Repertoire Project

Repertoire Project

1.    Exaudi! Laudate! SSA and piano, Beverly A. Patton

This piece is a fun and energetic piece that would be great for an intermediate women’s choir. The piece has a lot of stylistic contrast between legato, staccato, and marcato in different sections. Its tonal center is a little unclear, moving between major, minor, and mixolydian. All of the parts go to the high part of a young woman’s range, giving the opportunity for altos to use their upper register. The Latin text is a good opportunity for practicing pure vowels and discussing a new language.

2.    Cape Breton Lullaby SSA and piano, Kenneth Leslie, Stuart Clavert

Cape Breton would be great for a beginning high school treble ensemble or an advanced middle school treble ensemble. This piece is in mixolydian, in triple meter. Its melody splits gradually into three parts that stay generally in closed position harmonies, giving students a good opportunity to hear chords. The middle of the piece moves the melody to the alto part, which is a nice change for altos and gives them a change to sing higher in their range. The piece is calming and relatively simple, but is has a movement about it that young singers will find appealing.

3.    Res Cantos Nativos, Dos Indios Krao, SATB, arranged by Marcos Leite

These three short pieces combine to create a wonderful musical journey for singers and listeners. This music would be perfect for a beginning or intermediate high school mixed ensemble. The composer is himself Brazilian and has arranged three short songs from the Krao tribe of Brazil in their Native language. It is often difficult to find multicultural pieces that are authentic, but the composer’s nationality and the publisher (earthsongs) are good signs that this is authentic. The three pieces are different from each other but use lots of repetition and canon. There are sections of unison along with split parts and droning. The language is uncommon for choral music, but is not hard to learn to pronounce. The three pieces are all contrasting and have fun, different styles. The style of singing for the pieces is more spread and nasally than singers are used to in a choral setting but will provide a good lesson on singing this style healthily and might also be fun. The piece also calls for percussion and clapping. This is a could opportunity for singers to learn more about body percussion and learn to play percussion instruments. Alternatively, it could be an opportunity to collaborate with members of the school’s band.

4.    Sanctus, Antonio Vivaldi, SA arr. Robert Sieving

This is a great piece for a middle school choir of unchanged voices or a young women’s choir. It is an awesome way to incorporate traditional, historic music into the choral experience.  The teacher can spend some time talking about Vivaldi and the music of his time, including the concerto this is from. The parts provide stylistic challenges in style and require vocal flexibility. This piece promotes healthy singing and floatiness in both parts. The duet includes lots of call and response and imitation, which is a great thing to study with young singers. Latin text is an opportunity for practicing good vowels and learning the historic language. There is also great dynamic contrast which is a good learning tool for practicing the dynamic spectrum.

5.    The Awakening, SATB divisi Joseph M. Martin

This piece is an excellent piece for an intermediate or advanced high school mixed group. It has two contrasting sections, starting slow and somber and ending joyous and awakened! The text paints a picture of what a dream in which music did not exist and contrasts with the “awakening” and the realization that music lives. While this might sound cheesy, I believe this will be very relatable for high schooler, for whom music is often a getaway and a necessity. Knowing the way many high school students feel about choir and its importance, I think they would connect well with the text. The piece offers a great deal of contrast, through which singers will explore different dynamics and styles. Often when the choir splits into six parts, they are actually splitting into three parts, doubled at the octave. This makes it a little easier for singers to divide so much but still gives an amazingly full sound that those in the choir will enjoy. Much of the fast section is actually in unison, which gives a choir a good opportunity to unify their sound.

6.    The Tree of Peace, SATB Gwyneth Walker

This is relatively challenging piece that would be best for an advanced high school group. It has some divisi and some tricky time changes, but is the kind of thing that is not so hard once you get used to it. The tempo changes, time signature changes, and frequent use of triplets are all excellent teaching tools for those concepts. The piece has a very nice shape to it, building gradually from simple to more and more complex. It has some really dramatic moments toward the end that high school choir members would get excited about. The text has an excellent message about spreading love rather than anger, relatable to any age group. There is a beautiful effect in the middle during a section that repeats the word”listen” quickly, like a whisper. This text painting will be engaging and effective.

7.    For the Fallen, TTBB, by Mike Sammes

This is a beautiful, simple piece that would work well for a high school men’s ensemble. Though it is written in four parts, it is rarely actually split into four, but often has a part or two doubled. Each voice part calls for a light, lyrical sound, which will help promote healthy singing to young men. A lot of literature for men’s choirs is upbeat and energetic, whereas this piece will require a deep focus and sensitivity. The subject of the text commends those who have passed away and their remembrance. This is a good opportunity for young men to be vulnerable through their singing, which is good for them. The piece is relatively easy and very doable.

