May 17, 2010

SIGHT-SINGING:  BREAK IT DOWN!
Seven Steps to Student Success
Sight Singing Methods for the Younger Training Choir or Elementary General Music Classroom

by Sue Green, Membership Chair, WA ACDA

Introduction
At our Winter Choral Workshop in January, I shared my methods for teaching younger or inexperienced singers how to sight sing.  My students are almost always singers who do not play instruments, and their greatest struggle has been in trying to find pitches out of thin air when they do not have the aural repetition engrained in them as instrumentalists do.  Our young, strictly choral students need tools for success.

Setting up for success
I like to start with rhythm.  In my experience, if the singer can read the rhythm quickly and accurately, he/she stands a better chance of being able to focus on the pitches.  Keep in mind that we’re asking young brains to do a lot.  They must identify a note, its value/length, the pitch, other notation on the page, and a language (and for many of my students English is a second language, if it is in English to begin with!), all within a split second.  No time to fix mistakes; you have to keep going! 

It’s a huge accomplishment for our young singers if they are able to find some success in sight-singing.  I have found that reading rhythms accurately seems to be the place to start.  They can find success, and that builds the confidence they will need when they start to tackle the more difficult task of finding the pitch with their voices. 

My favorite rhythm reading system is the use of the Kodaly mnemonics, but I have also found some success with the Gordon mnemonics and with using numbers.  I usually tend to come back to Kodaly, though; there is some comfort for my singers in  knowing that a quarter note is always “ta” and they don’t have to worry about what number they should be on.

At the beginning of the year, I keep rhythm and pitch exercises completely separate from each other.  I really drill the rhythm reading, using an old percussion methods book for exercises.  My 4th grade students can easily read the complex sixteenth patterns after a few weeks of rhythm drills, both individually and in the large group setting, and the dotted quarter/eighth and triplet patterns are easy for them as well. 

When it comes to pitch, I use the Curwen hand signs with moveable “do” solfege.  The vowels lend themselves to good choral singing, students learn to recognize intervals as they become more adept at using solfege, and the use of Curwen’s hand signals give children and adults a kinesthetic tool that they would otherwise lack. 

We begin with echo patterns using my magnetic solfege tools.  My suggestion to anyone tackling this for the first time is to choose the methods most appropriate for the developmental level with which you work.  You may find yourself using a combination of methods if you’re like me!

Once the singers have a basic mastery of the two major components, I begin the process of combining the two elements of rhythm and pitch by breaking everything down into manageable units.  Question:  Why do we need to break things down into smaller tasks?  Answer:  We teach this way in our elementary music classes.  Kids are familiar with this.  Why change what works?  When we make the task smaller and more manageable, kids will gain confidence as they gain skills.  The large task can be very overwhelming for inexperienced singers!  Your ELL and IEP kids will find success, too.  The method I am about to describe empowers students to eventually become independent musicians that can read music well and sing it expressively.  This requires a comprehensive K-12 music education, and our attention to even the youngest singers.

Sue’s Seven Steps to Student Success
First, I must give credit where credit is due.  Most of the ideas I am going to share with you come from the work of Dr. Gary Wilson, who was a professor of music education at the University of Arizona while I was completing my masters degree in the early 1990’s.   In my usual fashion, I have taken his ideas and modified them slightly to fit my particular style of teaching, and I highly suggest that if this resonates for you that you do the same.  Take what works for you and modify it to fit what you do. 

I do have a few methods books that I use that are lying around the room at Meeker Middle School, but I have found that the kids buy into it much more quickly if I get rid of the methods books after a few weeks and get right into literature.  It gives me the ability to take any problematic section of any piece I’m doing, employ these steps, and then have the kids solve the problem.  At the same time, I try to have one song that is taught completely using these steps.  I never play a part, even a couple of notes, for the kids; they must learn the entire thing through this method.  They will applaud themselves when they get it, and I’ve learned that it is almost criminal for me to steal away that success from them by trying to take shortcuts.   We put the accompaniment part in after the students have learned the parts and can sing them a cappella.   

