Isabel Florimonte Florimonte, p.

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Dr. van der Vat-Chromy
MUED 376
11 December 2017
Choral Cultures

A teacher will build a culture in their classroom each day consciously or not consciously.

It can either be effective or ineffective, but it will still influence the community within the

classroom. Music is naturally social and occurs through the interactions of peers and instructors

within the relationships to one another. Co-curriculization between the academic and social will

create flow, an important aspect of choral cultures. The academic domain is the material an

educator gives to the student to learn. This includes the music repertoire along with the

techniques need to successful sing. The social domain is about a students own motivations and

how they use this to interact and succeed with other students. When both the social and the

academic domains intersect, students are aware of their role in the ensemble and feel the family

that a choir can be.

There are four main aspects of a choral culture; safety, identity, transmission and

enculturation. Safety in the classroom is used by being mindful and respectful. Eye contact and

micro and macro interactions can help the students feel secure inside the music classroom. Tone

of voice matters, creating a sense of non-judgment. Non-verbal communication is equally as

important with the look of your facial affect and the body language towards students. Most

students will notice these non-verbal communications the first day of class. Throughout the year,

an educator can build relationships with the students. Regardless of size, a music educator should

know everyones name in the ensemble and be able to informally talk to students. This supports

the emotional need that students of all ages crave. Allowing the students to write reflections

multiple times in the year will make them feel that they have a voice and opinion about the

ensemble going forward. Students can also write self-assessment to build accountability within
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the ensemble. On the podium, an educator can continue to make eye contact and be conscious of

their body language. An educator can prepare for a lesson with a direct instruction model to

present clear goals and fluid learning sequences. An educator can also design the rehearsal with

the peak of the rehearsal at 2/3 of the way through. This is when students can accomplish the

most difficult content with the highest success. Lastly, showing respect to the students will allow

the students to feel capable and willing to make risks.

Identity is another aspect of choral cultures to be addressed. It is the sense of belonging

and inclusion that will allow students to feel comfortable and able to learn. Identity will build

self-esteem and self-confidence in the minds of the students. Although this may not happen on

the first day, and instructor can take identify as an ongoing process that will continuously need

implementing. Friendships within the choir will significantly improve this feeling of identity in a

student. An educator can cultivate and support these relationships by allowing time for classroom

discussion and sharing between one another. Maintaining a high standard in rehearsal will help

students feel motivated to achieve these goals. Within the act of music making, students will feel

success and pride for the accomplishments individually and as a group.

Transmission is the instructors way of guiding and selecting individuals into specific

roles. This allows for a flow of hierarchy and provides accountability for students. An educator

can implement roles for students to fulfill, such as officers or board of directors. Students can

also become in charge of welcoming new choral members with a partner-up system. Allowing

students to reflective on paper and also through student-led reflection sessions will make the

students feel valuable within the ensemble. Allowing alumni to form organizations that connect

all members together will have a sense of continuation for current and future graduates. Also, be

sure to celebrate the ensemble for their accomplishments. Discuss the journey of progress the
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ensemble has experienced to value their hard work and lay out the growth for the ensemble to

see.

Enculturation is the way of learning within a culture that one also innovates and shapes.

At the core, enculturation is the motivation, fulfillment and growth within the ensemble. An

instructor may help to create this enculturation by provided opportunities for students to help out.

Also, writing reflections is also a good way to promote enculturation. Motivation is the goal

setting onto which standards may be met. The goose bump moments is only possible when

flow is achieved through the alignment of all aspects of choral culture. These moments are the

memorable and meaningful events during music making that can be achieved by the student in

both rehearsal and concert.

There are behaviors that can block these flow moments in an ensemble. They are

JAHEES; judgment, arrogance, hubris, ego, entitlement and selfishness. These are highly

ineffective behaviors that can occur both in the instructor and the ensemble. The key is to

recognize these behaviors early on, and in turn make them into high effective behaviors.

Judgment turns into discernment, arrogance turns into humility, hubris turns into respect, ego

turns into soulfulness, entitlement turns into effort, and selfishness turns into mindfulness. An

instructor can create a classroom culture that prohibits the negative behaviors into positive and

effective ones through every day actions and behaviors. The key to a highly effective rehearsal is

highly effective behaviors form both the instructor and student. When an ensemble become

highly effective and uses this to make music, it is then an ensemble can grow into a community

who together will create flow moments.