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.
No comments:
Post a Comment