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.