Music Education Journal

Spring 2017

Carlos Eduardo Orta

Music Education

MUS 250

Ms. Joy
 Carlos Eduardo Orta
800602122
Journal

1/25/2017
1. Reaction to Video

While watching my most influential teacher presentation, I could notice some things that
I usually don’t pay attention to. This was not my first time talking to an audience, but it was my
first time recording my presentation. Filming the talk makes you see and listen things that you
don’t notice when you give it. I was a bit nervous and that could be seen from the video. The
fact that I have an accent when talking does not reflect the information I am giving, but it does
affect the listener’s comprehension and attention, and it would get me stuck at some parts. My
presentation looked and felt scripted, and it was, but I think I could be a little more fluent while
speaking and let the ideas flow instead of sticking to an over rehearsed and thought outline. I
think my body language was very dynamic, for I would not stay in a fixed position. I the video I
can see how I displaced slightly while talking but the change in position could be noticed. My
hands were moving a lot according to what I was saying, which I think is a good thing. My
posture was always changing but always in a relaxed way. The verbal communication I had was
a little rushed to for my criteria. Maybe this was because I had my time measured since I
scripted what I was going to say. This fast talking didn’t help my accent and I could notice it
sounded oppressed. I would need to practice my talking skills more.
I used some of chapter two to make my reaction to my video, studying and observing
what I was trying to communicate, the atmosphere I was trying to create and how I used my
verbal and nonverbal skills. Going to the observations will now be much easier now that I have
the knowledge on how to prepare for it by formulating questions before the class or rehearsal. I
am a little excited about going to my first observation on Friday. About the other teaching tools, I
liked the journaling because I believe it is a good way of keeping track of what you are achieving
as a teacher and therefore you can always go back to review your entries to see what you can
improve or change. Interviewing other educators also helps you to find out and learn about other
teaching techniques (like the observing method) and experiences that could help you create
your own style and methodology of teaching. Finally, the lesson planning plays an important in
education, since it provides an outline of what to work on in a given time. Planning and
preparing for anything (not just a class or rehearsal) is the key for a well and satisfactory
outcome. These were the main topics covered in chapter two, and I think I am a little more
prepared for my first observation and the first quiz of the class on Wednesday.
1/25/2017
2. Chapter 2

Chapter two talks about the tools a music teacher (or any other subject’s teacher) can
use to gather more information and experience than he already has. Really, most of them or the
principles of these tools rely on getting this information from other music educators. The chapter
covers methods like observing a music class or rehearsal, interviewing other teachers, planning
a lesson and taking notes on a teaching journal. I had never thought of the actual process that a
teacher goes through and the help he or she gets to achieve a good rehearsal or lesson.
As I read through chapter two, I often asked myself about my music student experience
and how my teachers managed the classes. It made me realize some things like the actual
organization of the classrooms, the stories my teachers told us, how they communicated, and
how well they taught us the elements of music and how we were supposed to put in in practice.
It also mentions some teachings methods used by teachers, like questioning to keep the
students engaged, or modeling to demonstrate how something is to be played. I would say my
favorite of these tools would be observing, because you can get lots of data and knowledge
from a single hour of watching a teacher, which you can then adjust to your teaching process. I
think that given these tools by the book, it is a matter of developing and mixing your personal
teaching style or way with other educators’ to try to cover the most as possible. Lots of aspects
are to be taken in account for this ultimate way of teaching, like nonverbal communication, the
student-teacher relation, the quality of the rehearsal or classroom environment, and teaching
techniques. These elements to observe serve will not only to observe other teachers’
rehearsals, but also to keep them in mind to begin creating an idea of the ideal education way of
mine.
I think it is a good idea to start seeing these tools as something we can use now with
our current professors to try to gather as much information and experience as possible to be
ready when we go out to the teaching world. And all of this makes me think of how my musical
has been shaped by my past professors due to these methods and how could apply them in the
future to be a successful music educator.