8.    Bonse Aba, SATB, Victor C. Johnson

This piece would be perfect for a combined choir at the beginning or end of a choir concert. It would work for any mixed choir on their own as well. The Zambian text is about welcome and unity. It starts with basses who call, and the rest of the choir responds. This is a great chance for basses to start off the choir and sing very independently. The parts are easy to catch onto quickly and could therefore be taught by rote. Each part has some opportunity to be the call while the other parts wait to be the response. After learning this song, it’s easy to get into it and feel good singing it. The piece also features at least three percussionists who might be acquired from the school band program. Or, perhaps members of the choir could learn these parts. This is a good multicultural piece, because it is a real song from Zambia and is marketed as such. (Sometimes multicultural pieces can get weirdly inauthentic.) Students would have lots of fun performing this feel-good song.

Observation 8: Bella Voce, DeWitt HS

During my last visit to DeWitt High School, students were beginning to learn choreography for their upcoming spring pops concert. I had a plan to work on one of their pieces with them, but because they have a guest choreographer who was coming in that day, Ms. Eldred suggested I do warm ups instead. I used a very similar plan as I had before, but this time, I actually used Ms. Eldred’s suggestions. It was great to put them into practice! I used a kinesthetic movement with each exercise I did. I also asked for small improvements based on the sound I was hearing instead of mindlessly playing scales while they sing along. I think I was more confident in front of the group than before as well.

There was also an opportunity, right before I warmed them up, to tell a funny story. Ms. Eldred was telling about finding a giant spider in her basement the night before for a couple minutes, which brought up the topic of spiders. I asked if I could tell a quick story, which I knew was pretty funny, and she was all for it! Everyone laughed and reacted to the story about lots of baby spiders invading my mom’s car and our effort to save them. So this wasn’t productive in terms of music at all. But it was a bonding moment in the class when everyone was laughing and “ew”-ing about bugs.

When the guest choreographer Amanda arrived, Bella Voce went to the auditorium to learn it. I thought the choreography was somewhat advanced for doing while singing, but it was very cool. They were also strongly encouraged to sing as they were learning it to get used to the stamina it takes to do both at the same time. They were a little bit lethargic, but they seemed excited about it.

Ms. Eldred told me about her first year of the spring pops concert. She said that the band director at the time approached her about trying something new and collaborative. She first incorporated dance in the first year and said that students really complained about it. However, after several years with this tradition, students are very excited about the dance portion. She said that some students do choir specifically for the purpose of the dance component in the spring. She also said that the boys are the ones who get the most excited about dancing and that they look forward to it throughout the year.

I had a class cancelled later that morning, so I stayed for a part of the next class, Concert Choir. I wanted to see the different energy of DeWitt’s mixed group and wondered about differences. They were definitely chattier than the women who meet at 7:30! Ms. Eldred had to ask them to be quiet a little more, but it wasn’t a big issue. There was also a minor confrontation with a student who seemed to have a very bad attitude that day. This student was questioning everything Ms. Eldred said and being a little sassy. Though the student was sitting in front and center of the room and it was clear that Ms. Eldred heard everything she was saying, she basically ignored her sassy comments. She didn’t even address the student or her attitude. This was so interesting, and it seemed to work. Ms. Eldred didn’t even react to the poor attitude and simply went about teaching as normal. The sassy comments did eventually go away and were a non-issue. While this seems like a good practice, I have seen many instances where teachers react differently and it often results negatively. I think a lot of times teachers draw attention to the bad attitudes and sometimes lose their cool out of annoyance. Ms. Eldred was able to keep the focus of all of the other students well enough that they were not concerned about the negativity in the room, and eventually it just went away. I was really impressed.

The men in the group DID seem especially excited about the dancing. The energy of this group seemed really fun and positive overall, and I got really excited about working with them next year! There was a lot of smiling and laughter throughout class.

Observation 7: DeWitt High School, Bella Voce

A topic of discussion at my observation this week was the students' upcoming sight reading quiz. They have three quizzes throughout the year and are preparing for their third. I think this is so great that they are held accountable individually. I also like that they continue to work on sight reading after festival is over. It shows that Ms. Eldred values the skill beyond the score at festival and teaches students that it is important. It also puts some healthy pressure on them throughout the year to develop their skills and not rely on the rest of the group to carry the weight. If the singers do well enough on their first two quizzes then they do not have to take the third. However, Ms. Eldred places the responsibility on the students for knowing whether or not they have to take the third quiz. 

