Madeline Bridges

This is the second part of a two-part article originally published by Choristers Guild. Dr. Bridges' sessions at the 2004 BCMC were based on the information contained in these articles. Our thanks to Choristers Guild for permission to reprint them in their entirety. -Editor

Last month we considered ways to help experience joy and order prior to the choir rehearsal. Effectively maintaining both joy and order in the choir rehearsal can be a challenge. When joy or order is missing, children and adults leave a rehearsal frustrated. Both become confused about choir's purpose and their potential to contribute meaningfully to the music ministry of the church.

Creating an environment where both joy and order are present, however, is probably the single most difficult aspect of directing a choir. A lack of joy and order is probably the most frequent cause of a director's unwillingness to continue in their position as a children's choir director. Similarly, the lack of joy and order is a frequent cause of children's less- than-enthusiastic attitude toward choir participation.

Principles for Maintaining a

Joyful, Orderly Choir Rehearsal

• Thoroughly prepare for the rehearsal.

• Come to rehearsal with an attitude of love and with an expectation of joyful music making.

• Provide an environment in which choristers are almost constantly occupied with a musical task.

• Attempt to be consistent and fair in dealings with children, parents, and other choir leaders.

• Move purposefully and quickly (though not frantically) through the rehearsal agenda.

• Convince choristers that their success — as a choir, and their individual success in singing — is directly related to their effort rather than to the amount of "talent" they may or may not have.

Suggestions for Ways to Infuse Joy and Order Into a Choir Rehearsal

Decide that you will not teach children to ignore you. Every day and every week, teachers in choir rooms and classroom teach children to ignore them by talking OVER the ongoing chatter of choristers and students. By attempting to communicate with a choir or class while children are talking, the director is clearly saying, "What I'm saying is not worth listening to. Even though I tell you to stop talking and listen, I really don't mind if you keep right on talking."

So what does one do if choristers start talking during the director's first sentence? If the choir is made up of older children, stop talking the moment one of the children begins talking. (Do not stare menacingly in their direction, however!) As soon as the room is quiet, resume instructions. Waiting for very young children to stop talking, however, won't work. Try another tactic!

Additionally, any or all of the following may also help:

• Begin talking in an excited whisper.

• If the problem stems from one or two choristers who CONSTANTLY have questions, some directors find it effective to hold up their hand (as if saying, "Halt!") shake their head, put their finger to their lips indicating the child should wait, and continue their directions for the choir. At an appropriate time, they return to the child and take the question.

• Continue instructions, but walk toward the child who is talking to his/her neighbor and, if necessary, touch the child on the shoulder or gently turn the child's head forward. Generally, a director's proximity itself will catch the child's attention.

• Start singing a familiar song.

• If a large part of the choir is involved in the chatter, many directors recommend clapping a consecutive series of four-beat rhythm patterns for the choir to echo-clap. Not all children will hear or respond to the first pattern, but by the third or fourth pattern, they will all be involved. End after five or six patterns and immediately return to your agenda.

• Similarly, echo-sing a consecutive series of short melodic patterns with choristers. Choose a fairly high key (e.g., key of B flat) and sing simple patterns using the pitches sol, mi, la, and do. The highness of the pitch will penetrate the most lively of groups.

• Involve choristers in a series of "touches." Say, "Both hands on your head." (Wait a couple of seconds while the ones who are listening follow your instructions.) Then quickly say, "Both hands on your shoulders." (Offer a shorter wait time.) Continue with rapid directions. End with "Both hands over your mouth." Then, lean toward the children and immediately continue, in a very soft but excited voice, your next direction to the choir. If the choristers are truly out of control, only a few of them will hear your first instruction. But after three or four directions, they will all be involved, and the rehearsal will once again be orderly. (Note: Design similar activities using "Wiggle your or "Look at. .

2. Sing more, talk less.

Children (as well as youth and adults) stay more focused, more orderly, and more joyful when they are making music than when they are listening to an adult talk ABOUT music. Explanations and directions are, of course, necessary and vital parts of the rehearsal. The more a director can involve the children in singing, they less likely they are to involve themselves in other, inappropriate activities. Tape recording a rehearsal and literally counting the number of minutes the director talks versus the number of minutes children sing can be a humbling and revealing experience!