1/28/2017
3. New Mexico All State Youth Choir Festival

This past Friday I went to my first observation for the class. The ensemble to observe
was the New Mexico All State Youth Choir, which gathers the best young singers from the state.
The rehearsal was ran by Dr. Carolyn Cruse. When I arrived at the rehearsal the big choir was
warming up by singing very round and clear harmonics between the sections. They often
change between notes. Dr. Cruse tell them what to do and mimic to them to show what she
wanted and how she wanted it to sound. This also happened throughout the rehearsal as she
stopped to correct something or when she wanted a particular articulation or sound or dynamic
blending. I notice that the Dr. used simple language for the children, with an imposing but not
harsh tone. The physical environment was suitable for the rehearsal; the room was huge, with a
good acoustics, and the conductor’s podium was raised around 1 meter high so everyone could
see her. Because of this, she couldn’t be displacing from one place to another, but she did use
a lot of nonverbal communication with her arms and whole body. The expectations that Dr.
Cruse had were clear, since I heard her remind the kids that they were in an All State Choir and
“basic posture and technique are not to be taught during the rehearsal. The rehearsal seemed
prepared, and what I could notice was that rather than working on a spot from the beginning she
ran the piece and then stopped when she had something to fix. Her corrections were not about
pitch or rhythm (just once), but rather on expressiveness and the particular sound she was
looking for. When she stopped, Dr. Cruse had the kids repeat a particular passage in different
ways that the piece was written and more slowly, trying exaggerated rhythms to make them
think of the way she wanted to project the sound. The whole rehearsal lasted one hour and a
half, however, I only stayed for one hour, since I had a class to attend. I didn’t want to interrupt
Dr. Cruse in the rehearsal to ask her for her signature, so I asked one of the teachers in charge,
that was by my side the whole rehearsal, to sign my notes on the rehearsal.

2/1/2017
4. Chapter 3
I found this chapter one of the most interesting ones from the whole book. Chapter 3
talks about the earliest skills and experiences that a person has with music. When I began to
read it I tried to remember my own experiences with music at those stages of my life, however
they were hard to think of. I would say the first memory that comes to mind was my mom
singing to me to fall asleep when I was a child. Really, I did not have much of a musical
background or musical oriented family during my early childhood years, but when I began in 4th
or 5th grade I had a sense of musicality a little more developed than the other kids.
Well, from what I learned I can see that teaching a child is a heavy responsibility
because it has to do with everything that it surrounds him or her. Three things have to be
considered in order to teach an infant: 1) Human development and learning, 2) Individual
Characteristics, and 3) Social and Cultural context. The mind of any kid revolves on these 3
aspects of learning and life. That is why it is so important to know a child’s capabilities to know
what and how to teach to him or her. I do remember seeing Piaget’s learning stages for my
psychology class, and I agree on them, because I can say that the development of a child is
highly cognitive and through experiences.
When a child is taught music from a young age, there are specific behaviors that the
book discusses depending on the age. From birth to eight years old a kid can show a vast
knowledge and basic comprehension of musicality, and I think that these are the best ages to
begin implementing musical context within children’s lives. From what I got from the book, the
most important aspect of teaching a children is that they learn better through fun experiences
and play. The mind of a kid is always curious and aware of its surroundings, so an environment
that is rich with opportunities and possibilities for exploration of different games and learning
styles is the key to reach a prosperous learning.
Now that I have read the book I am excited and looking forward to observe the
kindermusik class. I expect to see lots of games and fun with music for the children while they
begin to develop the basic musical necessities and experiences. It will be interesting to see the
behaviors of learning of young infants.

2/5/2017
5. Southwest Honor Band and Orchestra Rehearsal

The Southwest Honor Band, Choir and Orchestra Festival took place this weekend at New
Mexico State University. I decided to observe the string orchestra ensemble conducted by Dr.
Erik Johnson from Colorado. He has a lot of musical career and experience including various
degrees in music education and performance. The rehearsal itself was held in a small space for
all the musicians involved, but I know sometimes you cannot do much about it since that was
the place assigned for them. The environment of the participants of the ensemble was very
friendly and amiable because most of the kids new the others already, which I think facilitated
the experience of rehearsing. Dr. Johnson began the rehearsal by raising his hand gently to
know he was going to start and everyone just noticed and became quiet without any verbal
communication from the maestro. He was very calmed and easy to listen during the whole
rehearsal, and indeed, was very flexible with his rehearsal and his instructions. Before playing
any note he began by introducing himself and his career attributes, and sharing some personal
experiences of the travels he have made and asked the musicians if they had any questions
about his person and answered them in a very friendly and sometimes humorous way. After this
he almost did not talked during the rehearsal of the pieces and stopped minimal times to make a
correction. What he did was let the participants run through the piece and then give them the
feedback and maybe repeat a passage once or twice where he thought necessary. Maybe he
would talk about the tempo that he wanted to take or demonstrate a certain rhythm that was
played incorrectly but most of this was after the piece was finished once. He almost did not
move except when necessary, like marking a sudden dynamic change, but only during
conducting. He did have a lot of eye contact with the players and asked them what they felt
about the piece they had just played. Questions like: “How did you feel the tempo?”, “How do
you think this passage could be better articulated?”, and others of that indolence were made by
Dr. Johnson to the students to make them think and talk about the practice they were having.
Something I did notice was that he often maintained his hands in his pockets when giving
feedback. His knowledge of the pieces and musical aspects was noticeable by the way he tried
new things and explained the mechanics of the bows or sound when modeling a passage he
wanted in a certain way, but he did not talk much about the expressiveness and emotions of the
piece. Mostly (and I think this was because of the time he had before the concert), he corrected
rhythm and articulations, rather than dynamics and intonation problems (which I could hear).
However, when he got a passage ready he gave positive feedbacks and words to the
musicians. The participants were often active making questions and communicating verbally
and nonverbaly with each other and the conductor, which made it easier to run the pieces. At
the end, Dr. Johnson took 5 or 7 minutes to give a philosophical little talk to the musicians about
perseverance and talked about some experiences that lead him to teach and became aware of
his goals and expectations about his career. For the time give, the rehearsal was well organized
and the conductor correcte only what was fundamental for the performance, however I would
say a little more time was needed to cover some other areas of the music like the intonation and
expressiveness of the pieces.

2/16/2017
6. Doña Ana Youth Choir.
Today, I went to observe the Doña Ana Youth Choir. It is conformed of children from 8 to
13 years old. They all first started warming up first with a series of stretches and vocal exercises
involving syllables. There were 3 conductors in total. They all performed different pieces with the
children. One of the conductors was Paul Andrew Halsted. He is a teacher here at NMSU and
teaches Music In Elementary Schools (MUS 531). It was nice meeting him and knowing that I
will be having him for a nearby semester.
What I noticed the most was the interaction of the conductors with the kids. All 3 of them
had a playful tone of voice and way of acting to keep the kids engaged with the music and keep
their attention. There was a sense of authority, but the adults did not have to remind the kids,
they just knew the adults were in charge. The verbal language was nice, easy and smooth, and
the non verbal communication was playful and wide with the arms. I
The first time they rehearsed they just ran through a song without stopping, then the
soprano section was told to sing the whole piece together. In fact I hardly saw any corrections,
except for Mr. Halsted, he did a wonderful job with the kids, trying to teach musical concepts to
the kids and maintaining it playful and fun at the time. I think this not also apply to children, but
to other aged people too, because learning while playing is always fun. Mr Halsted explained
vocal technique aspects to the kids, and stopped when necessary to fix pronunciation or
articulations of the words they were singing. For this he used lots of modeling. When he
checked a passage he would give letter grades according to the performance of it. This seems
very simply, but I had never seen it in any other place. After the first song was done rehearsing,
the kids were asked what they wanted to sing next, instead of the conductor telling them, I think
this makes the children have a more comfortable and trustful relationship with the conductor.
There was a changed of piece and conductor. The kids were exposed to several new
musical concepts, like sforzando, staccato, and marcato, and the educators used simple, easy
words like short and scratched to explain. Another thing that I found interesting, was that when
the kids looked tired or fatigued, the conductors would make them do physical engaging
activities, like dancing the hokey pokey to wake them up, which I found fun and a good idea with
the kids.
I could tell that Mr. Halsted has good experience teaching children because of his
enthusiastic personality and way of teaching and rehearsing. He was not afraid to dance or
make funny faces to the children. I think the kids of the choir will remember him as a teacher
that is fun and understands and enjoys teaching younglings. I really look forward to having a
class or two with him.

