Mused 443: Choral Curriculum Spring 2009

Transcription

1 Mused 443: Choral Curriculum Spring 2009 Dr. Steven M. Demorest Office hours: Monday 1:30-2:30; Thursday 11:30-12:30pm Office Phone: COURSE DESCRIPTION This instructional methods and materials course is intended to assist you in preparing for choral teaching assignments in middle school and high school settings, by introducing you to: (1) Planning and administering a public school choral program including auditioning, voice placement, literature selection, planning, organization, recruiting, and assessment. (2) Group vocal training techniques and materials appropriate for grades (3) Strategies, materials and skills related to teaching and evaluating sight-singing within the context of the choral rehearsal. (4) Strategies and skills for choosing, preparing, planning, and rehearsing choral literature appropriate to grades (5) Teaching comprehensive musicianship through the choir class. MATERIALS Ken Phillips, Directing the Choral Music Program Demorest, S.M. Building Choral Excellence: Teaching Sight-singing in the Choral Rehearsal Choral Literature Packet from Pepper $24.00 Note: A large part of being successful as a teacher is being reliable. That means being where you are supposed to be, when you are supposed to be there. Treat your attendance as if you were teaching the course. Absence from class for any reason will directly affect your participation grade, as will lateness to class. If you are more than 15 minutes late to any class, it will be recorded as an absence. As a courtesy, I ask that you please notify me in advance if you must miss a class. All assignments should be typed unless otherwise specified. Late assignments will be devalued by one point for each additional calendar day the assignment is past due.

2 Class Schedule Spring 2009 Tuesday March 31 Choral Curriculum - Overview Review: Chapter 8 in Musician & Teacher and Phillips Table of Contents Tuesday April 7 Choral Clinic - Meany 268 Starts at 9:30 Reading: Contest sheet and p. 309 in Phillips Assignment: Evaluate what you hear and suggest solutions. Tuesday April 14 Teaching Sight-singing Reading: Chapters 3 & 4 of Building Choral Excellence Reflection on Ballard Observation: Come with Questions Tuesday April 21 Score Preparation & Planning Reading: Chapter 10 For Class: Mark in pencil pp. 4 & 5 of Follow the Drinking Gourd Reflection on Ballard Observation: Come with Questions Tuesday April 28 Choral Literature - Selecting Appropriate Literature Reading: Chapter 9; Chapter 7 pp ; Final Project Assignment Thursday April 2 Week 1 Group Vocal Techniques A Review Reading: Chapter 15 Review: MUSED 304 Warm-up Manual Prepare: One Warm-up to present Week 2 Thursday April 9 Reflection on clinic. Choral Techniques - Identifying and Fixing Problems Reading: Techniques Handout Week 3 Thursday April 16 Integrating Sight-singing in Rehearsal Reading: Chapter 5 of Building Choral Excellence Week 4 Thursday April 23 Choral Techniques Rehearsal Planning Reading: p ; Score Analysis form; Demorest PDF For Class: Identify all the different things you could work on in mm of Follow the Drinking Gourd. Week 5 Thursday April 30 Choral Literature Sources for Locating and Organizing Music Reading: Chapter 18; visit Friday April 3 10:30 Room 114 Building Choral Tone Reading: p ; Review: Chapters Friday April 10 9:15 Ballard OBSERVATION Reading: Chapter 17 Friday April 17 9:15 Ballard OBSERVATION Reading: Chapter 8 & 16 Friday April 24 10:30 Room PRACTICUM Visiting Choir in 35 Friday May 1 10:30 Room PRACTICUM Visiting Choir in 35

3 Tuesday May 5 Thursday May 7 Week 6 Friday May 8 9:15 Ballard Cinco de Mayo Yakima Valley Visit Nicola Mayes Classrooom Tuesday May 12 Reflections on Teaching Choral Literature Arranging and Rearranging Choral Techniques Q & A on your assigned pieces. Due: Marked score-rehearsal analysis of your assigned piece for Ballard. Be prepared to conduct your assigned piece. Week 7 Thursday May 14 Choral History Reading: Phillips: Chapter 1; Noble: Chapter 10 BALLARD PRACTICUM Friday May 15 10:30 Room 114 Sight-singing History & Research Reading: Demorest Chapter 1 & 2 Tuesday May 19 Reflections on Teaching Administration: Building a Choral Program Reading: Chapter 3; Chapter 4 p Tuesday May 26 Reflections on Teaching Choral Techniques Review: Identifying and Fixing Problems Reading: Techniques Handout Week 8 Thursday May 21 Administration: Organizing a Choral Program Reading: Chapter 6 Week 9 Thursday May 28 Administration: Auditions and Voice Placement Reading: Chapter 4 p. 60-end; Chapter 10 p Friday May 22 9:15 Ballard BALLARD PRACTICUM Friday May 29 9:15 Ballard BALLARD PRACTICUM Tuesday June 2 Thursday June 4 Week 10 Friday June 5 Administration: Assessment and Grading Reading: Chapter 5; Demorest Chapter 6 FINAL EXAM Monday June 8 Administration: Field Trips, Festivals, Concerts, and Contests Reading: Chapter 11 10:30-12:20 p.m. 9:15 BALLARD PRACTICUM 10:30 Room 114 Director s Forum Final Project Presentations Complete Final Project Due