Don’t get me wrong—it will take some time on your part to find songs that you can use for this, so you will need to do some research, but trust me, they are out there.  If you’ve done your preliminary work teaching rhythms, it will be much easier to find songs.  If you’re just getting started, look for songs that use accidentals only occasionally. You can tackle those accidentals once the kids become familiar with the method.

Step 1:  Choose a short passage (preferably 2-4 measures).  Read the rhythm using the Kodaly mnemonics or whatever method you choose to use.  Correct mistakes by isolating a measure and then put it back into context.  You’re teaching your students that they should isolate the problem and fix it before they move on.

Step 2:  Identify the solfege.  For young children, the director must establish do.  For older singers, give them 2 rules about key signatures:  The last sharp is ti, and the last flat is fa.  When there are no sharps or flats, middle C is do.  Let younger singers write the solfege in their music (lightly), but ask them to just put the first letter of the word, uncapitalized.  I usually let them work with an elbow buddy, and then we do it together as a group.   Once they get comfortable with identifying solfege in that key I have them start to do it without writing it in.  When they do write it in, I don’t punish mistakes; I ask them to erase any mistakes and fix them before they go on.  When I want to assess them after sufficient instruction, I have them do it individually and turn it in for a grade, but all initial work is in small or large groups.

Step 3:  Say the solfege in rhythm using the hand signs.  This helps kids get their mouths around those syllables while practicing the rhythm again.  It also introduces the kinesthetic “handle” that kids need.  Refine practice until they can do it without stumbling.

Step 4:  Establish the key by having the students sing “do-mi-so-mi-do-low so-do”  (You can use regular “so” for younger singers if the key goes too low for their voices). Find the first note of the passage of the group and then play EON (Every Other Note).  EON is a pitch matching activity.  It is played without rhythm.  You sing the first note, they sing the second, you sing the third, and so on.  Don’t correct mistakes!  Go back and switch.  They sing the first note, you sing the second, etc.  By the time they are finished, they will have heard all of the correct pitches.

Step 5:  Sing all of the pitches on solfege, using hand signs, without rhythm.  Refine practice until they can do it without mistakes.

Step 6:  Sing all of the pitches on solfege, using hand signs, with rhythm. Refine practice until they can do it without mistakes.

Step 7:  Sing the passage using the words.  Add the additional notation if it is marked.  If they miss a section, go back to solfege/signs, and then have them re-do it on words.  If they master this, repeat the entire process with the next 2-4 measures, and when you have a full section ready, you may add the accompaniment.  Remember, they must be able to do it error free, with dynamics and other notation, before you add accompaniment.

Final thoughts
We’ve all been in that place where it’s a few weeks before a performance and the sight-singing practice takes a big back seat to the rehearsal of the performance pieces.  I would like to present to you the idea that if you really stick to prioritizing the literacy part of your rehearsal, your students will need less time in the long run to learn songs, which will free up more of your time for polishing.  If you avoid including literacy practice in your every day routine, you are shortchanging yourselves and your singers.  I want to highly encourage you to pick one method and commit to it.  No matter how hard it may be to keep it going, stick with it.  I can promise you that your choir will be the better for it.

Susan Green, WA ACDA Membership Chair, writes a memo to choral directors who are not members of ACDA

August, 2009

To Our Non-Member Friends:

One of the greatest resources I have available to me as a teacher and choral conductor is the American Choral Directors Association.  I have been to many seminars, reading sessions, and conferences that have enriched my professional life in countless ways.  It just seems obvious to me that if you are a choir director then you should be a member of the professional organization that serves your art, but I’m always amazed at how many people choose to not be a member.

Yes, choose.  When I talk to non-members about joining ACDA I often get a full litany of excuses, with the most common one being that they can’t afford the membership on top of the other memberships they pay for.  I’m often told this while they’re holding a Starbucks latte in one hand or while they’re fidgeting with the latest technological gadget.  Hmmmm.   Is it really the cost of membership, or is simply a matter of shifting priorities?  Professionalism does come at a price.

So, why should you prioritize membership in ACDA?  First, the workshops and conferences put on by this organization offer the finest resources for literature, rehearsal management, vocal pedagogy, and conducting technique for our craft.  If you have attended our Summer Institute here in Washington, you already know that you will find quality literature at our reading sessions.  You also know that we are going to bring the most preeminent master conductors as clinicians.  You know that you’re going to get to sit down and have valuable conversations with other people who do what you do.

Second, I do believe that is a matter of professionalism.  Fine choral directors know that while ACDA offers them a wealth of resources, it’s important to give back to the community as well.  When you are a member of ACDA you become part of the collective whole and can be a resource to someone else.  It is important to be associated with the premiere choral directing professional organization.  Frankly, when I am on the hiring team for my school district, I always call into question why my district should hire a choir director that is not a member of this organization.  As a public school music teacher, if I see a resume that does not have Music Educators National Conference and American Choral Directors Association memberships listed then I assume that there is a certain lack of professionalism in this particular candidate.  Yes, it really does matter. 

If you are paid to direct choirs you get to write this membership off on your taxes.  If you buy coffee or any other little luxury on a regular basis, buy a little less and put that money into an ACDA membership once a year.  Shift things around a little and make this a priority.  Your singers will feel the difference, because your conducting and rehearsal management skills will grow once you’ve experienced the influences of this organization on an on-going basis.  We need you, and we believe you need us as well.  This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

ACDA membership is literally an investment; pays for itself in great music suggestions for your choirs

by Sue Green, Western Membership Liaison

If you are currently an ACDA member, we want to thank you for being a valuable part of our organization.  As you know, the network that is formed by pooling all of our collective talents together is amazing.  You are a valuable member of our group, and we hope that you will continue to be a member of our organization. 

When your renewal notices arrive in the mail, please send them back promptly or renew your membership online.  Don't be surprised if you receive an email reminder from me as well, and if you have any questions or concerns, you may certainly respond back to me and I will either answer your question myself or forward it on to the appropriate board member.

If you are a non-ACDA member, we hope that you will consider joining us in membership. 

Keep in mind that if you attend the WA-ACDA Summer Institute, by the time you finish paying the non-member fees for registration you could be a member of ACDA for only $35 more.  That's a GREAT deal!  For that extra $35 you will be a member of an amazing professional organization, and will receive the Choral Journal for the entire year.  All ACDA-sponsored events will be open to you to attend (NW conference is coming up next year in Seattle!), and any time we offer a workshop or seminar that is sponsored by ACDA you will be able to attend at the membership rate. 

In addition, if you live close to the border of other states, you can attend their ACDA-sponsored events at the member rate.  My ACDA membership pays for itself when I attend both Washington and Oregon's summer workshops, and I come home with great music to use with my choirs!

We're glad you are a part of our organization, and if you haven't joined yet, please do!

Reach Out and Touch Someone
by Sue Lundy Green, Western Liaison

I know how it is with all of you choir directors.  You’re a pretty shy group, not very out-going, definitely introverted.  It’s pretty hard getting you to stand up in front of a group of people, and almost impossible to get you to open your mouths.  I’ve noticed that you practically cringe if anyone gives you any attention at all; you absolutely abhor being in the spotlight.  NOT!!!

Okay, we all know that there is a diva inside each one of us.  I like to tell my elementary choir and children’s choir students that I am the Queen Of All Things, and any time they think that anything is about them, they can think again, ‘cause it’s all always all about ME.  The director.  The boss.  ME.  I even have a bumper sticker that a former student gave me that says, “It’s all about ME.”  You know, the one they’re all supposed to have their eyes on all the time.  Ooh, I think I just channeled a wireless commercial.

(Side note:  Did you ever try to get that to happen with a “Y’all can come and sing” group of third graders?  All of them—all of them—with their eyes on you ALL THE TIME during a performance?  If you have figured out how to get them to do it for more than 10 seconds, please email me and tell me your secret, because I, apparently, am missing something.  But, I digress…..)