3. Provide many opportunities for choristers to sing individually and in small groups.

Children of all ages benefit from hearing themselves sing individually. Pitch accuracy of young children is greater when singing individually than when they are singing in unison with a group.

Additionally, providing many opportunities for choristers to sing individually and in small groups also holds high potential to help maintain an orderly rehearsal. Most choristers relish the opportunity to sing alone particularly preschoolers and younger children. Choristers of all ages like to hear their peers sing and will almost always listen attentively. Try the following:

• Extend a pretend microphone to encourage individual children to sing the response to a call and response spiritual such as "Who Built the Ark?" or an echo song such as "Oh My, No More Pie."

• When teaching a song by rote, call on volunteers to echo-sing back to you a phrase you have just sung.

• After echo-singing several short melodic phrases with the whole group, say "This one is for Amy." Sing the next phrase and gesture for Amy to echo your singing. Continue with several children. Don't go down the row; skip around so the choristers do not know who will be next.

• When learning a new song or anthem, invite two or three competent choristers to come to the front and sing the short section on which the choir has just been working. Ask for volunteers to join the solo group. Children generally are very eager to join the solo group. Use the children's eagerness to encourage their concentration, posture, and participation.

• Do not assume older children will be unwilling to sing alone. Begin by asking a particular row to sing a certain melodic pattern from the anthem. Then ask two or three children on the opposite side of the room to sing. Immediately say, "Ron, please sing that line for us."

Utilizing the activities described above in choirs which include a wide age span (such as a grades 1-6 choir) can be particularly effective. As the younger children hear small groups of older children sing the new stanza or section, they hear the melody and words several times and thus, learn the section much more quickly.

4. Plan for contrast in the rehearsal.

Variety is the spice of life and of a joyful rehearsal. Singing four slow songs in a minor key will eradicate the joy in any rehearsal! Carefully examine the musical agenda to see if it contains variety in:

• tonality (major, minor, modal),

• tempo,

• style (hymn, spiritual, anthem, praise chorus, singing game, folk song, warm up),

• degree of difficulty,

• degree of familiarity,

Additionally, plan for variety in other aspects of the rehearsal:

• visual focus (hymnal, octavo, chart),

• physical arrangement (sitting, standing, or moving around if your group is small enough),

• involvement (singing, movement activities such as action songs or hand jives, listening, playing instruments, music reading games, writing activities such as hymn study sheets),

"Plan ahead; think ahead" can and should become the motto of a children's choir director.

5. During the first rehearsal, begin placing an emphasis on disciplined, orderly response.

Challenge choristers to (a) quickly and accurately respond to a verbal or nonverbal request for "singing posture" and (b) to sit and stand in a disciplined, orderly fashion. Such actions say, "Choir is very organized and requires focused attention."

Verbal labels for singing positions vary from choir to choir. For example, some directors label 3 positions: #1 is a relaxed seated listening posture; #2 is an on-the-edge-of-the- chair singing position; and #3 is an attentive standing singing position. Demonstrate and clearly describe each position. Ask the choir to assume these positions and then give verbal or non verbal (for example, hold up one finger, two fingers or three fingers) cues, quickly alternating between the positions. Experienced choristers love to show newly promoted children the correct way to sit and stand.

6. Respond to choristers with specific praise, not effusive compliments.

Directors want to praise children for good behavior and for correct verbal or musical responses. Choir leaders (new choir leaders in particular, in their enthusiasm for their work) often give positive reinforcement such as the following:

"Good, GOOD, that was great!" "I like the way you're singing." "Wonderful, wonderful!"

Children like to be praised! However, beware! Effusive, general praise, such as the comments above, can sometimes be unproductive and of very little benefit in a rehearsal. Such comments are certainly not wrong. However, consider the following alternatives:

"I heard every voice singing!" (preschool choir)

"Everyone on the front row was watching, and you put the "t" on at exactly the same moment!"

"You're right, Dion. You found the pattern I clapped."

