3/8/2017 0 Comments ACDA Day 1What a great start to ACDA! I am surrounded by amazing musicians creating beautiful music and teaching others to hone their craft.
Today’s sessions included a music reading session for middle school voices, a session on meaningful connections between warms ups and repertoire and a session on recruiting and creating safe spaces for boys. I also heard the Mongolian Youth Choir as well as several other choirs of various levels from around the states. In the music reading session today I found a few pieces that will work well for the KMS choruses next year. One pieces includes some African style drumming and is sung in Swahili, it is a lot of fun. I have already created additional warm ups for 5th grade chorus that will better connect to the current repertoire. By deconstructing the pieces students will learn articulations and phrasing for music before singing new portions of the song. The goal with each new warm up is to teach a small nugget in a quick manner that can be transferred to a piece of music. I know this will change how efficient and effective our rehearsals are. Recruiting boys can be a challenge at any age but especially at the middle school age. The key to success for these students is creating safe spaces that are comfortable for our students. Musical self image not musical ability has more impact on whether boys will want to sing. If boys haven't learned to match pitch and don't think they can match pitch as children, they are far less likely to sing in their later years. It is of utmost importance to get the students who do not match pitch to learn how. Additional thoughts on keeping boys singing involve choosing the right repertoire - by knowing your students; building strong relationships with your students; create safe environments that are flexible and accommodate the adolescent changing voice. A big piece of this pie involves gender identity which applies to all students not just boys.
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