced with an interesting dilemma (although I have a solution).  The person who was in my position before did not voice the women into sopranos/altos, but rather divided them up into parts (I, II, III), and had them rotate what part they sang each piece.  Now, I understand why she did this.  Developmentally, at some levels, it makes sense.  I like the idea.  However, by doing it that way, I wouldn't get to shape the color of each section and overall, the choir.  So, I was left with the choice: Continue on the tradition and have an even sound across the choir (which would likely not work for many pieces) or voice them into soprano/alto.

My solution is a bit of a hybrid.  I want to shape the sound and the color of the choir.  So I will voice them into soprano/alto.  This is necessary.  And for the students who are being given voice lessons, by the time they enter their sophomore year, they will start to have some distinct colors and sounds that will direct them into a certain voice part.  However, I understand the value of letting most of the voices sing both the alto and soprano parts.  So, the pieces that dictate a more "even" color across the color, I will assign them numbers and we will rotate.  I'm not sure if I'll like doing this (plus it makes a whole HECK of a lot of work for me), but I'm happy to try it.

By this hybrid solution, I'm looking for these outcomes: 1) A choir that still carries distinct colors as it traverses the pitch spectrum, 2) The singers to really dig into their sound and not be afraid to sing, 3) giving singers the opportunity to sing throughout the entirety of their range.

It's rarely about range.  Most singers can sing most vocal lines.  But it is about color.  And yes, I know that is a tricky term to define.  I'm not looking to define it.  Within the idea of "color" lies not just quality of sound, but also dynamics, ease of production, timbre, etc.

I'm excited about this.  We will see how it works out!

Elementary Methods

Today I went through my personal collection of music and looked at the treble pieces.  I pulled 77 of them to sit at the piano and play.

Now it begins.  The process of selecting music.  Of course, I'm only looking at my collection right now.  The next step is to look at the college's library.  The third step is to look at public domain (guided by some of my research.  For example: finding some SA pieces by Buxtehude, since I know he wrote some).

In preparation for the fall, I have started to make lists of what needs to be done and when.  Selecting and prepping music is the fun bit.  It's what I love to do.  I'm teaching a conducting masterclass, which I also love to do.  I'll be teaching a voice class.  I've never taught class voice but I have taught many, many voice lessons.  I am excited to use my vocal books.  I have quite a few of them.

However, the class I really have to prepare for is elementary music methods.  I took the course in undergrad.  I taught 6 weeks of elementary music.  I'm certified K-12.  I had an amazing elementary student teaching placement.  But things have changed in the past ten years.  I know that I will have a lot to brush up on this summer.  For starters, I have an entire textbook to read.  I also have to hone my recorder skills.  I'm not kidding.  I'm teaching the recorder in this class (also excited about this).  Needless to say, preparation for this class will be a focus of mine this summer.  The person I am replacing has sent me all of their notes and lesson plans from their elementary methods course.  She has a PhD in music education, and her big passion is elementary music education.  So of course I will use her lesson plans this first year.  No need to reinvent the wheel when an expert has already given me a good roadmap for it.  Despite all the work this will be, I am very excited to teach this course because it will only serve to make me a better teacher.  I firmly believe that I became a much more aware and intentional teacher during my elementary student teaching placement.  The cooperating teacher was fantastic, and I loved learning from her.

I look forward to sharing some of my refreshers on this blog.

I'm also slowly starting to think of themes for the concerts this year...

189

189.  That's how many pieces of treble music I am going to pull from my personal collection and look at over the next week or two.

I want to relax this summer, but I have plenty of things to do.  I'm beginning to make lists of things to get done.  Let's forget about dissertation for a minute.

189 pieces of music.

I want to plan.  I want to immerse myself in music.

All the planning!

We have slowly started to pack boxes in our apartment.  To move to a real house.  For the first time in years, I will be living in a house.  I think the last time I lived in a house was when I was 18, unless you count the month I spent renting a room in a house in Madison.

As we pack, it's important that I keep some items out and available so that I can use them before we move and immediately after we move.  Those items include: my choral library and all my music ed resources.  I am stoked about the planning I have to do, but I actually have to do the planning.  Unfortunately, I will be spending most of July traveling, which makes it a pain to lug around large books.  However, if I don't want to feel stressed out in August when classes begin, I have to begin planning sooner rather than later.

My course load, as I understand it, for the fall will include my two choirs, elementary music methods, conducting masterclass, and a voice class.

So that's it.  I'm anxiously awaiting a day (soon) when I feel I have time to start looking through some music for next year.