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#1 2009-10-23 13:22:18
- ahollifield
- Just arrived
- Registered: 2009-02-02
- Posts: 4
Middle school chorus help
I started a new middle school chorus last year from scratch (these students had very little musical background from previous teachers), and this year, I am really trying to get a good sound from them. Before last year, my experience had been in K-5 schools, so I have little experience teaching middle school chorus and a lot of questions! My kids have a lot of trouble with intonation. I think they just don't support their sound enough. What have you done to address this problem? Also, I feel that a lot of their issues come from a lack of confidence and motivation. They just don't sing loud enough, especially my 8th graders (I have them first thing in the morning, so that doesn't help). How do you inspire confidence and energy at 8:00 in the morning? I try to choose rep that they will enjoy and incorporate some movement into warmups. What else can I do? Any advice, suggestions, activities you can offer for middle school chorus would be very helpful.
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#2 2009-10-23 14:08:53
- Tom Carter
- Participant
- From: Northern California
- Registered: 2008-04-14
- Posts: 160
- Website
Re: Middle school chorus help
Did you check out the post entitled, "How to encourage confidence?"? It's about four posts below this one.
All my best,
Tom
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#3 2009-10-23 16:55:53
- jgperc
- Participant
- From: Redlands California
- Registered: 2009-02-02
- Posts: 54
Re: Middle school chorus help
Buy Tom's book and read it. I started out my beginning chorus, 6th grade, this year and I have never had a group of kids work at this level. Pretty cool stuff. The best advice for me was to not single out kids. When I address an issue, I don't look at the offender, I say something like, "We still don't have everyone supporting", etc. I'm a patient man. I can wait a long time. If the behavior still continues, and I have to "dismiss" a student from class, which has only happened twice, I calmly tell them, "I'm sorry but your not ready today to support us. I'll have to ask you to leave." It's one of my best classes.
(Thanks Tom)
jg
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#4 2009-10-24 16:30:41
- Tom Carter
- Participant
- From: Northern California
- Registered: 2008-04-14
- Posts: 160
- Website
Re: Middle school chorus help
jg,
You're welcome! And thanks for the kind words about the book ... I'm glad you found some helpful ideas in there.
It sounds like you're using a modification of what I sometimes post here -- my Support System -- which is also on my website's "Dignity w/ Discipline" page. I didn't include it in the book, but some people find it useful.
All my best,
Tom
Last edited by Tom Carter (2009-10-24 17:02:12)
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#5 2009-11-06 16:08:41
- asheehy
- Just arrived
- Registered: 2009-11-06
- Posts: 1
Re: Middle school chorus help
Here are a few of my favorite warm-up activities that help my kids match pitch and sing with a supported sound (while having fun being silly). My best 'energizers' are echo patterns where I do sirens, resonant 'ha ha ha...' or speaking musical words in a 'Julia Child' style voice. If the kids don't match my resonance or tone I repeat is again, more clearly exaggerated. From there we move on to echoing silly sounds, then applying those tall, supported sounds to specific pitches. With weaker classes, I begin singing with sirens which land around a f or g, and have students hold out that note for 10 seconds.
I teach dynamics early on and assign them finger values (5=f, 4=mf, 3=mp, 2=p, 1=pp, fist=tacet) and have kids sing rounds over and over again while I change the dynamic levels (and eventually let kids do it, too). When we are working on concert songs, I can pull out the hand signs and mess with dynamics just to wake them up.
I use a lot of rounds (unison and in parts) to build sound, technique and confidence with my kids.
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#6 2009-11-06 19:29:40
- jgperc
- Participant
- From: Redlands California
- Registered: 2009-02-02
- Posts: 54
Re: Middle school chorus help
Another thing that I would like to add is have them sing Acappela A LOT! I'm an awful pianist and while I thought this would be a detriment, it turned out to be a great thing for my program. Also do Solfege with hand signs. Teach them the syllables and make them sign. It will help with audiation. Then as part of your warm ups do hand signs and have them sing what you sign. (if you don't know the symbols learn them.
jg
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#7 2009-11-11 22:07:59
- maryj10101
- 2009 November Chorus Mentor
- Registered: 2008-11-10
- Posts: 40
Re: Middle school chorus help
This is all terrific advice. Early morning is dreadful for middle school. THey will become more confident as YOU become more confident. CHeck some of the other postings about singing loud enough. Just wondering- are the kids comfortable with hand signs? Is this a logical sequent of pitch recognition? If not, is this getting in the way of tone production? Having them sing a lot, and not accepting "I am tired" is mandatory. The comment about singing a cappella is exactly right- don't use the piano or other instrument as a crutch that takes away their responsibility to sing in tune.
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