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Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Voice
SBO Staff | February 5, 2008It is easy to understand why singers are more prone to voice difficulties than others: the demands placed on their vocal cords are much greater. Like the athlete who must maintain good physical condition in order to perform well, singers must also take great care to protect their “instrument” from harm. Below are some simple […] Read More... -
Standard Choral Repertoire Part II: Baroque
SBO Staff | February 5, 2008This is the second part in a limited series of columns regarding repertoire that is considered “standard.” I have chosen to focus on these works rather than newer releases because so many new teachers seem not to have been introduced to these works prior to assuming a choral education position. Most of us are left […] Read More... -
Third Annual Choral Directors of Note
SBO Staff | February 5, 2008“Choral Directors of Note” are vocal music educators whose achievements in the classroom and concert halls merit additional recognition. In this third annual report, CD has selected 13 deserving choral directors from around the country, a group of teachers mirroring the great wealth of diversity found in the choral world of today. From 40-year veterans […] Read More... -
Teaching Four-Mallet Marimba Technique: A Sequential Approach to Repertoire
Mike Lawson | November 27, 2007Although evidence exists of four-mallet playing in Asia as early as the 16th Century, on Western mallet instruments it is a fairly recent development. In modern times, a handful of different grips and approaches to playing have become standard, but a systematic approach must be used to teach beginning four-mallet players. All too often, it seems, students are assigned four-mallet solos which are too difficult for them, and are not given the technical tools to be able to play them well.
We can attribute the standardization of the main stroke types and names used in four-mallet playing to Leigh Howard Stevens' wide-spread method book (which includes an introductory treatise on his approach to four-mallet playing) Method of Movement. In this book, Stevens explains and categorizes the main stroke types of four-mallet playing.
In general terms, Method of Movement teaches technique through sequential exercises and is great because it provides students with exercises that work on the various types of motion required to master four-mallet technique. In addition to Method of Movement, I require my students to also work out of 120 Progressive Four-Mallet Studies, by Luigi Morleo and published by Honeyrock Publications, which is a wonderful collection of etudes organized systematically so as to work on the various stroke types.
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Show Choir: Enhancing Singing through Movement
SBO Staff | November 15, 2007photo #169; stevemarselstudio.com Often a controversial topic among choral purists, show choir has been steadily gaining popularity across the country as a viable outlet for musical and artistic creativity. Charlene Dalrymple of Oliver Ames (N. Easton, Mass.) High School caught the bug at an early age and is now in her third decade of promoting […] Read More... -
Standard Choral Repertoire Part I: Renaissance
SBO Staff | November 15, 2007There is a set of repertoire that is considered “standard.” But choral educators are all too often left to learn these works on their own, with little guidance other than their own acquired taste. Though some undergraduate programs do require or offer a course on choral repertoire appropriate for the school setting, most address it […] Read More... -
The Opera Stereotype
SBO Staff | November 15, 2007We’ve all seen the stereotypical opera singer portrayed in cartoons, comic strips, and skits as a man or woman in Wagnerian costume with Viking-style horns protruding from their metallic headgear. And always, of course, they are people of very generous proportions. The stereotype may endure, but it appears this image may be changing in our […] Read More... -
2007, October/November
SBO Staff | November 15, 2007Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007Luciano Pavarotti, the superstar tenor who is often credited with reviving the popularity of classical opera in the latter half of the 20th century, died in his hometown of Modena, Italy on September 7th, 2007, after losing a bout with pancreatic cancer. Perhaps most well known for his work alongside Placido Domingo and […] Read More... -
Score Preparation for the Young Band Director
Mike Lawson | October 16, 2007How prepared do you expect your students to be at concert time? That's exactly how prepared you need to be the first time you work on a piece. "Preparation" comes from the Latin praeparare, from prae •before' + parare •make ready'. To make ready before (not during) rehearsal. To be 100 percent ready, beforehand, for whatever difficulties your chosen piece might present.
Experienced band directors may no longer go through each of the following steps to prepare every score; that's most likely because they have worked on enough scores that they can spot many potential problems instantly. But one of the biggest deficiencies we see in young conductors has nothing to do with motivation, or education, or even actual conducting skill it has to do with lack of time spent in preparation for rehearsals. How carefully would you prepare if you were asked to conduct a national honor band? Do your students deserve any less? Here are some ideas to help you prepare each score thoroughly.
Finger Each Part
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Though you may not be able to perform well on each instrument, you should be able to finger ("air-play") each and every part in your scores. If you don't know your fingerings, slide positions, and rudiments well enough to do that, you have even more homework to do than you thought. Meanwhile, find a mentor, colleague or friend who can do this, and have him help you. -
Stars Across the Choral Universe
SBO Staff | September 6, 2007In 2007, Cherry Hill (N.J.) High School West broke new ground by becoming the first school to field back-to-back winners at the International A Capella High School Championships. However, the triumphant 11-voice male ensemble, Men of Note, is far from the only group happening at this hotbed for choral achievement: the larger mixed choir, West […] Read More... -
Sounding Board
SBO Staff | September 6, 2007Maintaining a healthy vocal music program in the face of challenges such as shrinking budgets and scheduling pressure brought on by standardized testing is no small achievement. With long-term career “survival” in mind, this latest CD survey seeks to provide a sounding board for our readers to vent frustrations and share what gets them through […] Read More... -
BriLee’s Brian Busch: Man With a Mission
SBO Staff | September 6, 2007From time to time, I turn over the helm of this forum to a colleague. It is hoped that the reader will benefit from a variety of viewpoints. In this case I am doing so for an additional reason: to highlight the important and influential work of Brian Busch, founder and president of BriLee Music. […] Read More...
