CMS Observation #2

This week I made my final observation at CMS.  I found that nearly all of Kyle's procedures remained consistent from one week to the next -- the women arrived, and joined the men in rehearsing, they then warmed-up when the men left, and rehearsed more.  In general, Kyle's classroom management techniques were subtle.  I imagine that his style would change in a setting with more disruptions, however these students seem to want to make music more than anything else.  Which is wonderful!

Kyle pulled Jenna and I up to the front of the room while they did a run through of a song.  He told the women that we were their audience, and they should treat it as a performance.  Then, he told us that we should have a few critiques when they were done singing.

Critiquing is in some ways very easy for me, and in others, extremely difficult.  Listening to them sing, I thought of many things I might comment on, but a good deal of those things were specific and nitpicky.  Finding a cohesive element, to make the sound overall better is much more difficult.  I also found there were moments when I could say, "now that wasn't quite right", but I had no idea what made it that way.  Most challenging for me as a critic, is finding something positive to say.  Not because they weren't wonderful, but because I think all comments should be specific and have meaning.  Saying, "that was good", is a cop-out.  And sometimes, I get very caught up in listening for things to improve, and forget to note what is already wonderful.

Repertoire #8 (Ashore at last!)

Ashore at last! by Frank K. Dewald

This piece was a no brainer for this project, for a couple of reasons:

1. The poetry, by Emily Dickinson is beautiful, but the phrases are short and easily accessible.
2. The piece has a beautiful cello line, as well as very accessible choral parts for SSA middle school choir.
3. The composer, Frank Dewald, was my middle school teacher.

All three parts are in a very accessible range for middle school women.  Chromatic and harmonic pitches are usually prepared by step.  There are only a few instances of complicated rhythms, but they are homophonic.

The opening passage is a great learning tool in itself.  Those pesky opening 4ths are an opportunity for the singers to really use their ears and work together as a choir.  The short phrases, which really reflect the original poetry, give the singers ample opportunities to reset the mechanism.  The frequent skips in melodic lines also challenge the singers to still keep the legato.  The altos also get a fabulous suspension on the top of page 5.

This text is spiritual in nature, as much of Dickinson's poetry is.  However, the text is distinctly spiritual, not specifically religious.  The text is also very symbolic, and a great way to open discussion.  There are also a few great vocabulary words to learn!

Repertoire #7 (Mainacht)

Mainacht by Johannes Brahms, arranged by Z. Randall Stroope

Another classic German piece...so I might be a little biased.  This arrangement of the Brahms is a TTBB version with the same beautiful melody and poetry.  I would reserve this piece for a high school men's ensemble.  The german text is beautiful, but lengthy and contains some of the more difficult Germanic vowel and consonant sounds.  However, with my background in German, I am confident in my ability to teach this text.

There are long passages of unison that then slowly peel off into harmonic lines.  None of the voice parts reach the extremes of the ranges.  The bass parts lie between B2 and C#4. The tenor lines lie between C#3 and G4.  Most all dissonances are prepared by step.  A good deal of the chromatic pitches are prepared by neighbor tones or a preexisting senority in the piano.

This piece is good for teaching legato and unison singing.  It is also a good piece to learn to hear close harmonies.  The singers can learn to feel comfortable singing German as well as crisp consonants.  Many phrases end with a consonant sound, and the singers will be challenged to end together.

This poetry, although in German, is very relatable in its content.  The idea of being unhappy, although the outside world is very happy, is quite relatable for high school students.

Repertoire #6 (I am not yours)

I am not yours by Z. Randall Stroope.

When going through my single copy file, I knew I had to pull this one.  I have loved this piece ever since I first sang it in high school.  Now, as I look back at it, I can see its merit as a teaching tool.

This piece would be appropriate for a large high-achieving high school ensemble.  The divisis in each voice part as well as the large ranges demand such an ensemble.  This piece is also highly reliant on the singers' ability to sing musically.

The ranges for each voice part are large and extreme.  The altos and basses have very extreme lows.  The tenors and sopranos spend a lot of time in their high ranges and passagio.   On the upside, each part acts as a melodic voice and an accompanimental voice at some point.

This piece is a great tool to teach line and legato.  There are ample opportunities for expressive text painting and use of consonants.  Rhythmic complexities give the singers the challenge of counting, and working together as an ensemble.

The poetry by Sara Teasdale is simple linguistically, which makes it accessible to students.  However, it is still exceedingly beautiful.  The imagery is precise and gorgeous.  The poetry is not entirely specific about the kind of love it describes, and so most students could find something to relate it to.

Observation #8

My 8th and final observation at Hayes Middle School.  It was kind of an underwhelming end to these eight weeks.

I taught another mini voice lesson this week.  Mr. Armstead asked me to work specifically on breath support with the girl.  We spent 15 minutes trying everything I could think of to get her to engage in low breathing.  She could figure out the low breathing when it was isolated, but she struggled to connect that to her singing, especially in her higher range.  Learning to sing is a process, and she will discover the connection to her breath someday!

In my other teaching experiences, I've always treasured getting to know the individual students.  But after eight visits to a classroom of 50+ students, I'm not sure I know a single girl's name.  I certainly learned a great deal from these visits about classroom management, the day to day of the classroom, and consistency.  Observing a strong teacher, like Mr. Armstead, was really a great experience.

Observation #7

Lesson of the week: scheduling at schools is insane.  Two weeks missed for spring break, and an adjusted schedule for testing week.  Hayes Middle School has two hour classes this week.  Unfortunately, I could only stay for the first hour of the class because of my scheduling.