Bella Voce is very focused on their spring concert now. They are singing "All About That Bass," "Run the World (Girls)," and "Popular" from Wicked. I find it very interesting the way Ms. Eldred has adjusted the arrangements to be a little more simple for this group. It is clear she is skilled in knowing how much they can handle and what will sound the best within the arrangement.

I ran an alto sectional, which was very relaxed. I didn't get much feedback from the students when I said things like, "Should we do that again?" so I quickly changed it to "Let's do that again!" They were already pretty solid on their parts and did not seem to want to work on them very much. I tried to pick out little things that could be improved, but the energy in the room seemed somewhat impatient. I understand how they probably felt, since they knew most of the notes, and I am not really in a place to shape the piece artistically. I also wasn't sure how long I was supposed to spend, and they were probably used to a certain amount of time. So we didn't work for very long, but I do think it was productive in solidifying their parts. Ms. Eldred asked me afterward how it went and anticipated that they were probably sort of low energy. She said it is usually like that during sectionals with this group. 

I think it's important to remember that high school choirs meet every single day (in most schedules) and sing the same music extremely repeatedly. They also have a million other things happening in their heads. School, let alone choir, might not be their number one focus one hundred percent of the time. Thus, there can be some low-energy sectionals that are still good and still have a positive influence. Repetition is both a fact of life and an important element of success.

Observation 6: Bella Voce, DeWitt HS

With festival over and the spring concert approaching, the energy of the choir classroom in DeWitt has shifted to match the seasonal change. Class began with discussion about the lip dub. As described in my previous blog, this is a music video that each choir creates in which they lip synch a popular song (in this case "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus) and move the camera throughout the school. It also gives opportunities for students to be featured. I found out more about all of this at my latest observation.

The lip dub videos also serve as advertisements for the spring concert. The students spend time in one class planning the video and then another class recording. This seems like a really fun activity, and it was clear that the girls in Bella Voce were excited about it. As they planned where they would shoot the video and different events for different parts of the song, the group worked in creative collaboration. At DeWitt HS, they have a "Rock" like the one at MSU that gets painted for various events or causes. Someone suggested that they paint the rock and incorporate it into the lip dub video, and everyone loved the idea, especially Ms. Eldred. The group was so excited while they planned it, and I was impressed to learn that it doesn't take that much time: less than two class periods. It might seem like a silly, just-for-fun thing, BUT there is clearly a lot of value in it. The students develop creative, community-building skills. And what's wrong with having a little fun for less than two class periods?

I led warm-ups again at this observation. When I got in front of the class a girl said that she really liked my shirt, and a few others agreed. This was flattering! It was St. Patrick's Day so I was sure to wear green. Ms. Eldred suggested to do the same activity as last time but add something small. My added vocalization was a simple 5 4 3 2 1 on "zee" focusing on a round "ee" vowel. The overall warm-up time was a little smoother than before. The group definitely sounded significantly more secure on the round since they had had a couple of reps. Ms. Eldred wrote out some really good feedback for me.

She said to be careful about "you" language, use "we." This is something I know I've talked about briefly in some classes, but I was totally unaware that I was doing that. She said that especially with Bella Voce, the psychology of "we" is significantly more effective. I will pay close attention to this. I totally understand it but wasn't particularly conscious of it before.

Ms. Eldred also suggested adding more kinesthetic movements. This is one of those things that was in the lesson plan, but was forgotten! I tend to do that here and there.

The other piece of feedback was a really powerful idea: "Be really critical about what you want to hear. How do you trick them into doing it?" This is something that I really find difficult at this point. I am getting pretty comfortable with students, and my ear is getting a lot more observant when listening to an ensemble, but it's everything in between that is tricky: how to connect the students to the sound in my head. I know that's the whole point, obviously! Sometimes it's easy, when you have a plan to work on something in the first place. But you can never predict what the choir will sound like, so it can be really hard to help a choir on the spot. So often I know the difference between the sound of the choir and the "goal" sound, but it is really hard to connect them! Again, I guess that's the whole point.

Here is my sample sight singing exercise!

Observation 5: Bella Voce, DeWitt HS

Today was a very busy day with Bella Voce! They just finished festival, are beginning their spring concert music, were planning a special video project, and it was my first day teaching them.

