| Comment: Re: Restructuring High School Choirs | AJ Lund | November 22, 2010 |
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Tim,
I really like the idea of the training choirs being split by gender. Give 'em a piece a semester that they do together and they'll get used to singing with one another. I do recommend, if your select ensemble is to be 40-50, that you consider an additional chamber group for the kid... |
| Forum message: Student with TMJ | AJ Lund | November 20, 2010 |
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Hello all,
I have a 7th grader in after-school voice lessons who says she has TMJ and describes a popping or clicking noise when she opens her jaw at times. Not having TMJ and not knowing much about the condition (aside from its Wikipedia article), I'm left wondering what I need to know t... |
| Comment: Re: Brandenburg for voices | AJ Lund | November 10, 2010 |
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I have seen many of the Swingle arrangements come from UNC Jazz press--that's the University of Northern Colorado. I'm not sure they have Brandenburg #3 specifically, but you might try their website!
http://www.uncjazzpress.com/Default.asp
Good luck!
AJ Lund
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| Comment: Re: Helping a Singer with Vibrato | AJ Lund | September 29, 2010 |
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Tom--
I too can remember acquiring my vibrato, and I remember the exercise that prompted it. My teacher at the time had me bend forward slightly at the waist and let my tongue hang loose as I sang, which relaxed my tongue and throat enough to release my tone. To remind myself of that fe... |
| Forum message: Starting two programs from scratch--advice, please? | AJ Lund | August 16, 2010 |
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Hey everyone,
I recently accepted a job that entails starting two choral programs, HS and MS/HS, in downtown and north Minneapolis entirely from scratch. I am incredibly excited for the position, but a bit intimidated as to how to start EVERYTHING. What are the first three (or five ... |
| Comment: Re: Breath Support for Older Choirs | AJ Lund | December 13, 2009 |
| Hi, Jennifer--
You have some really good answers here already! I'd like to add to the discussion that for some of your singers, it may be really helpful to understand what is happening physically when they use good breath support. An explanation of the physical process of breathing (diaphra... |
| Comment: Re: Tips for Memorizing | AJ Lund | December 7, 2009 |
| Hi, Dan--
A trick my directors used to use with me is that once we were aware the pieces were to be memorized, they'd start slipping in little comments like "Basses, page three. Tenors, follow along and memorize." They'd also point out, "oh hey, we have this down time while I work with this s... |
| Comment: Re: Choir fundraising accounts | AJ Lund | November 16, 2009 |
| Hi, Deborah--
You might consider just keeping track of how much each chorister has fundraised in an Excel spreadsheet and putting the money into one large account. You can disperse the final amount of funds raised by each chorister to each chorister assuming you've kept good records and that ... |
| Comment: Re: BM or BA Music Education | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hi, Brennan--
As a recent graduate of St. Olaf, I chose the BM path because of the very performing opportunities you're referring to. I also wanted to take a more music-focused path, and I was able to do so this way. From what I have heard, the Bachelor of Music is considered a more "prof... |
| Comment: Re: Activities for strengthening sense of pulse nearing the concert | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hi, Case--
Especially if your problem is one of ensemble unity, I've found it to be really effective to have students tap on their neighbors. Have each student put a hand on his/her neighbor to the left or right, at your discretion, and you'll be surprised how quickly they'll lock in to each ... |
| Comment: Re: Developing sight-singing and not spoon feeding | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hi, Joyous--
I would strongly suggest using the Curwen hand signs along with your solfege syllable use. Each time you give them an example, give them a chance to find Do on their own, and have them sign the solfege along with their singing. If they're anything like me (and from my experience ... |
| Comment: Re: Warm up for adult choir | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hi, Tony--
For choirs of all ages, I love Kenneth Jennings's Sing Legato. The exercises in it are great for perfecting each interval and for playing around with different articulations and musical notions.
To directly address your semitones question, have your singers practice a chroma... |
| Comment: Re: Head voice vs. Chest voice | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hi, Jessica--
When working with her, make sure you're vocalizing from the top-down. Start higher than she thinks she can sing, and model for her how to access that lighter mechanism. By far, you'll have more success if you show her how to mix her light mechanism into the heavier "chest" mec... |
| Forum message: Resources for Norwegian folk singing: kveding | AJ Lund | November 10, 2009 |
| Hey, listers--
Having seen the Oslo Kammerkor for the second time this fall, I found myself once again floored by the choir's ability to translate what I gather was originally a solo vocal tradition into an incredibly expressive choral art. Their printed programs refer to Norwegian folk singing... |