Back to the subject at hand:  Being the Queen (or King) Of All Things involves acquiring certain skills, only one of which is acquiring the nerve to think that the world revolves around just you.  Choral directing is an art form, requiring a variety of talents.  A good director must at least be somewhat organized, and actually being able to conduct a four-beat pattern really comes in handy, although many of us have learned to live well without it (I suspect some people never found it to begin with, but we won’t name names here).  It’s a real bonus if you know how to find quality music for your group(s) so they don’t stage a revolt, and I have found that being able to find Middle C on the piano has also been quite helpful at times; occasionally, I teach a song that actually starts on that note.

So, what’s my point?  Contrary to what my husband believes, I actually have one (inside joke—apparently I talk a long time without coming to a point.  That’s what HE says.  I don’t know what he’s talking about.).  Anyway, my point is simple:  One is not born with the skills one needs in order to be an outstanding choral director.  One acquires them, usually through education, sometimes through observation, often through experience and, granted, some of it comes with natural talent.  It is in the acquisition of those skills that ACDA can and must play an important role. 

We, as the current members of ACDA, need to do a better job of encouraging our colleagues to join us in this organization.  Perhaps you could think of yourself as a mentor.  If you know someone who is not a member, but would benefit from the resources ACDA offers, then take it upon yourself to share information about our organization.  It’s a win-win situation for everyone:  Another person (potential resource) is added to our group, and in return, he/she gains access to workshops, conferences, and general information that will help him/her grow as a director.  As I said, it’s all about gaining or improving our skills as choral directors, and I really believe that education is the key.  I know I have learned a lot from attending the ACDA-sponsored workshops and conferences (if you missed NW, you really missed out.  I can’t wait to see more of Dr. Timothy Seelig at our Summer Institute in July because he was absolutely fabulous at NW.  I will definitely be encouraging my colleagues to attend).

It’s the personal touch that works, by the way.  I have personally invited quite a few people to join ACDA, and have received a great response.  All it takes is a friendly smile, a little conversation, and an invitation to join, and we have a new member.  Ah, yes, the personal touch.  Why don’t you try to reach out to one person?  Watch what happens.

Finally, whenever I write for our newsletter, I’ll try to give a “shout out” to all of the people who have joined ACDA in the past few months.  This list is current as of the middle of February and reflects people who have joined us in the last six months or so.  In the interest of protecting the privacy of people, I will only use first names and initials.   If your name isn’t listed and you are a new member, please accept my abject apologies.  My list is only as good as the information I receive from the national office, so if I’ve missed you, I do apologize.

Whether you’re new to us, or you’re simply returning to the organization after a period of absence, we are glad to have you with us!

Welcome to our new student members:  Christopher S., Jennifer S., Kristin E., Kristin D., Mitchell A., Katherine H.M.C., Andrew J., Nuria M., Jean-Marie K., Daisy E., Kathy S., Sarah B., Jonathan M., Veronica W., Laura R., Maya D., Matt B., Allison S., Carrie H., Eric F., Amy L., Jazmarae B., Katie S., Carmen V.S., Lisa S., JR L., Lauren H., Josh S., Andy W., Jenny O., Deborah W., Michael S., Jessikah T., Robert H., Kimberly S., Ryan H., Elissa C., Brenna O., Natalie M., Micah P., Crisol Q., and Timothy R.  

Welcome to our new active members:  Jennifer A., Vanessa G., Tina W., Bayard D., Charlotte R., John M., Rochelle D., Vanessa G., Jody C., Karen L., Diana L., Deborah B., Nancy J., Joni K., Kathyanne B., Peter B., Anita R., Joseph L., Brad K., Beth T., Lynn L., Angela A., Rebecca H., Danette G., Judy H., and Stefani P.

If there’s anything the WA-ACDA board can do for you, please do not hesitate to let us know.  Again, welcome!

(Note:  This is a revised version of a column I wrote for the Oregon ACDA newsletter a few years ago.  Names have been removed to protect the innocent, and my current victims, er….choirs…. are now much younger and more gullible.)

Sue Lundy Green has been a K-12 vocal music specialist for twenty years.  Currently in her fifth year of teaching elementary music and choir at Jenkins Creek Elementary in the Kent School District, Sue previously directed secondary choirs for the Scappoose School District in Oregon, headed the music program at Portland Public Schools’ performing arts high school magnet program, and directed choirs in Banks and Roseburg, Oregon.