As Ms. Eldred suggested, I led warm-ups today. I used to dread warm-ups, but after our study of them, I felt very confident in putting together a good warm-up plan. However, I was really nervous to be in front of this class. I guess high schoolers intimidate me a little bit. Ms. Eldred introduced me and announced that I would be student teaching with her next year, which made me extra nervous, knowing that they know I will be there for a whole semester next spring. I made a little joke about my sitting in the corner for a few weeks, and they actually laughed. I did a stretch activity, an alignment activity, a breathing exercise, a humming exercise, and a vocalization with a round. The humming exercise was in Lydian, which seemed to be a big challenge and I could tell they felt uncomfortable with that raised fourth. I think they got used to it. I sang the round to them once, then had them repeat it back a couple of times. When I made it into a round, I could hear some insecurity in their voices. It got a little better, but was still unsure.

After class, Ms. Eldred gave feedback. She said that she appreciated my confidence and that I seemed very comfortable in front of the group. However, she said I should work longer on the round, making sure that they can sing it all together with more stability before splitting it into a round. I agree that they weren’t very stable on it. I really like being in a classroom with beginning high school students, to remember that they need to hear things and sing them a few times before they can sing them confidently.

It was extremely valuable to observe Bella Voce’s debrief of their festival scores. They received an excellent rating, while Chamber Choir received a superior, (2 points away from perfect score) and Concert Choir was 2 points below a superior. I was really impressed by these scores. Bella Voce’s scores and comments included a lot of talk about vowels, about which I know the group had some concerns. They also discussed the challenges from the venue, which made them aurally uncomfortable and could have caused some pitch issues. Every judge gave them a perfect score in “rhythm elements” which I thought made sense. Their music, especially the Spanish piece, had some complicated rhythms and they handled them and prepared them really well.

Today was the first day that Ms. Eldred had to get the girls’ attention to stop talking. She simply did a rhythm pattern on “ch” one time and they focused in. It was so graceful and smooth, I barely noticed. I sensed that the group is a little more relaxed now that festival is over, so perhaps a little more chatty. There was a lighter energy today, including some funny stories from both Ms. Eldred and students.

The choirs have a unique tradition of creating a “lip dub” video, in which they lip synch to a pop song and create a video with all of the members in different parts of the building. A student informed me of what they were talking about. It seems like a very popular, creative project. They voted for the song, “See You Again” by Miley Cyrus.

Today, Bella Voce also began working on their spring concert music, starting with “Popular” from Wicked. It seems that Ms. Eldred made some adjustments to the arrangement (just omitting some harmony parts) to make it a little easier. I thought that it worked well for the group.

Observation 4: Bella Voce, DeWitt HS

This past week at DeWitt High School, Bella Voce rehearsed in their final days before festival. They had just had a concert of their festival pieces and used this as a tool for final adjustments to their pieces.

Procedures began as usual with attendance, announcements, and warm-ups. Then, they all listened to the recording from their concert. Ms. Eldred mentioned that they had received some really nice compliments. She warned them not to be too critical of themselves, because people are always particularly critical of every aspect of their own work. She asked them to listen for things that they could really fix in just a few days. They listened attentively to the recording looking for elements that could use improvement. After each piece, Ms. Eldred asked them to collectively create a “kill and drill” list and made it clear that it was crunch time. I think the singers took ownership of this concept that they could all contribute to what needed to happen for them to improve, and that they had just a few days to perfect their pieces.

The students had very thoughtful responses to their recordings. They were particularly critical of the vowels in both pieces, recognizing the effect when vowels are not unified. They talked about specific words that gave them trouble. “Old Mountain Thyme” is in English, while “Yo Le Canto” is in Spanish, but many of the same vowels were the problematic ones. In the Spanish piece, there were certain words that some were mispronouncing, causing some disputes in the sound.

One student pointed out that a lot of the phrases were too short, that people were breathing when they weren’t supposed to. Ms. Eldred said she agreed, but that there probably wasn’t enough time to fix that, because everyone had gotten into the bad habit. I can understand this point, and it was a good reminder of reality: that sometimes you cannot achieve perfection with every element of every piece in every choir, especially in a real-world school setting. She wanted to focus on more fixable things, which is very practical.

“Old Mountain Thyme” begins in unison and moves to two-part, then three-part. The group, along with Ms. Eldred and her husband, who had given feedback to her, conceded that the three-part sections sounded better than the unison. I thought this was interesting, since we recently talked about unisons being difficult in class. I bet Ms. Eldred chose a piece with a lot of unison for this group of mostly beginners as a good challenge. They certainly were able to focus on line and unity.

Bella Voce rehearsed their pieces, stopping to clean up a lot of little details. There was a strong sense of focus in the ensemble and a definite common goal, which made it pretty productive.