Adam Lehman

Dr. Wayne Crannell

Choral Techniques

4 February 2018

Choir History Analysis

In my time in my high school’s choir, I noticed many different things, both

good and bad that impacted me as a musician, and have continued with me as things

that I would continue to do, or that I would change as a future educator.

Firstly, I appreciated that the course was an open, accepting place that

encouraged students to make good grades, and try their best. The teacher was an

eccentric, but well-meaning woman, and tried to boost the confidence of her

students.

Secondly, the teacher was very good at knowing what her classes were, and

what they were not. The teacher did a good job choosing music that was appropriate

for most of the student’s abilities, and did encourage us to push ourselves, for the

most part. There was foundational music theory being taught, and music

competitions were a focus of hers, particularly solo and ensemble, as well as

alternative choral competitions than TMEA.

Thirdly, there was effort to get out and give to the community. The choir

would perform locally, and tried to get several different ‘gigs’, as a way to bring

music all across the area, which was admirable. This was especially true during the

holiday season, when we would sing carols, travel to different locations across both

Iowa Park and Wichita Falls, and sing Christmas concerts.

 Fourth, there was generally a laid back atmosphere that made it enjoyable to

be in the class, and it was a well established expectation that you could be there and

have fun, but when it was time to do the work that you would be compliant.

Generally, she managed classes well, even if things could be chaotic at times.

Fifth, she was smart in how she laid out and arranged her choirs, using

people where they were most needed, and even though the group was lacking in

some sections, decent sounds could be achieved with enough effort.

Despite these perks to the class, there were also many faults that were

detrimental to the running of the course.

First, if you were a more advanced student and wanted music that was more

at your level, you were kind of out of luck. The level at which the choir needed didn’t

match up with my particular needs as a music student, which caused me some

considerable boredom that I had to sit through. I would remedy this by giving my

more advanced students projects, or small ensembles to sing in so that they could be

pushed in other ways.

Secondly, there was a truly bleak music selection that could have been so

much better. Most of the music consisted of bad arrangements of Queen’s greatest

hits, ‘Evolutions of Music’ and bad folk tunes. There was rarely any classical, and

what classical there was wasn’t really implemented in a way that brought history

and its art to the forefront. I would fix this by choosing better music that I could

integrate into the crowd pleasers.

Thirdly, an unfortunate amount of conservative tastes left me in a difficult

position with the teacher, and made me end up leaving the group. I wanted to
explore singing as a countertenor, but was placed as a bass II. That I could

understand and make peace with, as there were few males in the group, let along

ones that could fake being a bass. But when it came to solo contests, I had worked on

music with a private voice teacher as a countertenor, and wasn’t permitted by the

teacher to sing in my proper octave. Come solo and ensemble, I did it anyways, and

was scolded for it. The teacher didn’t want her name on that kind of singing, even

though I went to state and got a one there. I would fix by not doing that.

Fourthly, the way that lessons were taught could have been largely more

efficient. The teacher herself would often get off topic, or struggle to get what she

needed from her students, and then retention of previously learned material was

poor. I don’t know how I would fix this quite yet, but that’s why I’m in this class.

Lastly, there were way too many days that we simply didn’t do anything in

her classes. As a student, I appreciated this, but as a future educator, I can see that

there are obvious problems with this, and it caused unnecessary struggle as we

neared deadlines and concerts. I would fix this by using those kinds of lazy days as a

rare occurrence, if they ever happened at all. That way we would not be wasting

time and having to scramble to prepare for concerts.