Here is the link to my playlist of videos of my choral warm up:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRTgJEnb1Sob5xjhd5XkgrHwrec6oz09U

Choral Warm-Up                                                                                      

Physical

Physically warming up before you sing is very important to get your entire body ready and relieve any tension.

Stand up and flop over from your hips like a rag doll. Let your head and arms hang down. Take a deep breath in and while breathing out sink down further. Make sure your knees are slightly bent and not locked. Take another deep breath in and sink down further while you breathe out. Slowly roll up. Roll your shoulders once you reach the top and shake out any tension you might have.

Breathing

It is important to include breathing exercises in your warm-up to make sure that your singers know how to properly breathe because it is the foundation to producing sound.

Breathe in for 3 and out for 6 for each exercise. The first time, exhale normally, then the second time exhale on a ‘shhh’ and then the last time exhale on a ‘ssss’ and release your breath until you run out of air.

Resonance

Resonance exercises help improve and project the choirs’ sound. On an open hum sing major 2nds starting on the note A and move up chromatically.

Make sure to create space by imagining marshmallows between your back teeth which helps lower your jaw and keeping your tongue low in your mouth with the tip behind your lower bottom teeth to help raise your soft palate while humming.

Flexibility

Singers need to work on flexibility exercises to strengthen their voice. This will allow them to expand their range in a healthy way.

Starting on the note C, slide up a 5^th and then back down singing ‘ee’ and move up chromatically. There is also movement incorporated with this exercise. Put one foot slightly forward. When sliding up to the 5^th shift your weight to your front foot and then shift your weight to your back foot while sliding down the 5^th. Make sure that you are singing every note in between the 5^th.

Diction

Exercises for diction help relieve any tension in the articulators (mouth, teeth, tongue, etc).

For diction, sing ‘ma’, ‘me’, ‘mi’, ‘mo’, ‘mu’ on a descending 5 note scale starting on the note G. Change the consonant throughout the exercise. Reinforce to really pronounce the consonants!

Post on readings for chapter 12 from Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and Interlude G from Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults by Jenevora Williams. Ah-ha moments/Comments 1) I liked reading on voice positioning in the choir. I don't have much choir background so this is a concept that I do not know much about. It is important to know about placing voices in your choir so you can blend the voices together. Some sections of the choir are bigger than others or you might have a singer that stands out so you need to know where to place these singers. They provide diagrams in the book of different arrangements that you could consider using with your choir. 2) In the first part of interlude G in William's book she talks about the terms we would use to describe how we want them to sound. Although we might understand what we mean by the term, the student could interpret this term in many ways. For example, the term clear is a pretty broad term and the students could come up with many meanings for this. As teachers we need to choose our words and adjectives carefully and make sure that our students have the same interpretation as us. Questions 1)If you have one student that still stands out while singing even if you move them to a different position in the choir to try and blend them with the other students, what are some other strategies or ways of dealing with this situation. 2) In William's book it mentions that we need open our mouths wide to make a better sound. Some people, especially younger children have small mouths and they are not going to be able to open them as wide as we want them to. Does this affect their sound much? Is there anything we can do to help their sound?

Resource Review PechaKucha by Kenzie Squires on Scribd

Post on readings for chapter 15 in Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and chapter 7 in Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults by Jenevora Williams.

Ah-ha moments/ Comments

1) I enjoyed the section in the book by Williams on prevention of voice problems. We use our voices every day. Some ways that we use our voices is putting a lot of stress on our voice. In the book it states a common problem and then provides a solution. 

2) I never thought of women's mentrual cycles affecting singing before this course. In the book by Davids there is a section on hormonal factors affecting the voice. It was interesting to read on the different hormones affecting people's singing. 

Questions

1) In the William's book it lists voice disorders. Would these disorders be similar for adolescents and adults?

2) How necessary are cool downs? I don't think I have ever been to a rehearsal where we have cooled down after.

Notes on the slides from the PechaKucha presentation on Group Vocal Technique Frauke Hassemann and James M. Jordan.

