pitch is a specific address… not a zip code!!!!!!!!!
TRANSCRIPT
“Intonation problems tend to fall into two fundamental categories: physiological and
psychological.”• Physiological – Way that singers produce the tone
• Psychological– How singer hears tone before they sing
Wine, Thomas, “Check Your Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (April 2004): 23-27.
“The majority of intonation problems stem from faults in vocal technique. This is mentioned to dispel one of the biggest myths regarding intonation: one with good ears does not always sing in tune…The biggest mistake choral conductors make is attributing a problem with intonation to ‘singers' understanding of a pitch, rather the production of it.”
Skelton, Kevin D, “Choral Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (September 2005): 28-49.
• Vowels– Open vs Closed– Tongue, Jaw, Lips– Modification
Vowel/Placement/Production
Closed(front)
Closed (back)
i e a o u
LipsTongue
Open
Breath• Often lack of energy or commitment – ‘Quality’ of exhalation
• Posture• Vocalisms– Tongue Trills/Lip Flips– ‘V’
• Gestures/Movement– Twirl or Belly Slaps– Shake The Monkey– Fire Feet
Placement/Registration
• Typical Issues– Fuzz, lack of resonance– Pressed/Chesty/Heavy– Swallowed
• Funny Hum– Funny Hum Text
• “It Is A Fa Fa Fa Day”• Top Down – falsetto or [tri-u]
“Engaging and connecting the mind’s ear to the vocal process is critical to developing independent singers with good intonation.”
Johnson, Eric A & Klonoski, Edward, “Connecting the Inner Ear and the Voice,” The Choral Journal, (October 2003): 35-38.
• Audiation– Multiple keys!!!??– Imaginary Rehearsal
• Multiple Keys– Nursery Rhymes• Twinkle (C)• Mary (Bb)• Row Row (D)• My Bonnie (G)
Stop Playing The Piano!
• Change Keys– Sing a monophonic line and
modulate gradually– Change the key of the piece –
might fix your problem!• Overtones– Nasal [i]– [si – e – a]
• ‘Shaw 16’• Chords– Root, 5th, 3rd
Choristers must posses “knowledge of musical and expressive concepts pertaining to intonation and well-tuned singing, particularly the establishment of a systematic approach to music reading”
Grant, Joe, “Improving Pitch and Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (December 1987): 5-9.
Literacy
• Don’t train your kids to be mocking birds!– Teach them to read!
• Inhibitions– Fear of being wrong• Culture of ‘testing’
• If I don’t play it for them?– “No, but we can read it together!”– Raise your hand if you perceive you’ve made a
mistake
Literacy
• Probing Questions– Was it correct?– What was wrong? How was it wrong?– Too High? Too Low? Etc.– How might we fix it?
• Basics– Direction– Step vs leap– Kids will get dangerously close!!!!!– Just take the time to talk about it
Literacy
• Try and teach/incorporate a little theory– Scales, intervals, chords– Teach them the vocabulary
• Error detection• General rehearsal idea– CORNERS– Give them responsibility
• Solfege is your friend!– Hand-sign solfege can be your BEST friend!
• Scales (paired with solfege also)– Major– Minor– Chromatic– Whole Tone – In Combination???!!!! – Round???
• Call & Response– Neutral syllable – Solfege– Solfege – Interval– Neutral Syllable – Interval
Literacy
Literacy - Solfege
• Moveable Do• La Based Minor• Hand-signs– Assessment • Visual – may not sing it but you see it• Writing similar – cognitively get it, just can’t perform
– Range of Motion • A singers ‘button?’
Literacy - Solfege
• In the Air First• Patterns– Descending minor 3rd
– Arpeggio– Scales– Do, mi, re, fa, mi, sol, etc– Do, do re do, do re mi re do, etc
• ‘skip’ a note • Make it a game
– Do, re do, mi, do fa, do sol, etc
Literacy - Solfege
• Transfer to written page– NO STAFF– Circles first (whole notes)• Stack thirds• New chord next to it• Add ‘lines’• ‘spread’ them out (scale)
– Key Signatures WAY later!! • Farthest Flat is Fa• Last Sharp is Ti
Literacy - Solfege
• Write Solfege Into Score– It’s Ok!!
• Resources– John Armstrong• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/solfege-by-th
e-sea.html• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/146.pdf• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/movieclip.ht
ml
Literacy - Solfege
• More Resources– Masterworks Press• http://www.masterworkspress.com/files/catalog.pdf• American Folk Songs• 371 Bach Chorales• Palestrina Motets
– http://www.masterworkspress.com/files/palestrina.pdf
– Choral Net• http://www.choralnet.org/list/resource/1888
”It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” ~ Howard Ruff (financial advisor)~
“Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine
where you start.”~ Nido Qubein (President of High Point Univ) ~
REMEMBER!!!
REMEMBER!!!• Takes Longer
– Slow And Steady Wins The Race!!!!– Better in long run
• Incorporate into your teaching/rehearsal style• Be discerning
– Every publisher has something they are ‘willing’ to sell you!• IT WILL PAY OFF!!!!!!
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
~ Muhammad Ali ~
“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the
seeds that you plant.”
~ Robert Louis Stevenson (author: Treasure Island) ~
“Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together. The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no more or less than the convolutions of my inner life.
Viewed from this angle, teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am willing to look in that mirror and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain self-knowledge—and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my subject.
-Parker Palmer from “The Courage to
Teach”
When You Look Into the Mirror, What Do You See?
• Are you teaching and developing skills, independence, and LITERACY?– Or simply ‘pounding’ parts?
• What do you’re students deserve to see?
Thank You!Ryan Beeken Indiana University Of Pennsylvania [email protected]