Description

Do you struggle with teaching your singers concepts of vocal technique?

Are you unsure of how to incorporate vocal technique concepts into your choir rehearsals?

THEN THE CHOIR DIRECTOR CORNER VOCAL TECHNIQUE TEACHING UNIT IS FOR YOU!

I have to talked with many choir directors who really struggle with teaching their singers vocal technique, for a wide variety of reasons:

• They don’t feel confident in teaching concepts of vocal technique
• They’ve never had the opportunity to take voice lessons themselves
• They are unsure as to how to incorporate vocal technique into their choir rehearsals
• They are self-conscious about their own vocal technique
• They don’t know how to assess the individual vocal development of their singers
• It’s too hard, and it takes too much time
• And more!

I am lucky that I originally started out in vocal performance, including earning a Master’s degree in vocal performance.  This allowed me the opportunity to study voice on a deeper level, and it also gave me the opportunity to teach private voice at the collegiate level and have my own private voice studio.

When I became a choir director, I found that the vast majority of my singers had never taken a voice lesson–I was going to be the only voice teacher that they had.  I started to experiment in rehearsals, using different strategies and methods of introducing vocal technique concepts in rehearsals.  Over the years I have used these different strategies and exercises to not only build individual vocal development, but also to improve the vocal tone of my ensembles as a whole.

Years later, I still talk with choir directors that are struggling to teach their singers vocal technique, and because of this, are struggling to get a healthy, beautiful tone from their singers.

So, I have taken my years of experience of studying and teaching voice to create a new resource for choir directors:

The Choir Director Corner Vocal Technique Teaching Unit!

This Teaching Unit includes:

• Eight lessons that each cover a concept of vocal technique, and one lesson that serves as a “wrap-up” to the unit = Nine lessons in all.

• Each lesson consists of a video lecture, with most lesson videos running between 10-20 minutes.  A different concept of vocal technique is discussed in each lesson, where I explain the concept and give singers strategies and exercises to explore the concept and further their vocal development.  Lesson topics include:
  • Posture
  • Breathing for singing
  • The Open Throat
  • Vocal Onset and Airflow
  • Resonance
  • Vocal Registers
  • Vocal Agility
  • Vowel Shape and Vocal Blend

• You can access each video with the URL link provided.  Lesson topics are listed, along with the video URL.

There are multiple ways that you can utilize this teaching unit:

• Show the lesson videos in your regular choir rehearsal, so that you can discuss the topics in the lesson, and practice some of the vocal exercises as a group

• Use the teaching unit as a way of “flipping your classroom”: ask students to view a lesson video at home, and then discuss as a group the next day

• Use the teaching unit as lessons that a substitute teacher can easily do if you have to be away from rehearsal
• Show the lessons in back-to-back rehearsals, or save them and spread them out over time (one video a week, for instance)

In addition to the video lessons, also included in the teaching unit:

• Each lesson is also accompanied by a Google Form quiz, which contains multiple choice and true/false questions over the content in the lesson.  The Google Form is in “quiz” form, meaning Google will score the quiz for you! 

• The link to each lesson’s Google Form is provided to you.  It is in “copy” form, which means it will force you to make a copy of the Form in order to open it.  This allows you to tweak the Form as you see fit, but also ensures that you will only see responses from the students that you share the Form with, and not everyone else who uses this unit!

• Each lesson also includes an assignment, which usually involves the singer being asked to demonstrate the concepts discussed in the lesson with a short recording.  The assignment is discussed at the end of each lesson, and singers can submit the assignment through that lesson’s Google Form.  You can choose to have your students do these assignments, or you can just have them skip them. Totally up to you!

• The Lesson Wrap-Up includes a Google Form that functions as a comprehensive quiz, covering all of the different topics contained in the unit.  The questions are taken directly from the previous quiz forms.

Use this teaching unit in rehearsals, use it as instruction in a flipped format, or even use it

for “sub plans” if you have to be away from rehearsal!

However you decide to use it, the Choir Director Corner Vocal Technique Teaching Unit will

help you to confidently bring vocal technique concepts to your singers, and give you

exercises and the skills needed to continue to build healthy vocal technique in your

ensembles moving forward!