3/8/2017
7. High School Choir

Yesterday I went to observe the Mesilla Valley Teen Choir. The conductor was Terry
Kay Gilbert. The choir was formed by teenagers from middle school and high school, and I
could notice that the language was more complex and technical than with the other younger
ensembles. In general I think the expectations for the choir were higher, however, I think the
main goal was being prepared for the concert they had in door. I almost did not see any actual
explanation of any of the elements of music, but most of the rehearsal focused on the actual
result of the songs.
When I arrived at the rehearsal they handed me a printed page. This was the planned
rehearsal printed out, it had all the progression of the rehearsal, from the warm ups to be made,
announcements about following concerts and rehearsals, and even specific measures to
rehearse. I was amazed to see the organization of the rehearsal.
What I did saw was explanation of the warmups they were doing. Some technical
aspects were discussed by the conductor, but they were not that many. The conductor used a
lot of questioning with the students. Throughout the rehearsal I heard the director ask lots of
question, approximately 20 or something around that. The choir members actively responded to
every of the questions, which demonstrated engagement by the students. Also, plenty of
imagery was used throughout the rehearsal to explain a desired style or articulation.
When correcting a passage, she would make the singers, of the section that had it
wrong, repeat it 2 or 3 times in order to get it. Then she would incorporate the rest of the choir
little by little. Mrs. Kay snapped her fingers through the songs instead of conducting. I think this
sets and the correct tempo in a more solid way, but following the director is a fundamental skill
to understand and practice in ensembles. However, when she modeled, she made it in a correct
way singing and keeping the pulse accurately and this helped the singers understand and
correcting rhythms. What I liked was that after modeling, Mrs. made the singers make the
rhythms, and once they had it right, they would sing it with pitch.
The rehearsal in general went very fast and precise. Since it was planned in detail, the
time was used wisely and effectively. Also, because the members of the choir were teenagers, I
would say that because they were more mature it was easier to work with them and keep their
attention than when working with little children. The students knew what they had to do and
answer whenever they had to, which made the atmosphere suitable for a practical and useful
rehearsal.
3/10/2017
8. Kindermusik
Yesterday I attended to the first kindermusik class ever in my life. I can say it was one of
the most adorable thing I have seen in many many years! The teacher of the class was Miss
Leslie, she told me she had taught kindermusik for more than 15 years, so she is well
experienced and trained with young kids, and has no embarrassment to play childs’ games with
them. The first thing I notice when I entered the classroom was that it was full of vivid colors and
things to interact with. The second thing was that the mothers of the kids were present and with
them the whole time. When they started the class, Ms. Leslie sang a song to make the kids
know that she was about to start a new activity (this would continue throughout the class to
change from one activity to another one).
As I read from the book and expected already, the class was full of interactive toys and
activities for the kids. Toy instruments and childrens’ songs were sang and used during the
whole class, and the children and their mothers would play and explore them. What I saw the
most was the introduction of rhythm and dynamics to the kids. They would be given a
percussive toy and they would play them in a tempo to which everyone else had to sing, or they
were told to play it loud and soft, beginning to establish a sense of forte and piano for the kids.
The interaction with the parents was crucial, since the kids almost did not pay attention to Ms.
Leslie (even though she did had very clear communication skills, including verbal and
nonverbal), but I think this is because of what the kids are already accustomed to with their
parents around them the whole time.
I could see the introduction of several types of music styles to the kids. There was this
activity that had the parents and kids dance to an arab origin song, with which the kids seemed
entertained and fun. They also did one with Rimsky Korsakoff’s Flight of the Bumblebee playing.
The children interacted not only with music, but also with stuffed toys like animals, and
stories, and games (which featured music, but as a background for it). There was this
storytelling with the beat of claps, and whenever they saw a red page appear they would stop
clapping, and when Ms. leslie changed to the next page they would start clapping again. This
made me remember when a conductor holds the music for a fermata.
Ms. Leslie’s job is not only music, but also psychology, social skills, and interaction with
parents and children. The overall experience of observing the class was fun! And not only fun,
but I could see how Ms. Leslie introduced little by little the elements of music within her class
through playing and experiences with the kids. If I were to be in her class at that age, I would
say I would remember it for a long time in my adolescent and adult years, keeping those
musical memories ready to unfold when the real music journey starts with the introduction of
instruments and more complex musical aspects.

