Band Directors Teaching Choir: Sight-Singing Monday, May 19, 2014
Here at Stanton’s
, we’re aware of the rising number of music teachers working outside of their specialty. Cutbacks have forced many instrumental specialists to begin teaching choir-but never fear! In this series, we will try to give some advice on where to start, as well as recommending some “tried and true” products that will help you become a great choral educator!
Many teachers new to choral education are surprised to discover the lack of a method book for choir like those in the band and orchestra world. While some of these texts do exist, most choral directors prefer to use a sight-singing method as a basis for teaching music literacy and basic skills. Whether your students have previous training in Orff, Kodaly, another method, or no training at all, these sight-singing texts are adaptable to a variety of situations:
Sing On Sight-By Audrey Snyder-Available in 3 part mixed (for girls and changing-voice boys,) or 2 part treble (for unchanged voices,) Volume One, Volume Two and accompaniment CD’s. Great for the educator teaching sight-singing for the first time!
Essential Sight-Singing-By Emily Crocker and John Leavitt-Available for Treble Voices, Bass Voices or Mixed Voices; Volume One, Volume Two and Accompaniment CD’s.
Kinesthetic (as w
ell as visual and aural) learners will benefit from the Kodaly-Curwen hand signs while sight-singing. Having students show these hand signs while they or others are singing is a great way to instantly assess student progress or have one part practice while another part sings. Try these posters for learning these simple but effective signs:
Kodaly Hand Signs-(Set of 8 Posters)-Hal Leonard#09970613-$7.99
Don’t be shy about asking for help, especially if you are new to the choral world. As always, the experienced choral directors at Stanton’s are thrilled to help you select materials, make recommendations or give advice. Contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, extension 1 or visit our store. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Previous posts in this series: Warm-Ups and Rounds