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Getting young females to sing on the voiceDate: December 14, 2009 by Daniel Black
 Hello,
I conduct a 80-voice all-girls high school choir. The
freshmen are mandated to be there and there are less than 30
students between the other grades. Of those about 20 are in my
upper level group.
What do you do with 80 voices, most of whom barely make a
sound? How do you go from minimal everything to being on the path
toward healthy singing? Is there a priority list? Part of the
issue is that because of the mandate, many don't want to be there
and don't take instruction well. The other issue is that due to
the age, most are unable to deal with trying something and
learning through failure. They are petrified of sticking out so
they never try and thus, never succeed. I'd like to help them
have the experiences that will make them want to come back for
more but I'm not sure where to start.
I appreciate any suggestions you have.
Best,
Dan Black
Replies (6): Threaded | Chronological
John Howell on December 14, 2009 4:19pm
Hi, Daniel. Could I ask for a little clarification. Are you saying that every Freshman is REQUIRED to participate in choir? Is that a school rule, or is it your rule, and if it's a school rule who is the idiot who came up with it! The numbers you cite certainly agree with what I would predict: if you are forcing students with no skills and no talents and no interest to undergo a choir "experience," you are simply turning them off to any involvement in music in the future, not giving them "the experiences that will make them want to come back for more"!!!!!!!!
There is a place for experiencial exploration, of course, but in this school district the place is middle school, with three different "experiences" during the semester, and it would be handled through a General Music class, not a choir.
Might as well have a rule that all Freshmen must play basketball! (My late wife was 4' 10", which does make me a little sensitive to the bare idea!)
I could easily be wrong, if you are a wonderful teacher with a magnetic personality and would attract all those Freshmen to music without the "rule," but it really sounds like a lose-lose situation, and the students are the real losers. I doubt that anything you can do will turn them into polished choral singers, but you MIGHT want to consider meeting them more than halfway and starting a pop/jazz/show choir that can make use of a wider variety of talents.
All the best,
John
on December 15, 2009 2:20am
Two thoughts:
1. Laughter gets the right muscles for singing engaged as well being good for the psyche. So warm-ups, games and repertoire that encourage frivolity will both help get the girls on your side (and thus more willing to participarte) and generate more support and resonance despite themselves. (And Robert's suggestion of Tom Carter's book for ideas is a good one for this too.)
2. Get the girls involved in picking repertoire. Play them recordings of things you might do with them, and get them to vote which they like best. Ask them to propose music they'd like to sing. The latter is likely to strike you as inappropriate for a choral group, but it's arguably better to get them singing *something* in the first instance. You can get them to explore music beyond their current experience later - once they have got used to the strange experience of singing at all.
Working with a 'conscript' choir can be a hard furrow to plough, but I tend to be a bit more optimistic about it than John does - so good luck, and let us know what you find works with them.
liz
on December 15, 2009 3:00am
You might try some of Tom Carter's ideas from his book, Choral Charisma. I don't know how good this ensemble could be, but I am sure it could be better if you could create a culture that allows the students to feel safe. Tom explains this much better than I do. Many years ago I taught in a very small rural school. I taught a seventh and eighth grade chorus that included all of the girls. It was actually pretty good, and certainly was much better at the end of the year than at the beginning.
Is it a good idea to have a choir include all of the students? I don't know if the answer to that question makes any difference to you, Mr. Black. As my church choir director says sometimes, "That's the gig." Good luck. Maybe you will find some roses aming the thorns.
on December 15, 2009 4:13am
Dan,
I completely understand where you are coming from, as my high school uses both choir and band as "dumping grounds' for freshmen who have holes in their schedules. I feel for you! I have used the Carter book previously mentioned and I recommend it. I try to encourage all students. I use 20 daily points for participation. So, for example, we always begin with some stretching or vocal sirens. I don't make a big deal on the points, but students will see me writing little marks next to their name. If they refuse to sing, I simply mark NP (no participation). I use a small magnetic board for teaching sight-reading and so on. I use canons and other unison songs, just to get them singing. I also throw in some current songs or perhaps end the rehearsal with a song they choose.
I then schedule after-school rehearsals for the "real singers" and I find out rather quickly who is interested in singing. In my district, we are forced to take students who hate singing or who haven't even chosen choir as a class. I try to make class interesting and let them discover the joys of singing. I do set standards and have vocal testing throughout the semester. When it comes time for the concert, only half of the enrolled students will actually come to the concert. But I schedule enough after-school rehearsals to create an ensemble within the bigger ensemble. I also add many instrumentalists for the concerts; including woodwinds, percussion and some brass.