3/14/2017
9. Chapter 4

Chapter four is all about the music classes given at elementary schools. Since I went to
elementary in Mexico, things and grade levels were all different for me, or at least a little. In
Mexico kids go through six years of elementary, no matter where, from 1st to 6th grade is
always elementary school or “Primaria”. I remember having some music classes like the ones
talked about in the book. We did not have a specific ensemble or practiced specific pieces like
in choir or orchestra or band, instead of that we had a more general view of music in general.
This classes are called General Music in the book. It goes deep in explaining what a General
Music class is. These classes cover the musical world and study in a “general” and superficial
way, not deeply analyzing pieces or repertoire, but instead, elementary students have the
opportunity to explore with different music activities like singing or playing the recorder. The
professor is supposed to focus in the process of music instead of the product. Basically, getting
the students to understand the basics of the elements of music through experiences and little
musical language. These classes expose the students to the musical context a little more than a
Kindermusik class would.
The chapter also discusses the cognitive stages established by psychologist Jean Piaget
and other methods of child learning, and tries to give examples of adjusting them to General
Music classes and skills. Personally, I had never thought about all the musical capabilities that a
child can have with a short age. When I look back at my elementary, I did sang, and played the
recorder, and had the introductions of elements of music established, but when I was a kid I
never thought of them as something meaningful to the deep study of music. We never learned
to read music but we sang and played the flute anyway. However, this was when my musical
journey started, in 5th grade, and I really enjoyed singing and playing even though I did not
understand what was really going on.
Different grade levels are supposed to cover certain musical aspects according to the
book, since the student is already aware and capable of certain skills and understandings. So a
3rd grade class can be different from a 5th grade one. All of them however, seek to present the
student to the wonderful world of music and encourage she or he to join later and more
advanced classes.
This chapter made me a little emotional because I remembered my musical beginnings
in elementary school. Back then I really enjoyed making music in the class, but I would never
thought that it would become my passion and career.

