What To Do When They’re New! Creative Approaches to Beginning Women’s Choirs

Creative Approaches to Beginning Women’s Choirs

Celebration High School

FMEA 2015

References
Bagley, Priscilla. Private Voice Instructor

Director of the Dramatic Institute of Vocal Arts, Orlando, FL.

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Lexington, KY

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL.

Build Community

Respect: Respect is integral. We must all respect each other

Individuals: Each singer is an individual person with different thoughts, feelings and abilities.

Time: Take the time in rehearsal to do activities.
RIT: Slow down and remember what is important: Students receiving an amazing experience.
Ice Breakers/Name Games
Quiz: Prepare 8-10 questions about your students in choir. This is best done after a week or so and you have learned some interesting facts about certain singers.
Examples: Find someone with the last name that begins with R.

Find someone with blond hair.

Find someone who went to Central Middle School.

Find someone who was born outside the country.

Snickers: Places I’ve been

Dum Dum: Things that bug me
Students go around in circle answering questions for the types of candy they took. At the end, candy feast!
Find Someone: Half of your class writes on a blank index card one to three statements, such as a favorite color, interest or hobby on one side and their names on the other. Post these cards, interest side out, on the walls around your classroom. The other half of your class goes around the classroom and finds a card with similar interests. They match up with that student, discuss/share interests and introduce each other to the ensemble.
Carousels: Everyone finds a partner and decides who is “A” and who is “B”. All “A’s” make a circle with partner B facing them. Now you have two concentric circles with students facing each other. Have the outer or inner circle rotate one partner to the left or right and give students items to discuss. At certain points stop and have girls introduce new people to the choir.
Toilet Paper Game: Take a roll of toilet paper and ask each singer how many squares they want, but don't tell them why. Set a limit (10 at the most is good). Count out the squares, rip after the last square and give all of the squares to the singer. After every singer has squares, go around and have each person say facts about themselves for each square until they are finished. The first square has to be their name.
Dyadic Encounter Form dyads (2) and have participants complete the rest of the sentence. One partner reads the provided sentences while the other finishes it.
Team Building
Carousels II: Perform the activity as before, asking students to discuss a question or idea you toss out. Then take away their ability to speak and have them communicate non-verbally. Then have them communicate other things with just their bodies such as emotions, hobbies, etc.
USE: Communication. Communication is essential to good rehearsals and for a program.

Verbally: The director gives you feedback, announcements, etc. You communicate with the director. You verbally communicate to ensemble members. How is it good? How is it bad? How does it help our hinder rehearsal?

Non-Verbally: What does your posture say to a director? Your facial reactions? What do conducting gestures mean?


Team Banner: Create the letters that spell the choir name (i.e. Freshmen Women). Cut the letters into pieces to equal half the numbers of your choir. (50 women in your choir, cut them into 25 pieces and then number them 1 to 25). Number separate pieces of paper 1 to 25. As women enter rehearsal, they get a numbered puzzle piece or a number. Women get matched up randomly to design their piece together, talk, etc. The piece should represent something they share in common. Have them introduce each other to the class and their design.

USE: Unity. What does the banner represent? How do we each individually contribute to the choir? Something visible to represent them on the walls.


Choir Chain Links: Same idea as the team banner, but have each student select a long slip of colored paper. Have them write something on it like, “What I give thanks for” or “What my goal for the year is”. Have officers or you make this into a large chain and display it in the choir room.
USE: Unity. What does this chain represent? How do we actively keep working towards a goal we set?


Hula Hoop Pass: Ask everyone to stand in a circle with their hands clasped. Find two people, unclasp their hands, put a hula hoop through and ask them to clasp hands again. Their goal is to pass the hula hoop around the circle until it’s back at it’s original position without letting go of hands. Once completed, ask if they could do it faster.
Other ideas:

1) Add another hoop going in the opposite direction, which means that they’ll need to pass at two points.

2) Disable members of the circle with blindfolds, turn them around, make them sit.
USE: Discuss the power of choice. Did you choose to be in choir? Then it was your active choice to make this part of your day. Did you not choose to be in choir? Then you can choose whether or not to make it a good experience or a bad one. How do you choose to make this choir successful? (Having materials, participation, good attitude). How do you choose to be better?


Vision Statement: Hand each student a formatted paper with the following: I,_________________, am committed to creating a____________world, where people_____________,by being____________,______________, and__________________.
Have the choir create a vision statement to post on the wall.
USE: Unity. This serves as our contract with each other for the remainder of this year.

Vocal Technique

Vocalization: Breathiness is the Devil

Posture: are they sitting/standing correctly? Are they facing outward or looking down?

Breath: are they taking enough breath? Are they supporting the breath? Are the ribs expanded throughout singing?

Scared Singing: are they not singing out? Are they singing too softly?

1. 
   Ask the students to sing a very forward and bright [i] vowel with their noses plugged on F above middle C. Have the students repeat this to create a solid sense of vibration in the sinuous cavities. Have them practice moving the sound back and forward along the hard palate. Have them move the sound “up and over” the soft palate into the sinuous cavities creating a solid forward placement.
   

2. 
   Ask the students to sing the word “Sing” and hold onto the [ŋ] or “ng” of the word with the back of the tongue against the hard palate. Have them phonate exercises on this [ŋ] or “ng” such as a descending 5-4-3-2-1 pattern. After a few days, transition to vowels such as [i], ee. Students begin on ng for steps 5 and 4 of the descending pattern and on step 3 open to the vowel.
   

3. 
   Have students speak basic one syllable words with a pure vowel sound such as “Flea” [fli], “Key” [ki], “Boot” [but], “Dude” [dud], etc. After speaking it, have them elongate the vowel on speech. Ask them to sing it in a high voice; ask them to sing it in a low voice. Move from speech to phonation by adding a pitch and vocalizing.
   

4. 
   Vocalize on a hum, any given exercise. Ask the students to describe where they feel a buzzing or vibration. (Lead the answers to upper cheeks, forehead, sinuses, etc) Vocalize on a neutral vowel, asking the students to “tune in” or “focus” their sounds into that place where they felt a buzzing.
   

5. 
   Ask students to sing like an elementary choir. Progress to middle school, high school, college and even adult. Ask the students to describe the differences between the sounds. How did the sound mature? How did they make a more mature sound? Continue that process when singing always!
   

6. 
   Ask students to sing or speak staccato exercises on short, one syllable words like “ho, ho, ho”. Have them place their thumbs under the diaphragmatic arch (where the ribs meet). Ask the students to describe what they feel. Can they feel the muscles working for them? Ask them to sing from here, not the throat.
   

7. 
   Ask students to say “Hey” to the person next to them. Then ask them to say “Hey” to you. Then ask them to say “Hey” to the back of the auditorium. Ask the students to describe the difference. Where does the power come from that makes a difference? SUPPORT MECHANISM!
   

8. 
   Ask students to sing on [i] very breathy. Ask students to subtract half of the breath, clear it up a bit. Ask students to remove all of the breathiness, but make it all tone. “Let the tone follow the air flow” “Make the tone the girl, make the breath the boy. Don’t make the girl chase the boy.”
   

Tonal Phraseology

"Less like a flood light, more like a laser beam."

“Send your sound back, up and over.”

“Aim your vowel at your top, back molars.”

“Inhale the sound over your soft palate.”

“Send the sound out the back of your head.”

Literature

• 
  “Tone Builder”. Unison, Latin or Italian. Treat like a daily voice lesson in rehearsal.
  
  • 
    Why?: Possible solo & ensemble rep, wedding/funeral rep, build your repertoire.
    

• 
  “Barnstormer”. 2 parts, upbeat, instrumentation. Use as the “carrot” to engage the singers.
  
  • 
    Why? 1^st piece says, “Here is my voice.” 2^nd piece says, “Here’s what I can do with my voice.”
    

“Tone Builder”

Ave Maria, Bach/Gounod

Pie Jesu, Faure

Panis Angelicus, Franck

Ombra Mai Fu, Handel

24 Italian Songs
“Barnstormer”

River in Judea, Marcus & Feldman/arr. Leavitt

Can You Hear, Jim Papoulis

We Will, Jim Papoulis