Slide 1 Intro

The book I have chosen is Group Vocal Technique by Frauke Hassemann and James M. Jordan. This is a complete methodology book for vocal technique in a choral setting. The book focuses on vocal training that can be taught to amateur singers. The text also references a video and vocalise cards that goes along with the text.

Slide 2 Dedication

This book is dedicated in memory of Professor Dr. Wilhelm Ehmann who passed away in 1989. He was known to be a combination of being a philosopher, pedagogue, musicologist, conductor, and teacher. He was an inspiration for his students and colleagues. This book is written in his memory to provide us with new insights of choral music.

Slide 3 Frauke Hassemann

Frauke Hassemann is a former professor of conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She is recognized for being an authority in vocal music and worked with Dr. Wilhelm Ehmann with the Westfalische Kantorei. She is the co-author of another book that was written with Wilhelm Ehmann called Voice Building for Choirs.

Slide 4 James M. Jordan

James M. Jordan is the associate professor of conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He holds a master of music in choral conducting and a PH.D in music education from Temple University. He studied conducting with both Wilhelm Ehmann and Frauke Hassemann. He is a regular contributor to the Choral Journal and is on the editorial board of the Journal of the Southeastern Music Symposium.

Slide 5 Video and Cards

There is a video and vocalise cards that go along with this text. The text references segments of the video that provides aural and visual models of the techniques that are presented in the text. It also references specific segments of the vocalise cards that give additional exercises related to the technique that is being discussed in that section.  

Slide 6 Intro, Ch. 2, Ch. 3

They start the book off with an introduction which highlights the foundational concepts for group vocal technique. Chapter 2 prepares you to organize the foundational concepts found in the introduction and explains how to use the book. Chapter 3 gives examples and advice of how to prepare, examples of planning guides, and teaching strategies for your choir.

Slide 7 Chapter 4 and 5

Next they talk about relaxation and posture. They emphasize relaxation exercises in order to free up the body of any tension and provide a list that you can do with your choir.  They also list a step by step approach of how to explain posture to your singers. Chapter 5 highlights building spaciousness in the voice and to expand the vocal tract by relaxing your jaw, tongue and lips.

Slide 8 Chapter 6 and 7

Chapter 6 gives examples of exercises for breathing. They concentrate on diaphragm activity, inhalation, exhalation, and support exercises. The next chapter talks about the pedagogical use and importance of the sigh to help build our voices. They also have a section on encouraging and nurturing head tone in the choir.

Slide 9 Chapter 8,9, and 10

To create and develop a core sound they explore the concept of resonance. For proper placement they introduce the two concepts of fishmouth and rabbit teeth as foundations for appropriate vocal resonance and go into more detail on their benefits. They also explain the use of dynamics, crescendos and decrescendos with your choir.

Slide 10 Chapter 11, 12, and 13

Chapter 11 is about register consistency and developing vocal registers such as the head tone. Range extension and having flexibility in both high and low registers is important to develop and they provide exercises for you to do with your choir. Chapter 13 provides two major steps for executing leaps.

Slide 11 Chapter 14, and 15

Chapter 14 addresses legato, staccato, and martellato styles of singing. Each style is explained with diagrams of short exercise you can incorporate. English diction and the five pure vowels is their next topic to discuss. They go into detail about the international phonetic alphabet with vowels and consonants.

Slide 12 Chapter 16 and 17

Continuing with diction, they switch languages to talk about the Latin diction fundamentals. There are some differences between consonants in English and Latin so they provide an explanation for each one. Chapter 17 is German diction. It is important for choirs to sing in different languages and to have correct pronunciation.

Slide 13 Chapter 18 and 19

Chapter 18 examines vowel modification and the difference between open and closed vowels. Marking the score is the next chapter. Singers should mark their scores with technical reminders so that reoccurring errors are less likely to happen. The book provides an extensive list of different markings they could put in and their explanations.