3/14/2017
10. Chapter 5
 My Middle School years were my favorite of my life so far. I was experiencing lots of
different emotions, and responsibilities in during this part of my life. I had new friends, lots of
them! I remember we were like 25 or 30 people in my friends’ circle. I had a very special
girlfriend too which I still remember! My point is that middle school, or “Secundaria” in Mexico,
played an important part in me. My musical experiences took off during this period too. I began
playing the violin, and joined an orchestra, and I began to really know what the musical life was
about.
Chapter 5 talks about music classes in secondary school. It talks about middle school
and some high school courses so, I guess this type of education applies to both. There are two
types of music classes during this time, performance and nonperformance. Fine Arts classes
are apparently required here in the US, so adolescents can choose between playing at an
orchestra or band or taking more general music classes, that is what I understood from the
book. It also talks about the adolescents and their behavior towards teachers in general and
their social interactions. I would say this educational stage is one of the hardest to teach
because of the attitudes of the teenagers, but I also think that music can give them a form to
communicate and relief their expressions within themselves and share it with others.
When I was in middle school I had a music class with all my classmates, which only a
little from us knew to play an instrument and actual music. The teacher often struggled to teach
the ones that were not interested in the subject, and the book talks about this too. I think Mr.
Dario could have been a little more understanding with the kids that were not inclined to music
giving popular music examples to connect them with the world of musicality. Anyway, this class
was more of history and appreciation, although we did played a little recorder and sang. These
non performance classes try to awaken creativity and imagination and a curiosity for the music
world presented in elementary school in order to “build informed audience members”. Aside
from that it also gives the students the opportunities to experience with music a little deeper
than they did in elementary. With a more developed state of mind, teenagers have a lot to learn
and create, which I would say these classes aim for. I would classify my middle school class of
music as tough to teach because of the different type of students and their interests. Indeed I
was one of the few that payed attention and did well. When I ask my friends what they think
about the that class back in middle schools they seem to not learned anything and just took the
class because they had too. I would say they did not enjoy it really.
Personally, I think I would not like to teach in middle school nor non performance
classes, even though I think I will at some point of my career. But what I would try to do is to
show students the magic and beauty of music to make them more interested in arts and provide
them with the basics of musicality.

3/15/2017
11. Chapter 6
 I was never introduced to band music, until I went to high school. I began playing in a
symphony orchestra in middle school, but Mexico has a lot of differences in its winds and brass
music. Before entering high school I just knew the “American band” from movies, mainly
marching bands in high school, which are not given the best presentation. I was never
interested in band music, and to be honest, I am not now. But this chapter opened various
doubts and questions about it to me. I really did not know why the band culture is so prominent
in the United States. Most of the guest teachers Ms. Joy brings to class are band directors,
which gives me an approach to what being in band feels like. I specially enjoyed the last one,
Mr. Lang. He has high expectations for his bands which is what has him so elevated in his
education level. I am sure I can take some of his philosophies to incorporate to my teaching.
This and other aspects of band are covered in the chapter. In fact, I am listening to the example
pieces given in the book.
The history of band history in america begins with military backgrounds. Mexico did not
have that many wars so, I could say that is a reason why band is not that popular there. The
book mentions other factors, like the use of the radio and stuff like that, but I think orchestral
music could have had the same tools to become as popular as band. In the end, I think the only
reason why bands had the impact it had was because of the military usage, and then of course
the invention of Jazz.
My high school had the concert band, and the marching band. I found marching band as
a mere form of entertainment because it is usually presented at sports games, so I don’t
consider them as serious as a string or symphony orchestra. Of course there is the concert
band, which I am listening to right now, but it still do not causes the same impact on me as the
strings would. Then we have jazz, that I would say it is the most appealing to me. I have played
some jazz in high school, but I have not have the chance to really dig deeper into it to study this
music. I did not enjoyed playing it that much, but what I like is listening to it. However, I am
aware of the benefits that jazz can bring to a musician, like harmonic understanding,
improvisation (which I do not have because strings don’t use to improvise) and ensemble skills.
What I can take from this chapter is the last part, where it mentions the standards and
methods to perform and teach in a rehearsal. It argues that the more musical growth the teacher
can cause in a student beyond rote teaching and correcting articulations and rhythms, the better
teacher he is, and I agree with it. This last part also says how to become a better educator
relating our music to other arts and communicating sharing different information with our
students.
I read this chapter with curiosity since band is not my favorite style of music. But I know
have a kind of broader understanding of band culture in this country. I imagine how the United
States would be if instead of the explosion of band popularity it was the strings that had this
opportunity.