4 ASSIGNMENTS Literature Mini Projects 5 points each Database Form Prepare a complete database entry for one of the pieces in your packet that contains information that you believe would be important to have on file in your library. Web Assignment Locate and print out one piece on the Choral Public Domain Website that would be suitable for the Ballard choir. Practicum Ballard Choir 10 points each This assignment involves a minute rehearsal at Ballard. Everyone will teach one warm-up, one sight-singing exercise and one rehearsal of literature. For this assignment you should have a thorough typed lesson plan. Your grade will consist of my evaluation and your own completed self-evaluation. Choral Arrangement Prepare an arrangement or significant rearrangement of a piece to fit the choir identified in your final project. The piece should be written and printed using a notation program (Finale or Sibelius) so that it s readable. Final Project MS Choir Program (see assignment guidelines next page) 30 points Participation 20 points You must bring two questions to class every day about the topic. The question can come from the reading or your experience. I will ask you to turn in your questions on certain days. This includes active participation in class discussions and evidence of preparation for in-class assignments.

5 Final Project Guidelines You have been hired to teach choir at the Robert Shaw Memorial Middle School. You have two choirs, a 7-8 Boys Choir and a 7-8 Girls Choir. Though they meet separately, they perform as a mixed choir in concerts. You are programming a Winter Concert on a theme of your choice. Create a program that includes: 1) Two pieces for BOYS only: (C)TB(B). 2) Two pieces for GIRLS only : SSA(A). 3) Four pieces for a MIXED (SACB) choir. 4) Your own arrangement or rearrangement. Turn in a copy of each song with a completed literature form. The concert program needs to reflect your chosen theme in some way. The pieces you choose should work for your voices as is, no rearranging. Your own arrangement can be a new setting of a piece or a substantial rearrangement of a piece for older or other voicing. No pieces from Choral Connections may be included. YOUR CHOIRS: Girl s Choir Boy s Choir 15 Treble 1 6 Unchanged 14 Treble 2 3 Stage 1 4 Stage 2 4 Stage 2a 10 Stage 3 (2 boys have a low A flat, the rest bottom out on C.) (For ranges see the Choral warm-up Guide) Turn in to me: 1) 9 pieces divided as described above. 2) Completed database entry on all 9 pieces. 3) A printed program as you would want to hand it out at the concert identifying the order of the pieces in performance with publisher information in parentheses.(). Style counts! 4) AT THE FINAL EXAM: Have copies for everyone in class of a) the printed program of your concert; b) ONE completed literature card for your favorite piece. c) a reading copy of your arrangement. IMPORTANT: For every piece (including your arrangement, please identify in the score which part each voice range (Stage 1, Stage 2a, etc.) will be singing, so that I understand your thinking with regard to part assignments. DUE DATE: Mon. June 8 at the Final Exam. Hand out your program and your literature card and lead us in singing through your arrangement, provide photocopies.

6 GRADING Points Participation 20 Mini Projects 10 Practicum Ballard 30 Arrangement 10 Final Project 30 TOTAL: points = points = = A = C 90.5 points = points = = A = C- 85 points = points = = B = D points = 2.5 < 60 points = = B = D 74 points = = B = D = C+ 0.0 = E Other Recommended Texts for the Choral Conductor Decker Choral Conducting: A Symposium Ehmann Choral Directing Ehmann/Haasemann Voice Building for Choirs Haasemann/Jordan Group Vocal Techniques Jeffers, Ron Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire: Vol 1 Sacred Latin Texts Vol 2 German Texts Marshall, Madeliene Singers Manual of English Diction Noble, Weston Creating the Special World Phillips, Ken Teaching Kids to Sing