As a soon-to-be music teacher, the challenges that come along with establishing and maintaining a successful school music program have been on my mind. I came across a post on a ChoralNet forum where a music teacher was asking for advice about starting a new choir at her school.
She has no experience in running a choir, is not a music teacher, has choir experience from her school years and is the only person willing to take on the challenge. This is amazing! Considering there is no current music program at the school, this would be a great opportunity for the students to get involved and learn some music!
Personally, as a trained musician, I would find it a scary task to attempt to start a brand new choir with children age 11-16. She had posed some very good questions that shed light on some realities that must be considered when preparing.
"How do you strike a balance between strict and fun in a totally voluntary choir?"
"How do choir directors without competency in an instrument do things?"
"Should I start with a unison piece or dive straight into harmonies?"
"Do you think I'm insane?"
Questioning your sanity may not be the best place to start but I suppose the challenges and ongoing requirements may push you to do just that. Even on top of the questions she posed, the male-female ratio and the previous musical knowledge of the children would have to be a few big considerations as well.
Starting any new music ensemble with children of those ages, would certainly be tasking. I feel like a choir would be more manageable because of the simple fact the everyone already has their instrument and can make use of it quite easily. Starting a band would pose some extra demands that a choir wouldn't.
Acquiring an accompanist to play would likely give the best results for her situation. Perhaps even have one of the older children who is established on piano be the choir's accompanist. Also, it would be a great opportunity for a young musician.
It is nice to know that other people out there live through these challenges and are able to give advice and discussion to young people entering the field. Still, it doesn't make me any less nervous...
Mark, I really appreciate your positive spin on this situation. You're absolutely correct....you will not be the first, nor the last, inexperienced music teacher to be challenged with a new ensemble. The good news is that you will have access to extraordinary supports that will help you find your own way....your colleagues (in your school/district/community, in your various degree programs, around the world), your professors and mentors, online and print materials, professional development opportunities. My advice is to ask questions and keep a positive I-can-do-this attitude. You are going to be terrific!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ki! You're positivity is lovely! And although this Miss is intimidated by her non-musical background, I think the fact that she has taken on this task speaks volumes about her love of music and teaching! I love seeing "non-musicians" take the helm and share the love of music. Her question concerning unison vs harmonies I think also highlights her knowledge in choral singing. As we all do, I think she is probably selling herself short and isn't giving herself enough credit for her own musical knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree, incorporating an accompanist would be a big help! Giving that opportunity to a student is a great idea! Assuming a child has studies piano from an early age, I would suspect one of her teenage students would have enough facility on the piano to accompany the choir. The only additional challenge I see is Miss would have to make sure to select level appropriate music for the potential student-accompanist as well. I also find it impressive that she even knew to pose her questions to Choral Net, an invaluable resource!
Wow! This lady has a lot of nerve and obviously has a love for music. Like Mark, I would find it rather scary to start a beginning group even with my musical training. I agree with everything Chantelle has mentioned, but I would like to add that it would be beneficial for both the teacher and students who Mark has mentioned, if a music teacher came in once a month or something like that just to give tips or to guide the teacher in her endeavour.
ReplyDeleteThis women is pretty courageous, but there is a first time for everything. Nobody was born with the knowledge about how to be a perfect conductor. These are things we learn through experiences and help from mentors, peers, etc. But despite all the tips and suggestions, we eventually have to face it head on (because no one can completely prepare you for your very first choir instruction by yourself). Your first time may not be perfect, but that is okay! Making mistakes is a part of learning. And no matter how experienced a conductor is, there are always new things that him/her can learn. So as scary as conducting your first choir may be, my advice would be to dive in there and face the unknown because there's a whole world of opportunities for you to discovery as you take the first step of your choral journey!
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to tell her to just start with Rote methods and using her ears, and work her way up from that. She needs to accept that she's not going to create beautiful music right out of the gate (which I think she has, she sounds like a pretty fantastic woman), and just build it from the ground up. Like I said. Rote, 4/4 time, familiar tunes, using their ears, and steady as she goes. It's interesting that she talks about harmony like it's an insanely advanced concept. Someone should also tell her that she only needs to divide the choir into two, have one part sing the melody, and the other sing a third above (perhaps in simpler terms that what I just used). Boom. Harmony. I'm sure she can figure this out - she seems to be the kind of person who could do it.
ReplyDeleteWow, that would definitely be challenging. She should definitely get in contact with some of the music teachers in the community, and ask for tips or lessons on conducting a choir. She should also do research on her own - look up videos, blogs or tutorials online, or contact the people who post these things to ask for advice. As well, she should definitely be confident in the classroom - although she has little experience, the kids don't have to know that! In terms of striking a balance between being fun and strict, she should allow student involvement in decisions on repertoire or warm-ups, to an extent. However, she should make her classroom rules clear to her students, so they know where the line is drawn, and what is acceptable. This will create better communication between all involved.
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