3/15/2017
12. Chapter 7
Now it is time to read about my favourite topic that the class will cover, the strings. I am
intrigued to find some secrets about the string music in schools in United States. When I came
to study my high school at El Paso I picked Coronado High School because of the level of the
string orchestra it had back in the day. I can say Mrs. Steadman was a very dedicated and
experienced string teacher, but what I mainly noticed when I arrived here was the gap of level in
the players, I am not sure if this also happens in band. The class was called “Advanced
Orchestra”. I was expecting to be part of the symphony orchestra of the school, but I went there
and realize that the class was not that advanced for the level and that the orchestra was purely
of strings. When I was in Mexico my orchestra was the whole symphony ensemble, and I was
confused when I arrived to El Paso. From my experience I can say that individual instruction
was needed for most of the students, but Mrs. Steadman could not teach everyone of them,
also she was a cello player and not violinist, which is similar but very different at the same time.
I think this separation from strings and winds made me lower my affections for wind instruments
and music, while I was more focused on the strings. However, it was sad to know that strings
have less prestige than bands (popular wise).
When I read the book chapter I began to ask the question of why aren’t strings as
prominent as the wind band, and also why is the string ensemble often called orchestra, if we
only practice our string section and no the whole orchestra. Well, this way was the one I began
to play with and maybe that is why I am a little confused with it. But aside from that, I think the
book covers a lot of good points within the string pedagogy and methods like the Suzuki
method, which I have widely heard of but never played. It also talks about the string players
expectations when learning their instrument. I think that string orchestras in school could grow
more if instead of having the whole string section practicing at once, sectionals would be more
accurate and precise to work with, and then maybe one day a week or two work with the whole
string section. But this is just me.
I wonder how I would have turned if I have started studying the violin in orchestra, here
in the US. From what I could see in my experience in high school, not many were good and they
had played the violin in middle school and some since elementary. It is curious how string music
operates in the US, but I love playing the violin and one day I hope to conduct a whole
symphony orchestra featuring strings, winds, and percussion. This is my ultimate goal.

3/15/2017
13. Chapter 8
Chapter eight talks about the choir culture and education in the schools and in general.
Personally, I think vocal music is one of the most interesting types of music there is, firstly
because it was the earliest form of music of all time. The book covers some of this but centers
on the beginning of the United States and the sacred music in churches and temples. Little by
little, choirs began to enter the schools of the country. It is interesting to me the fact that the
voice of a person suffers many many changes during one’s life, especially boys. Choir and vocal
teachers have to deal with these changes in pitch and ranges when working with kids in middle
school and high school, which I think should be difficult to work with. The book keeps touching
on the importance of using the elements of music as a guiding tool to teach instead of aiming for
the final product. And also gives some advices that could serve not only to choir conductors but
to music educators in general like using time wisely to cover certain topics of music and not only
singing (or playing).
Choir conductors have a vast diversity of repertoire which they have to choose carefully
to meet the capabilities of the students. There are various types of scores for choirs including,
STAB, SA, SAC and many others. They stand for the registers necessary for the range of the
song.
From very young, children can sing without any instruction of classes, just by listening
and imitating. Vocal educators have infinite possibilities to make with a young student. It is
important to teach correct breathing and posture from the beginning. Which takes me to the
warm ups for any choir rehearsal or private vocal class. The voice needs a lot of physiological
work to sound good. Several exercises are needed in order to have a successful practice.
These exercises are not only vocal but also physical, like stretches.
I did sang a little in my elementary and middle school years for my music classes, but
was never taught the technique of it, mostly rote. I never had a big interest for singing or choirs,
but now that I have my voice class I really enjoy it. Singing is one of the fundamental skills any
musician needs to know, at least the basics. Vocal educators are to teach music fundamentals
and practice to achieve the success in a singer.