When I stopped teaching general music full-time and decided to direct for a choral nonprofit, I was worried that I would not be able to use my SongWorks training as often as I would like. It took a bit of brainstorming, but I’ve developed some ways to effectively use the SongWorks principles and practices in the choral classroom.
–Songworks 1, Principle 2
Before asking students to sing alone or to read a song map or picture score, I ensure that my classroom environment is conducive to this type of learning and sharing. Students need to feel safe with me and with their peers. I encourage this sense of safety by cultivating a playful nature, modeling ways to respond to mistakes, and walking students through possible interpersonal interactions in song games.
Once a positive classroom culture is established, the possibilities are endless! Here are some simple and accessible ways to incorporate SongWorks into your choral classroom:
Playful Vocal Warmups
- Meet the students where they are and make it playful!
- Song stories are a great way to engage kids and to get their input.
- I set up a scenario and incorporate a combination of unpitched vocalizations and traditional vocal warmups.
- Employ the use of “story plopping,” as Dr. Peggy Bennett might say. For example: Today we are going to the zoo! What animals do you hear? (make animal sounds) Let’s go get some delicious snacks! (Sing “Mmmm Good” on solfège SFMRD)
Teaching Repertoire Using SongWorks Practices
Mapping
- Mapping lends itself well to choral teaching in many ways! You can easily make a music map that shows the melodic contour of the chorus/refrain, or that highlights repeated melodic material.
- Maps can be especially useful when teaching pieces in foreign languages. Students can focus on the melody rather than the text by following the map and singing on a neutral syllable first.
Antiphonning
- Antiphonning is a way of performing a song in which a leader and responder(s) alternate performing successive parts of the song: Fill in my blanks.
- Students and teachers can listen for accuracy and correct errors.
- This is a great tool to aid in memorization!
Song Dotting
- Song dots are a wonderful tool to use when studying repertoire; they can anchor students when studying a difficult rhythm, or can highlight repeated rhythms.
- Song dot scores can also be teacher- or student-made!
Solfège
- The use of solfège solidifies students’ understanding of relative pitch. Here are some ways I consistently use solfège in my choral teaching:
- Have children decode the melody in song games (sing the song on solfège syllables)
- Label choral music with corresponding solfège
- Sing ostinatos and partner songs using solfège
- Focus on a repeated lower voice pattern in a choral octavo
I hope these strategies encourage you to use SongWorks in your choral classroom! Hint: Many of these strategies can be used in the same way in instrumental music instruction as well!