Slide 14 Chapter 20, 21

Other things to consider besides the techniques and basic concepts of singing include auditions and seating plans. If you choose to audition your choir, they provide an audition form to help you organize your objectives. Depending on the type of choir and how big your choir is you are going to have different seating plans. The book displays several examples of different arrangements that are possible.

Slide 15 Chapter 22, 23, and Summary

Chapter 22 is about literature selection. They provide a list of points to consider when choosing a piece and included a template of a form you may use to help with selecting pieces. The next chapter deals with conducting technique. They go through a list of concepts you should be aware of and give specific instructions concerning conducting exercises.

Slide 16 Useful thing #1

One thing that I found useful as a choral conductor is the template they provide that you could use when auditioning your choir. It provides you space to write down their range, what concepts of their singing need attention, and space to write any comments that you might have. This is helpful in planning what part they are going to sing.

Slide 17 Useful thing #2

Another thing that I found useful as a choral conductor was the list of markings that student can write in the score. This technique of writing in the score is useful as technical reminders for the singers. If a particular problem is consistently happening this technique may help to reduce or eliminate it. This also allows singers to become familiar with the basic concepts of singing.

Slide 18 Potential

This book is a fantastic resource for choral teachers. Each chapter takes you through all the different aspects of singing and concepts you need to be teaching your students. It is an easy read and provides several tips and exercises for each concept. The video and vocalise cards that go along with the book are also very helpful.

Slide 19 Criticisms

The only criticism I would have is that the book is a bit dated being published in 1991. More research has been done with singing since then so this book would not provide you with the most up to date findings. Not all choral teachers may agree with everything written in this book but it allows you to gather information from their perspective.

Slide 20 Conclusion

To conclude, this book is great for beginning conductors with limited vocal training. It describes in detail the philosophy and teaching principles of Group Vocal Technique. With all their tips and exercises conductors will have no problem running rehearsals. This book provides a solid foundation for amateur singers so they can move on to higher.

This is my powerpoint for my PechaKucha presentation for my resource review. The book I have chosen is Group Vocal Technique by Frauke Hassemann and James M. Jordan.

Here is the link to the slideslow:

https://us2-broadcast.officeapps.live.com/m/Broadcast.aspx?Fi=f7e27f1d10527ebb%5F073c3947%2D7479%2D4d2c%2D9838%2D23363696960f%2Epptx

Post on readings. Chapter 16: A Productive Warm-Up from  Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and chapter 6 Structuring lessons and practice from Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults  by Jenevora Williams. 

Ah-ha moments/ Comments

1) In Ch. 16 there is a section on the warm up sequence. It states that the sequence is almost as important as the exercises themselves. This is something that I have never heard before. I knew that you should cover different concepts of singing but didn't know that the order mattered. 

2) I really liked in chapter 6 in the book by Williams that they explained every concept with a theory first then had a section on how to practice this with your singers. This is very useful for making your warm ups so you know why you are doing certain exercises.

Questions

1) How long should your warm ups be? How much of your rehearsal time should you be taking up for your warm up?

2) The list of techniques for improving your memorisation skills listed in the book by Williams is a great list to teach your students. Would these techniques be good for all ages?

Response to reading Chapter 7 and 8 readings

Questions
1) How are they able to measure how many fluctuations per second they are singing for vibrato?

2) Does vibrato produce easier in lower or higher registers?

Comments
1) Now that I am taking private voice lessons I can better understand what I am reading. I just learned what a mixed voice was and how to achieve it so I feel like I can better relate.

2) I have never heard of female whistle register or stroh bass before so it was interesting to read about it!

Cantabile Choirs of Kingston

-          Created in 1996 and are located at the Sydenham Street United Church

-          There are over 250 voices in the choir and they put off 5 themed concerts a season!

-          They have received several distinctions, trophies, and awards!

Dr. Mark Sirett

-          He holds a masters and doctorate in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa

-          Won two international awards for conducting and has taught at several universities!