These specific comments help children know exactly what they did that was good, and increases the likelihood that they will do it again. Complimenting children with, "I like the way you..." is sometimes productive with very young children. However, older children would much rather be praised for a specific behavior (such as pronouncing a word correctly) than for pleasing the teacher. In fact, being complimented for pleasing the teacher can be the kiss of death for a particular positive behavior in preadolescents!

Replacing a habit of constant nonspecific praise is a challenge! But learning to give specific praise will increase the level of joy and order in the choir classroom. Always respond quickly, matter-of-factly, and, of course, with a smile!

7. Sprinkle the rehearsal with comments that help choristers attribute their individual singing success and the success of the choir to their hard work (effort) rather than to their talent (ability).

Educational and psychological research1 demonstrates that when students feel like their success (or lack of success) is directly related to how hard they have worked rather than to their natural ability, they are more likely to maintain a high level of effort. For example, say "Wow! Because you were all trying so hard, I didn't hear ANYONE breathe in the middle of that phrase," rather than "Wow, what good singers you are."

The same principle applies when correcting a problem:

"I believe if you all try a little harder to drop your jaw on the "ah" vowels in "alleluia", the sound will be more beautiful and more meaningful to the congregation," rather than "You are not sounding good."

The more the children are convinced that they have more success when they work harder, the harder they will work. The harder they work, the more skillful they will become. The more skillful they become, the more they will feel pride and joy. And the better they feel about themselves, the more they will want to succeed.2 Thus the wonderful cycle of joyful orderly hard work continues!

Don't forget, however, that the encouragement and guidance of the director is the key to this process. Without the director's response, children have limited knowledge of whether they ARE or ARE NOT successful. And if they don't know the extent of their success and the reason for their success, they have little incentive to continue trying.

& Seize the moment!

The principle is simple: Keep the children so busy with productive musical tasks they do not have time to become disorderly. Such a rehearsal necessitates that the director thoroughly knows the music, the choristers, and the agenda. As a song or anthem ends (or as the choristers finish any musical task the director has given), the director proceeds immediately with the next statement or direction. Seizing and using the moment when a musical task ends is critical to the flow of the rehearsal. "Plan ahead; think ahead" can and should become the motto of a children's choir director.

9. Temper insistence on order with a smile, with humor, and with quick, fun breaks from rehearsing.

Choristers actually like to be a part of a disciplined organization, but they don't like to feel that the leader is rigid. The choir director who exclaims with feigned dismay, "Oh! For a moment I thought I saw someone who forgot to spit out their gum when they came into choir. But I'm SURE it was just a bad dream!" gets the point across clearly without accosting the guilty party! In a choir of older elementary choristers, try to end a strong admonition (which is not always inappropriate) with a funny face or a wink. So doing softens the intensity of the "demand," but it does not lessen the impact of the director's words. Beware of sarcasm, however, which has no place in a church choir setting.

Sprinkle the rehearsal with physical and mental breaks. A few quick stretches or shoulder rolls (try challenging children to "write their name" in the air with their shoulder!) can be very beneficial to choristers and adults. Take time, also, for one or two quick fun chants or action songs.

10. Don't forget to pray.

When we provide an environment in which children learn how to make music to praise God, the experience must be a unique one; it must be different from the experience they may have in a school or community choir. Part of what makes that environment different is the presence of prayer and an acknowledgment of God's spirit within the rehearsal. A prayerful environment need not be stuffy. Breathe a prayer while planning for choir; breathe a prayer before and during the rehearsal; pray aloud with and for the children at least one time during the rehearsal (sometimes, ask for prayer requests); end with a prayerful benediction (sung or spoken) in which the children themselves participate.

Will these suggestions guarantee a rehearsal free of discipline problems? Not likely. But following these suggestions and the principles outlined at the beginning of this article will raise the potential for the interaction between director and children to be more loving, more joyful, and more orderly.

1. Asmus, E. P. (1986). Student beliefs about the causes of success and failure in music: A study of achievement motivation. Journal of Research in Music Education, 34, 262-278.Weiner, B. (1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

2. Bridges, M. (1996). A Case Study of the Alabama Boychoir: Effort, Success, Self-Worth, and Competence Within a Climate of Excellence. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama, 1996).

Madeline Bridges is the Director of Music Education at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro,Tennessee.
She is a member of the Choristers Guild Board of Directors.