In summary, consider thinking of this class as "general music singing" and aim for getting everyone to match pitch and create a nice ring in the voice. Have some educational fun with them and encourage those with talent and interest to sign up for your advanced choir next fall. All the best,
Mark Downey
on December 15, 2009 6:07am
Hello,
David you have a "winnable" situation here....but first,
John, I always respect what you have to say and have enjoyed your posts over the past decade-plus, but let's be a little more careful before we say rules where every Freshman is required to be in choir is stupid (paraphrased, of course). We have that in my school and it is brilliant. It is part of our "Foundations Course" where each incoming student (this is an all-girls school) takes art, acting/speech, technology, and my choir as a semester course. Now what I will submit is that this is a private school but by no means are there "no issues". 38 of the 40 do not want to be there for top reasons such as "I can't sing", "I hate classical music", or "I hate singing". I get them all. On top of it, out of the 40, 4 knew what a quarter note was this semester and that was my best group to work with! So there is indeed a place where were idiots force "students with no skills and no talents and no interest to undergo a choir "experience,". But what I have is a music program with 47% of the student body. It ties directly into this course. Once they get a taste of our art they love it!
Back to David...
I see this "choir" up to 9 times. I cover basic vocal technique, basic theory (and I mean basic!), cover my professional wardrobe expectations (which always takes a class period!), and teach them two to four songs for a concert. For this level it shouldn't be, in my opinion anyway, more than a taste of what to expect in this art form and my program in particular. Do I expect them all to be in choir after? No, of course not. And I tell them that. But if they have fun, learn to be confident (by being better singers) and perform well they tend to enjoy it. Duh!!
They can at least appreciate it and if I add the intelligence level of our audience, I feel that is also success in a way.
What I would suggest is this...find some way of keeping the Freshman separate, if not for the entire semester (which is best) at least some of the time. I have found that Study Hall (approved by the Administration of course) once in a while works well and then to bring them in intermittently to model good vocal technique (or at least better vocal technique). Your instincts there are right on the money, let them "hear" failure, but in that nurturing and experimental environment I think you wish to create. Games, warm-ups/vocal exercises and rhythmic exercises are all I do for about two classes. I give them an easy song, see how they do (yes, some of it is by rote but they at least understand what they are looking at now) and then (all the while telling them I am judging/grading them) add songs if they can handle it. Some years they can handle two, some four. This year they could do three. Let them experience success, no matter how small. They see, at dress rehearsals how hard I push the Advanced groups here (Stravinsky, Britten, Rautavaara, etc.). I don't mess around and these poor freshman tend to even get better between the dress rehearsal and the concert when they see me "yell" (no, not really yell) at the "good singers". They see very quickly that this is a fast moving train, and either they jump on or embarrass themselves. By this point they have seen the light and at least feel they can be successful on their songs. It is not out of reach by dress rehearsal time.
I DO NOT agree that a show choir, pop, or jazz choir be your "gimmick". I don't do that as the focus of my program (although we always do get a small group together and simply because this generation has access to pop music any minute of the day) so it would be dishonest as it does not represent my vision of the program or what they are likely to experience here. You may be different and then that may be a good avenue for you. They pick up on the success of the program and of course they are hesitant at first, but just tell them, in your own way, that music is a beautiful gold coin. Their music is one side, the music here (in this educational venue) is the other. That, of course, is massaged with jokes, examples, and honesty. I have only had a handful in 6 years fight me hard on how "stupid this kind of music is." I even let them vent sometimes. It shows many things to the entire class. My allowance for them to express their opinions, my respect for what they have to say, but the best part is the others see how stupid arguing that point is. And if that doesn't work I have a whole diatribe on how classical music is "better", it's not my finer point as a teacher but they sit down and listen after - every single time.
Repertoire is the key. Pick high quality, accessible repertoire and they will buy into it. Most of them, eventually anyway. It is always about the music. Tell them good music is above you, above them - they will reach the highest of expectations - regardless if they are (metaphorically) 4'10" or not.
I could go on forever, but I won’t. Good luck!
-Brian
on December 15, 2009 12:51pm
Hi, Brian, and thanks for the gentle reproof. You're right; I probably over reacted to what sounded like a really bad situation. And it does sound as if your approach is exactly the way to handle it. You obviously have found a way to--as the poster says--"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"!
But if I read you correctly, it sounds as if those exploratory classes only last part of a semester, and I do think that's a sensible way to handle it. It's just that here, it's done in middle school rather than high school. The pedagogical reasoning seems to be sound: students can't decide what interests them until they have been exposed to the varied possibilities. That's absolutely the case at the college level, and our incoming students and their families are told that the average students will change majors something like 2.3 times as they learn more about what is available. That's why our liberal education core is so important (to me, at least, although not to some of our science and engineering faculty).
One thing, though: I did not suggest using a show, pop, or jazz approach as a "gimmick" at all. I've worked too long in entertainment, and taught entertainment arts for too many years, to accept any automatic dismissal of its importance. It's an entirely different discussion, of course, and perhaps one worth having, but much as I love and teach traditional repertoire and classical music I recognize that art and entertainment are NOT mutually exclusive, but more precisely two stopping point on the continuum of music that fills our culture. High standards--both artistic standards and musical standards--are necessary in both fields.
And you're absolutely correct: choice of repertoire is the key. As it usually is, of course. Thanks for bringing that into the discussion.
All the best,
John
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