-          Dr. Mark Sirett is an award winning composer and has been commissioned to compose pieces for well known choirs in Canada

The Choirs

-          There are 6 Choirs

1)      Junior Choir- boys and girls ages 8-9

2)      Children’s Choir- boys and girls ages 10-13

3)      Young Women’s Choir- girls grade 8 to end of high school

4)      Young Men’s Chorus- junior high to high school

5)      Women’s Chorus

6)      Men’s Chorus

Recommendations

-          Chorister

-          Marketing/Recruitment

o   Facebook

o   Website – News and Events, Email updates

Repertoire

o   River in Judea arr. J. Leavitt -Gospel style piece for a young men’s choir. Unison parts help to work on tuning and blend. It has a nice piano accompaniment and is easy to learn.

o   Ononyatakaka by Mark Sirett - This piece was inspired by the Mohawk culture. It represents sounds echoing off rock cliffs. It is a very dramatic and energetic piece with percussion instruments that create cross rhythms.

o   Un canadien errant by Mark Sirett -This is a slow emotional french Quebec folk piece which allows the choir to sing in a different language with a gorgeous melody. It will help the choir to work on a beautiful blended sound.

o   Carol of the Bells arr. Wilhousky – This Ukrainian Folk Song is a common Christmas tune with expressive dynamics helps develop their technique of singing at a faster tempo.

    You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch arr. Funk- This is a fun and simple children’s choir piece. It is simple and easy to learn. It also incorporates fun percussion instruments such as a slide whistle and 

This is my prezi presentation on the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston:

http://prezi.com/rlxmaytq68eu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

ChoralNet Discussion

http://www.choralnet.org/2016/09/7-ways-love-choir-ryan-guth/

I loved this article. I think it is very important to love your choir and make sure that they know it. Caring for your students is very important. Students who feel valued and loved are more likely to open up and put in more effort. They will always remember you as a teacher and thank you when they grow up. The teachers that I remember are the ones who showed us that they cared and always asked how we were doing and would not only talk about the work that needed to be done. It is important to adjust your mood according to how your students are feeling. I really liked that in the article he provides some ideas for the different kinds of moods you are going to find in your students. Sharing stories helps them relate to you or sometimes even lighten the mood if it is funny. Everything he mentioned in the article are things that I am going to try and remember when I walk into a classroom. How about you? Do you think it is important to love your choir?

Post on reading assignment for chapter 4 in Singing to Children and Young Adults Jenevora Williams and chapter 13 in Vocal Technique by Julia Davids.

Comments/ A-ha moments

1) I learned a lot about puberty from the chapter in Williams's book. I knew that there were physical changes that happened during this period but did not fully understand why guys voices went so low. I know understand that it is because that vocal folds are growing and becoming longer and thicker by 65% for males and 34% for females.

2) I really liked in the Williams book when it said " Play with noises and have fun: the laughing pupil will learn more easily than the fearful one". I have had a lot of students who are shy and intimidated to work with teachers. It is always more productive when you make the lesson fun and informal. The students are most likely to open up and ask questions and get involved.

Questions:
1)  I was shocked to read their reasons for onset of puberty. Their reasons are things that I would have never thought about before. They say that puberty is happening earlier in age. Their reasons include improved diet, warmer climate, hormones in water supplies or beauty products, increased psychosexual stimulation, and increased overall exposure to light. Would these really cause changes for when puberty starts?

2) In the book by Davids it talks a lot about tension especially with the tongue. I have had this problem with clarinet playing where I would use too much tension with my tongue and it would influence my playing and my sound. Would the size of your tongue influence singing and having tension?

Post on reading assignment for chapters 1,2, 3, and interludes A, B, and C from Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults by Jenevora Williams.

Comments:

1) I liked Interlude B on the learning process. It really shows that there are several steps to learning and several aspects that factor in. She states 7 stages of learning each focusing on something different. I don't think however that every child's brain works easy like this and that some kids are going to have more trouble in certain areas than others.

2) I enjoyed reading on the physical development and changes in kids. Being a music school teacher you are going to be faced with kids of all ages wanting to sing and it is important to understand what physical changes they might be going through. They are developing and you are going to want to know how to properly approach teaching them how to sing depending on where they are in developing so that they do not damage their voice.


