Hi, Christine.  My first reaction to your question was to wonder what "an informal choir in a school" might be, but then I saw that you're in South Africa, and I don't know much about the relationship of music and the schools there.

 

But to speak to your question, if you are primarily an educator, and if you are talking about elementary-age students (which I infer from your mention of "childrens" choirs), then you certainly want to see the maximum participation because you cannot possibly judge at a young age which students can and will become good singers with good teaching.

 

On the other hand, if you are primarily doing this for performance purposes rather than educational purposes, as in the case of a non-school-related community children's choir, then you can establish standards, hold auditions, and limit participation to those students who are presently capable without worrying about actually teaching the others to sing.

 

But in the U.S., at least, some children's choir programs go further and set up different levels of accomplishment so that both education and performance can take place.  And in reality a great deal of teaching has to take place even in a select children's choir, because the kids seldom come to you with their skills already learned and mastered.  And in fact that continues through high school and college, until a given singer has all the tools necessary to sing as a professional.

 

And yes, if your goal is education, there will be stronger singers and weaker ones, and you will never be able to mold them all into a world-class choir, but that isn't really the goal of an educator, is it?

All the best,

John

Christine, these "vocally weak" kids are really "musically weak" students who are having problems with the development of both their understanding of pitch relationships and of their vocal placement.  You definitely want them to particiapte in your performance classes (if that's what you are teaching) so they will have an early understanding of their problems and what they need to do to overcome them.  It will probably take awhile, with much individual attention.  Surround them with kids who are singing well, and make them aware of the differences between the pitches the "normal" kids are singing and the sounds they, the "disadvantaged" ones, are putting forth.  Get them to make the effort to "raise" their voices up to the pitch level you and the more advanced singers are intoning to them, which should initally be no more than a third or a fifth higher than the "sound" they are making.  Do whatever it takes to get them off that monotone quality.

 

This takes individual attention and requires an understanding and support from their fellow singers.  It is one of the finest things a music teacher can do in the educational process of bringing youngsters into the joys and benefits of choral singing.  You may not be totally successful in your efforts, but you will be giving them some idea of what they will be needing to do to resolve their problems and enter into the magnificent world of music.

 

Best of luck in your efforts. 

Hi Christine,

 

Do you need to include everyone? And will you have time to work with weaker singers individually at all?

 

It is my theory that certain vocal problems are easier to fix in a group setting than others. Breathy singing, nasal singing, overly forceful singing, soloistic singing, these are a few examples. But severe pitch problems are harder to address in the group. And kids can be so sensitive-- I would never call attention to an individual's pitch problems in front of the entire group.

 

If you have to include everyone, hopefully you can work with some kids outside of the group to help them find their pitch-matching abilities. If the kids have multiple activities to choose from and there are enough kids for you to afford to be selective, I would limit enrollment to the strong singers, the ones with group-fixable problems, and the ones who radiate joy and enthusiasm, no matter what they sound like. :-)

I just got out of coffee hour talking to a retired woman who wants to learn to sing hymns with the rest of the congregation.  She said, "I look at the hymnal and I'm afraid to sing.  I have a bad voice and was told not to sing when I was a child."  What a sad thing!  So I think it's worth incuding everyone, especially in an informal group. 

 

I think that people get hurt when someone gives them the message that it's SHAMEFUL to have an undeveloped musical ear.  Why not just tell them the simple fact that they need to learn a new skill? 

 

Here's what I did in my children's choir.  When just starting, everyone was all over the place, so I invented "The Pitch-Matching Game": the first person sings any note he/she likes, the next one matches it, then thinks of a new one for the next person, and so on.  Once we had some momentum, I could just let the weaker singers be, and after a little floundering, they learned how to match pitch.  Then again, when "Fred" just wasn't getting it, I said something like "You're not singing the same notes as the others, so I need to give you some lessons so you can learn how to do it."  Then I sang one-on-one to teach pitch matching before rehearsal; then after a while I was able to say during rehearsal (very quickly and matter-of-fact), "Higher, Fred," and he didn't mind. 

Christine, do you mean "weak" as in they don't produce a lot of volume, or "weak" as in they don't readily match the pitch?  You don't mention your vocal background (lessons?) or whether you are related to Christa Ludwig :), so I'm going to share information , rather than assume.

If it's volume, keep saying things to build their confidence and technical awareness, like "Everybody take a good low breath, relax your neck, and sing strongly!"  (I say "low" breath, because "deep" sometimes causes detrimental shoulder-involvement.  "Loud" might mean [to them, depending on their background] "push the throat/tension".)

To help them find head tone and focus breathiness, have them sing a few phrases like a "nasty cat".  Usually they won't change much the first time and you'll have to say "Even nastier/not nasty enough!"  ;) and demonstrate this very forward-placed, "nasal" tone.  (which is actually closing off the nasal resonance)  As they get that, add a tall growing-cucumber image, or the cat went to OH-peh-rah school, ;) - something to get them to combine mouths that are open inside,  at the top/roof of the mouth with sending their air to a forward point. (excessive jaw-dropping often just creates tension and covers tone, causing more pushing)   Children can do this as well as adults - sometimes better - I've seen it many times.  But it takes continued instruction and practice - you can make it a game!

I always try to put my stronger singers in the back.  Shyer ones may resist being in front, but remind them - you'll have everybody else's glorious sound around you to support you.  (though we can hear voices all about a room, even a quiet, well-placed/projected sound will generally be heard much better in front of the body of the singer. So if they ["weak ones] are in the back, they tend to dissapear, hear less leadership, and it becomes basically the singers in the front.

If there are discussions of "who is better" or "I can't sing", remind them that singing is made of a myriad of skills - posture, breathing, relaxation, word-forming, watching/following the director,  expression, musicality, etc.   Everyone has a different distribution; most folks are skilled at some of that, if not all.  Encourage them to celebrate/build their particualr gifts, while strengthening their weak areas.

Often it helps to get older experienced singers (very competent teens, or young adults) to sit behind each section and sing strongly at first, gradually backing off to "wean" them until they are confident alone.  A series such as "The Independent Singer" (Kjos) or Nancy Telfer or Hal Leonard's sight-singing series can help them learn to read music more confidently.

I agree with the posts of others who have said that if your schedule allows, work with them individually - it's less embarrassing, and often more effective.  (Sue Ellen Page called those folks "Early Birds"  - they were assigned to come 30 minutes before rehearsal...kind of makes it special , rather than stigmatized.)

Best Wishes - let us know what worked!

--Lucy

I sort of made a career out of taking singers who are vocally "weak" and turning them into seasoned choristers. This is both at the Middle School Level, with a church choir, and with a community choir. Encourage ALL singer to participate. Often what a "weak" singer needs to become a "strong" singer is the support of other singers.