Performance-related injuries are a potential problem for musicians of any age and skill level. Music educators should take whatever steps they can to ensure that their students aren't injured in rehearsal or performance, but part of their job is also serving as an example for students to follow. How can teachers avoid injury to themselves "and"…

When students first enter high school, the change can be overwhelming on many levels. All at once, or very nearly, they're dealing with an onslaught of new educational concerns, weighty academic decisions, different extracurricular options, unfamiliar teachers, and potentially bewildering social atmospheres. Meanwhile, former middle school…

The madrigal is a type of song that was especially popular in the 16th and 17th centuries in Western Europe. Usually unaccompanied, madrigals often relate to secular subjects and comprise three to six vocal lines. Tom Carter, choral clinician and author of Choral CHARISMA: Singing with Expression, has enjoyed madrigals since high school. He states…

According to Jason Paulk, director of choral activities at Eastern New Mexico University, progress is made during those in-between times and that progress magnifies with efficient time spent alone. Paulk is a firm believer in the importance of singers organizing their practice sessions, and he details some effective organization methods, including…

Songwriter, political activist, ethnomusicologist, gardener, singer, environmentalist, storyteller, woodcutter, history buff, cookieholic...Pete Seeger is all these and more. One has probably heard his name before, and maybe one can attach it to certain songs or political movements. Seeger is 91 years old and keeps active singing, writing songs,…

Improvisation--the act of spontaneously creating music, as opposed to playing music that is strictly pre-composed--is a practice that has most often been taught only in the context of jazz in the classroom. But it has actually been part of many more musical traditions, cultures, and periods. Classical icons like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven,…

Some couples merely talk about making sweet music together. Yusef Chisholm and Lori Williams-Chisholm really mean it. This article presents an interview with Chisholm and Williams-Chisholm, both music educators in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), and active performing jazz artists, who infuse their classrooms with lessons from the stage.…

Without a concise and accurate system for notating diction, singers often resort to phonetic spellings that may not convey the correct pronunciation. Modeling and echoing correct pronunciation during rehearsal is time-consuming, and often the reminders singers write into their scores on such occasions prove to be unclear during the next rehearsal.…

First-time singers present excellent opportunities for choral directors to fine-tune their teaching by truly working with beginners. In this article, the author discusses how beginning singers learn to sing well. Despite the unique challenges and various musical backgrounds of these students, if choral directors can teach them the basics of…

Every day, music teachers face the challenge of motivating less-confident student singers in general music classes. Teaching vocal improvisation can be a difficult task, because students are often self-conscious about their voices and too intimidated to sing in front of their peers. Technology can be an excellent motivational tool in the classroom…

Provides a list of nine basic principles based on research on how to develop and maintain a healthy voice. Explains that by following the basic principles teachers can train their choir singers without straining the students' voices or making them hoarse. (CMK)

Middle school choral students and their teachers can benefit from studying and performing a musical. The students can apply their vocal skills to the exploration of this important genre of American music. Outstanding chores members will have opportunities to perform as soloists and to master dramatic roles. The teachers can express themselves…

A common challenge for choral teachers is teaching students to listen. Too often, students focus on their own singing and do not hear the other parts around them, thus creating a less unified, even disharmonious sound. Robert Russell, director of choral studies at the University of Southern Maine, has observed that confident singers often sing…

Presents an interview with Julie Gold that addresses the importance of music in her education, her career as a songwriter, and her work as a professional singer. States that music and the arts is a crucial aspect of a child's education and that our society should recognize the triumphs of artists/musicians. (CMK)

With their arms resting at their sides and standing up tall and focused, students in Tom Shelton's eighth-grade honors women's choir watch Shelton's hands and sing the matching solfege pitches on his cue. As they go down the scale, sol, fa, mi, re, do, Shelton says, "Listen. Don't let mi go flat." The girls try again, this time more…