Questions:

1) It says in chapter 1 that younger singers should avoid extended singing on pitches, or singing loudly or passages with fast notes, or singing long phrases, or any combination of these. I know it is important for their vocal health to develop their voice at a certain pace so that you do not damage it. However, we also see very young singers who are incredible and sing just as well as some adults. Are these kids damaging their voice or are they further developed than usual young children?

2) In the interlude A section it mentions that no child born able to sing in tune and that everyone needs to learn it. I liked this statement cause a lot of teachers would just say that the student is tone deaf. Why does it come faster to some kids than it does for others? Is it possible to have kids that can not match pitch at all?

Post on reading assignment for chapters 5 and 6 from Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and Stephen LaTour.

Comments/ A-ha moments:

1) I liked reading about the section on tongue position when singing vowels. I am not a singer so I have never learned any of this information before. Moving your tongue slightly will change the sound and intonation and with a choir that will be hard to blend. I would love to learn more about this topic since it affects the choir's sound so much!

2) I enjoyed reading on all the different ways to sing 'r'. You have flipped 'r', rolled 'r', and retroflex 'r'. Then there are different rules when singing in italian or german.



Questions:

1) Does the size of someone's tongue or mouth influence their ability to create nice resonating vowel sounds?

2) In the chapter on vowels it says that sopranos should avoid singing vowels [i] and [u] at high pitches. Is there rep that requires them to? If so, how would we approach this in an appropriate that still has a good tone?

Post on reading assignment for chapters 3 and 4 from Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and Stephen LaTour and  chapter 5 from Teaching singing to children and young adults by Jenevora Williams.

Comments/ A-ha moments:

1) In the book by Davids it talks about your soft palate in chapter 4 about resonance. I found it interesting to read about having an inner smile while you sing to lift the soft palate. I have experienced this concept while studying clarinet in university. In order for clarinettists to make sure air does not leak and to ensure they have a good focused tone we think of the inner smile while we play to close the soft palate. I was surprised to see that it is the same concept with singing.

2) In the book by Williams, I was fascinated to learn about how many times the vocal chords collide to create a certain frequency. The example they use is if you sing a middle C then the folds are colliding about 260 times a second. I would have never guessed that they collide so many times in just one second.

Questions:

1) The book by Davids goes pretty in depth about the vocal anatomy and gives detailed explanations of how singing works. When would a teacher introduce these concepts to the their student? Would you just keep it simple for them and teach them the basics of how to create sound and resonance?

2) In the book by Williams it has a section on vocal chords. It speaks about elongating the vocal folds to raise pitch and increasing the force of collision of the vocal folds to change loudness. How would you explain this concept to students? This is something that I don't think they will grasp right away. What are some healthy ways to explain these same concepts so they don't damage their vocal folds?

Response to Ted Talk : Lead like the great conductors by Itay Talgam

Throughout the ted talk by Itay Talgram, he discusses the different styles of conducting from great conductors of the 20^th century and points out crucial lessons. I liked when he talked about spreading happiness and the joy that is created when there is a concert. It reminds us of why people come to see a concert and that as the conductor you have the ability to bring joy to people. I thought it was funny when he said never look at the trombones because it only encourages them. This statement is very true and I have encountered this during several rehearsals. You have to let the music happen by itself and not interfere. I thought this was a great lesson because you want to let your players have the freedom to interpret the story and it will all come together beautifully. He mentions to make the musicians your partners and not tell them what to do.  I find it fascinating that you can control an ensemble with the tiniest movements or even with just the expression on your face. It is fascinating to watch how different yet effective each conductor’s style is and see the different ways you can communicate to your musicians. 

Welcome to Kenzie Does Music!


This blog is for ED2520 Voice and Choral Methods. It is a choral blog which allows me to be a part of a personal learning network.

I have a Bachelor of Music from Memorial University where I studied clarinet and I am currently studying music education as a second degree. My background with choral music is limited so I look forward to learning more and sharing it with others.