EFFECTIVE REHEARSALS

Daily Rehearsal Planning

A good rehearsal is designed like a good concert (Barrow, 1994). After warm-ups and sight-singing, the rehearsal of choral literature should begin with an attention-getter; followed by pieces that contrast in terms of tempo, tonality, style, texture, text, language, accompaniment, or composer. The most complex or difficult piece(s) should be placed near the middle of the rehearsal, and a memorable and moving piece placed at the end, leaving the singers with a favorite piece still echoing in their ears when they leave class. Rehearsal pacing should be quick to keep students on their toes, but not rushed or tense, with some breaks to rest the voice and relax while announcements or other business matters can be quickly relayed.

Literature-Based Warm-Ups

One effective approach to choral warm-ups is to derive them directly from the repertoire being studied. For example, warm-ups may be created that focus on difficult rhythms, intervals, or articulations found in the pieces to be rehearsed that day. This approach is an efficient use of time because when the music is rehearsed, many potential musical problems have already been resolved due to the warm-up (Coker, 1984).

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Sight-Singing

Even though the national standard of music reading is a familiar one to choristers, we know that sight-singing skills are often a weakness of vocalists. There is no good reason for this, and the choral director must expect students to sight-read and regularly assess their skill. Although there is general agreement by choral directors that sight-singing is a most important skill, a study of large-group adjudicated festivals in all 50 states revealed that only 17 states require sight-singing of middle school choirs, and only 25 states require sight-singing for high school choirs. Unfortunately, this lack of sight-singing assessment is related to a lack of instructional time devoted to the skill (Norris, 2004).

One of the major researchers of effective ways to teach sight-singing in the choral rehearsal is Steven Demorest, whose book Building Choral Exc ellence (2001) is a landmark resource. He reports that certain musi-cal experiences predict success at sight-singing, which should be noted by teachers as they consider their influence on student musical devel-opment. These experiences include:

• at least six years of piano study;

• additional instrumental experience;

• regular group practice of sight-singing;

• individual testing at sight-singing;

• specific feedback regarding sight-singing attempts.

In his book, Demorest reviews 21 different method books for teach-ing sight-steach-ingteach-ing, and concludes that there is no one best way to teach it other than consistently. Many conductors were trained using the number system for scale degrees and so prefer to teach with that; others prefer moveable “do” solfege because its syllables are conducive to singing beautiful vowel sounds; and others trained in fixed “do” solfege from a young age firmly believe in that approach, particularly if they have perfect pitch. Regarding rhythmic reading, many teach the counting out of beat subdivisions, while others find the syllable systems used in Edwin Gordon’s or Zoltán Kodály’s approach best for recog-nizing rhythm patterns. Demorest describes them all in detail. The point to be taken is that while no one system has been found to be the best, any one of them can be effective if the teacher knows it well, uses it regularly (preferably daily) and structures instruction sequentially.

Sight-singing should be practiced for at least five minutes of every rehearsal, and include music that is one to two levels easier than the normal performance level of the particular ensemble (MENC, 1994b).

As various rhythms, intervals, and chords are studied in sight-singing exercises, it is important to point out those same patterns in choral literature to help reinforce and transfer the new knowledge.

A suggested sight-singing sequence (Demorest, 2001) is to begin with the rhythm of the exercise or piece and have the singers:

1. Identify the time signature and starting beat

2. Scan the example for rhythmic repetitions or similarities 3. Set a tempo and chant the rhythm (on numbers or syllables) 4. Note any errors, and repeat to correct.

Then focus on the pitches and have the singers:

5. Identify the key signature, tonality and starting pitch 6. Scan for melodic patterns that are repetitive or similar 7. Sing the tonic chord and starting pitch

8. Set a tempo and sing

9. Note errors, repeat to correct.

The great choral conductor Robert Shaw advocated combining the pitches with count-singing (e.g., “one and two and tee [sic] and four and”) before adding any lyrics or diction complexities. This technique solidifies the pulse and rhythms.

When participating in sight-singing contests, ensembles should strive for accuracy of meter, tempo, rhythmic articulation, key center, intonation, notes, and intervals. Some organizations also score the choir’s confidence, discipline, and posture as part of the sight-singing assessment (ISSMA, 2008).

Several professional conductors were interviewed regarding their approaches to sight-reading choral repertoire (Paulk, 2004). The fol-lowing maestros’ philosophies are such: Eichenberger believes that regular sight-reading of new works from beginning to end, and if necessary on a neutral syllable rather than words, conveys the impor-tance of that musical skill; Flummerfelt prefers to start with a neutral syllable such as “doo” rather than with words, as well as stabilizing the pulse with count-singing; Jones recalls Robert Shaw beginning every single piece with count-singing and often continued that practice until

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very close to the performance; Scheibe insists on fine intonation and the correct tempo from the very beginning; and Shrock begins a piece with a large sense of appropriate style. These techniques pro-vide inspirational ideas for different ways to introduce a new piece.

For additional sight-singing resources, see References and Further Reading.

BRAINTEASER 9-1: OBSERVING ROBERT SHAW’S COUNT-SINGING