Davids Chapter 12 and Williams Interlude G

2 A-HA moments/comments:

    1)   I particularly enjoyed the section on “Attention to Dynamics” (pages 194-195). In this section of the book, Davids talks about how “blend is improved when all singers within a section produce the same dynamic level.” I am sure most of us have been in choirs before where there is one singer that sings above all of the rest. I feel as if it might be a bit of a tough situation sometimes, trying to explain to that student that they need to learn to “blend” and trying not to come across as rude at the same time. I recently visited a choir where this was happening and the director kindly told the student to move one row back for a particular piece, because she wanted a more blended sound. This is a great way to go about blend in my opinion, and I will definitely use this in the future.     

    2)   I like the “easy” examples of images Williams gives us on page 173. Words such as “bright, warm, ringing, and dark” are words that should be easy for our students to understand when we are asking them to sing in a particular style. Williams then goes on to list some more difficult words, such as “clear, open, rich and full.” I can see how these words may make your students feel a little lost. I believe this will help me in the future, and it is a great tip for everyone who leads a choir.

2 Questions:

    1)   On page 192-193 of Davids book, we see ways to help blend a choir (tuning, diction, color and balance). What are some ways/exercises we can help our singers stay in tune, or teaching them to sing in tune? In my choir experiences, we have never focused on tuning, so I do not have any exercises or approaches to helping a choir sing in tune.

    2)   On page 174 of “Teaching Singing to Young Students” I see that telling your students to sing with a “yawning sensation” can be disastrous for the singer… I had no idea that this was not a healthy thing. I have often heard my choral conductors tell us to sing like we are yawning before. What is another way we can help our students keep an open throat while singing, without damaging their voices long-term.