I didn't have much of a chance to teach this week, but Mr. Armstead did pull me up in front of the young women to discuss tension and vocal technique.  He said that it would be easier to understand from a woman than a man.  I was very surprised, and completely unprepared.  I've spent years studying vocal technique, but I've never been formally taught the pedagogy behind it. I said a few things about tension and its effect on vocal sound, and then Mr. Armstead took back over.  He talked for quite a while about his views on tension and technique.  It was a very straightforward talk.  I don't think anyone really talked to me about technique that clearly until college.

Observing CMS Young Women's (Week 1)

Yesterday, I observed Kyle Zeuch conducting the Young Women's chorus.

All of his interactions with the choir were very calm, collected, and simple.  All directions he gave were straightforward, and the kids were immediately allowed to implement the critique. I especially appreciated that every time he stopped the choir, he had a reason and a specific next step.  The lack of pauses kept the choir focused and listening.  But he also was never afraid to stop the choir; he spent no more time on a given section than necessary.  When he was finished working on something, he immediately moved on to the next section.  I found his calmness and efficiency really refreshing.  The efficiency is especially necessary because the choir has so few rehearsals.

The choir worked on a new song last night.  To begin, Kyle simply said, "Pull out Hands Across the Universe, beginning, read as best you can".  Again, no time wasted.   This was while they were combined with the men.  When the men started to struggle, Kyle started singing along with them.  I found his presence as a conductor quite interesting while they sightread.  His conducting became only a metronome, and very simple, easy to read.  Often times, he tapped beats on his sternum, and snapped on rests.

I found this approach to reading very interesting.  I usually mix sightreading with musicality, to keep the rehearsal interesting, however his approach totally worked.  They focused on accuracy, and learned very quickly.  Again, this approach could be very related to limited rehearsal time.  I suspect they'll start musicality on this piece next week.

Repertoire #5 Al Shlosha D'varim

Time for a Middle School standard: Al Shlosha D'varim by Allan E. Naplan.  I am looking at the SATB arrangement.

While this song is a great learning piece for most ages, I am specifically thinking Middle Level.  This piece is a great introduction to Hebrew singing, as it only has two lines of text.  Each part gets a shot at the melody, as well as singing descant or accompaniment figures.  The parts, although rhythmically difficult, are quite repetitive.

The solo on the first page allows opportunities for singers, or a great time to work on unison singing.

The parts:

• Soprano 
• range: E4-F5
• tessitura: hangs out around C5
• This is pretty darn ideal for middle school women.  It allows the singers a chance to explore their upper range and lower, but sits in a very comfortable range.
• Alto
• range: E4-E5
• tessitura: sits around A4
• I love this alto line.  It never simply sustains a harmonic pitch.  The altos have just as much chance to explore their range, and sing melody as their soprano friends.
• Tenor
• range: E3-E4
• tessitura: around B3
• The tenor line is in a good spot for changing voices.  It only briefly visits the extremes of the range. They get a chance at a triplet, as well as some moments of vocal flexibility.
• Bass
• range: A3-B4
• tessitura: around E3
• The bass line is rangy, but octaves could be easily adjusted to accommodate a choir's needs.  The basses also get a chance at rhythmic complexity, and some cool musical lines.

This piece has great phrases and lines to explore.  The rests in the middle of phrases can act as a teaching tool; how can you phrase, even through a rest?  There are moments of flexibility in each voice part, which gives a great opportunity for technical learning.  The singers also have an opportunity sing both melody and accompanimental lines. There are multiple opportunities to sing in unison.  This is also a great piece for working on vowels; Hebrew lends itself to pure vowels.

The text is simple, but beautiful.  It is a secular Hebrew text, which in my experience is a rarity.

Repertoire #4 Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen

Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen by Heinrich Isaac Schütz

This piece, besides being beautiful and historically relevant, is one of those SATB pieces that could be accessible to a middle level choir.

Innsbruck could easily introduce a middle level choir to German language repertoire, as well as Renaissance music.  The independent lines with a great deal of contrary motion make this piece easier to learn for less trained ears.  The male lines are fairly limited in range; low bass notes, like in mm. 8 could easily, raised an octave if no voices can sing that low.  The same is true in mm. 5-6 and mm.12-13 in the alto line.  I would most definitely raise those passages an octave; this would cause some voice crossing with the sopranos, and although Schütz might mind, I don't.  Transposing the whole piece a step up would also be a way to resolve some of these issues.

The parts are not easy, but because this piece is short and strophic, it would not be too difficult.

This piece is all about ebb, flow, and line.  Each part has it's own moments to shine, so this piece would be ideal to teach listening as an ensemble.  The rise and fall of the lines also goes well with the phrasing, so it would be a good way to start learning the rise and fall of phrases.  It could also serve to teach about varying dynamics, phrasing, and mood between strophes.

The text has a beautiful backstory, about Schütz leaving his favorite home in the country.  The text is very relatable (once translated) to younger people.  They can relate it to leaving summer camp or in general home sickness.  Also, it's in German, so obviously, I like it!

Highlights:

• independent lines
• beautiful phrases
• issues are easily rewritten
• historically relevant
• beautiful, relatable text
• intro to strophic form!

Teach #4 - Non-Verbal

BRehearsal Plan:

• Establish tonality:
• “Follow my signs"
• Scale Re-Re
• 7th scale degree Re-Do-Re
• tonic triad Re-Fa-La
• Building chords:
• “Follow my signs"
• Re - Mi (2) - Re (2)
• La - La      - La
• Fa - So (3) - La (3)
• Mi - Ti (1)   - Do (1)
• Experience melody
• “sustain and listen"
• holding open fifth
• Read mm.1-14
• “take 1 minute to solfege mm. 1-6"
• “when you have a melodic line, read on “du"
• motivic section
• "Tap on your collarbone"
• teach by rote
• Sop - Bass - Alto - Ten
• once all together, play melody on piano

Mind-map: