Kick-Start Your Choir is for teachers, choral directors, church musicians - anybody who directs a choir. It presents a treasure trove of ideas distilled from years of innovative work with singers of all ages. Practical strategies are offered on almost every aspect of choral directorship. Kick-Start Your Choir - the indispensable handbook for the choral conductor
Choral Conducting is a resource for singers, teachers, and choral conductors, and a college-level text for students of choral conducting. It also includes an overview of what is involved in leading a choral group and examines theories of learning and human behaviour and the history of choral music together with conductor's role. The book also discusses issues of the conductor-vocalist relationship, the mechanics of singing, rehearsal strategies, and more.
It is a truism in teaching choral conducting that the director should look like s/he wishes the choir to sound. The conductor's physical demeanour has a direct effect on how the choir sings, at a level that is largely unconscious and involuntary. It is also a matter of simple observation that different choral traditions exhibit not only different styles of vocal production and delivery, but also different gestural vocabularies which are shared not only between conductors within that tradition, but also with the singers. It is as possible to distinguish a gospel choir from a barbershop chorus or a cathedral choir by visual cues alone as it is simply by listening. But how can these forms of physical communication be explained? Do they belong to a pre-cultural realm of primate social bonding, or do they rely on the context and conventions of a particular choral culture? Is body language an inherent part of musical performance styles, or does it come afterwards, in response to music? At a practical level, to what extent can a practitioner from one tradition mandate an approach as 'good practice', and to what extent can another refuse it on the grounds that 'we don't do it that way'? This book explores these questions at both theoretical and practical levels. It examines textual and ethnographic sources, and draws on theories from critical musicology and nonverbal communication studies to analyse them. By comparing a variety of choral traditions, it investigates the extent to which the connections between conductor demeanour and choral sound operate at a general level, and in what ways they are constructed within a specific idiom. Its findings will be of interest both to those engaged in the study of music as a cultural practice, and to practitioners involved in a choral conducting context that increasingly demands fluency in a variety of styles.
When life stalls right in the middle of the journey... Linda Dowling's husband traded her in for a younger model, and she clung to the only life and home her three kids knew. Easiest thing by far when her heart was broken and her small town was filled with folks who commonly mistook their neighbor's concerns for their own. But even in Cross Springs, NC, time moves on and heals the most grievous of wounds. Linda shakes things up, goes back to school and—gasp!—starts to date a younger man. ...sometimes all it needs is a Kick Start Suddenly everyone in Cross Springs has something to say about her life—and Linda is faced with hard choices. It would be crazy to turn her back on the life she so painstakingly built–and her ex so abruptly knocked down–for an untried start-up relationship. Or would it? Linda reroutes her journey and decides to make a detour–including side trips to see her hairdresser, her mother, the homicidal Courtroom Barbie who wrecked her marriage and her suddenly psycho ex-husband–and see where else life might take her. All she needs is courage and a good old-fashioned Kick Start.
"Performing Matters" supports musical performance in the classroom throughout Key Stage 3. A series of projects - including supporting teacher's material - take you through musical performance, from combating nerves and increasing confidence, through to performing short pieces.
This book fills a gap in the market by providing energising warm-up activities for community, church and youth choirs. Whereas many publications exist that offer singing and vocal exercises, there are virtually none available offering physical warm-ups, breathing exercises and exercises for articulation. These form an essential starting point for any rehearsal to develop vital skills for healthy voice production. Collected and tried out over 25 years of teaching and conducting practice, this book offers a treasure trove of enjoyable and entertaining warm-ups that will leave your choir alert, wide awake and ready to work with focus and concentration.
The two lead choir mentors from BBC's The Naked Choir. which airs autumn 2015, provide a practical dip-in book of tips and techniques to get choirs to excel. Perfect for all choral leaders, enthusiasts and singers, Dominic and Mark explain how to raise your game and take your choir to the next level, with advice on technical excellence, creating a good working environment, and managing people. The two lead choir mentors from BBC's The Naked Choir. which airs autumn 2015, provide a practical dip-in book of tips and techniques to get choirs to excel. Perfect for all choral leaders, enthusiasts and singers, Dominic and Mark explain how to raise your game and take your choir to the next level, with advice on technical excellence, creating a good working environment, and managing people. With over 25,000 choirs in the UK and the numbers growing, Mark De-Lisser (vocal coach on BBC's 'The Voice' and mentor on 'The Naked Choir') and Dominic Peckham (leading choral director & ambassador and mentor on 'The Naked Choir') provide 100 ideas on how to take choirs to the next level. Sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience, Dominic and Mark's advice will get great groups started, keep choirs moving forward and encourage the best from individual singers, keeping it fun along the way. With advice on how to start a choir from scratch, develop your own musicianship, rehearse effectively, and excel in performance, this pocket-sized guide is an essential resource and its practical guidance will get all choirs on the right track!
The Choir Member's Companion is designed for use by individual choir members in a local church adult choir. The book is intended for purchase by the choir director to be given to choir members as gifts or as a way for choir members to better understand musical symbols, terminology, and symbols used in choral music. CONTENTS: 1. Introduction to Choir Membership 2. Basic Music Reading Skills 3. Musical Road Map 4. Basic Vocal Techniques 5. Sight-reading New Music 6. How to Mark Your Music 7. Preparation for Worship 8. Preparation for Other Performances 9. Glossary of Musical Terms and Symbols
A complete sourcebook for choral directors of all levels, as well as choral methods classes. Contains 211 warm-ups with information on usage, photos illustrating correct posture and vowel formation, and a well organized index to make finding the right warm-up a snap. Belongs in every choral director's library.
All children must have an opportunity to share the joy of choral music participation - whether in school, church, or community choirs. What happens before the singing begins, is critical to supporting, sustaining, and nurturing choirs to give every child the opportunity to experience the wonder of choral singing. Based on years of experience conducting and teaching, Barbara Tagg brings a wealth of practical information about ways of organizing choirs. From classroom choirs, to mission statements, boards of directors, commissioning, auditioning, and repertoire, Before the Singing will inspire new ways of thinking about how choirs organize their daily tasks. The collaborative community that surrounds a choir includes conductors, music educators, church choir directors, board members, volunteers, staff, administrators, and university students in music education and nonprofit arts management degree programs. For all these, Tagg offers a wealth of knowledge about creating a positive environment to support artistry, creativity, dedication, and a commitment to striving for excellence.
