Rhythm is a vital component of music. A strong rhythmic foundation is arguably the most important facet of music. Without a rhythmic framework in place, music lacks structure and a solid foundation. With my piano students, I often start with rhythm when learning a new piece. We tap and count out loud, chant the words in rhythm, step the rhythm, keep a steady beat and chant the rhythm, and point to the notes in the music and count out loud.

I believe this focus on rhythm is equally important in choral settings.

There are lots of ways to practice rhythm and help develop an internal sense of steady beat in your rehearsals - the easiest (and perhaps most effective) is to turn it into a game. Children love games and giving them an active way to participate and experience the new concept will make it both memorable and fun. 

This week, I'm sharing my favorite tried-and-true rhythm games and activities for children's choir. Part I includes activities for keeping the steady beat, moving, listening, improvising, and developing aural skills. Part II will include games that focus on rhythmic reading, pattern recognition, composition, and developing musical independence.

Warm-ups are an important part of the choral-singing experience. Just like in sports, the voice is a muscle that must be stretched and "warmed-up" before active use, but warm-ups also provide an opportunity to focus at the beginning of rehearsal and concentrate on breath support, tone production, and resonance. Choral warm-ups are a great way to prepare new musical concepts (intervals, phrasing, melodic patterns, etc.), support vocal development, and foster the development of individual and collective musicianship.

"Warm-ups are where you teach your choir how to sing." - Josh Pedde, Indianapolis Children's Choir

Today, I'm sharing a comprehensive warm-up sequence geared toward young singers with tons of exercises and ideas for movement, breath, vocal exploration, tone production, vowels, energy and breath support, and diction. Happy singing!

Several years ago, I planned an “Around the World” theme for my children's choir (1st-8th grade), incorporating music, dance, and singing games from different countries.

I've had lots of questions since then about music selection, hymns, prayers, and resources, so I thought I'd put together a more complete planning guide for those of you looking to do something similar with your group.

In this post, you'll find songs, hymns, singing games, and prayers in Spanish (Spain, Mexico, Argentina), French, German, Hebrew, African (Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa), and English (Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland). I'm also including a few relevant Scripture verses and ideas for tying in a mission focus.

Here are some of my favorite resources for an "Around the World" theme for children's choir:

UMH = United Methodist Hymnal
NCH = New Century Hymnal
GTG = Glory to God Hymnal (Presbyterian)

Are you ready for choir rehearsal this week? The music is neatly sorted into everyone's folders, you have your rehearsal plan ready to go, and you have a stack of brightly-colored reminders on the piano to send home to parents. What's missing?

A gathering activity.

It's easy to overlook, but that short period before rehearsal when children sometimes show up early (sometimes really early) calls for a little extra preparation. What can you plan that will keep any number of children engaged for 10-15 minutes? Some people use worksheets, but I like playing some kind of game that gets everyone involved (from the moment they walk in the door) and promotes listening skills, keeping a steady beat, movement, music-reading skills, and creativity. 

Most of the ideas in this post take little to no preparation or facilitation on your part - just lay out the materials in advance and maybe turn on some music to get them started. This way, you can do any last-minute to-dos before rehearsal starts while the early-arrivers play a fun, musical game.

Here are a few fun, easy gathering activities to do with your choir:

Remember those clapping games we used to play as kids? Between the silly (or nonsense) lyrics and the fast-paced sequence of claps, taps, snaps, and crosses, clapping games provided hours of entertainment. It might seem like just fun and games, but there's actually more to it than that. Clapping games can be beneficial to children's development.

Dr. Idit Sulkin has conducted research on the topic of children's hand-clapping games, noting:

"These activities serve as a developmental platform to enhance children’s needs — emotional, sociological, physiological, and cognitive. It’s a transition stage that leads them to the next phases of growing up.” (source) 

Clapping games are a great way to incorporate rhythm and movement into your choir rehearsals while reinforcing gross motor skills, rhythmic concepts (such as steady beat and subdivision), coordination skills, and the concept of sequencing (source). If you're working with a younger group, try modifying the clapping sequence to fit their ability level (scroll down to the bottom of this article for a few helpful tips).

Children play an important role in the life of the church. And while I don't think every aspect of the worship service needs to be tailored to children, I do think it's important to create a welcoming and inviting space and plan experiences that include them. And I'm not talking worship bulletins and coloring pages.

I'm talking about real, tangible ways for children to actively participate in worship, as leaders. Here are four reasons why I believe this is an important ministry for the church:

Inviting. Welcoming children (and their parents) into the church and into worship is one of the greatest, most sincere ways to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Inclusive. Creating a place for children in worship and giving them opportunities to participate offers a message of inclusivity and acceptance and gives children responsibility, ownership, and a renewed sense of belonging. 

Intergenerational. Inviting children to participate in worship gives them a unique opportunity to serve alongside older teens, young adults, middle age members, and seniors, creating a new sense of community for all.

Inspiring. Watching children lead worship - through song, word, and action - is inspiring to all involved. Everyone benefits.

I tend to do a lot of reflecting at this time of year. What did we do this year? How did we grow or change? What worked well? What didn't work? How did I do on my goals? What do I want to make happen in 2016?

With that comes an honest look at my blog and website and finding out what really resonated with all of you. I review search terms, blog topics, and popular pins on Pinterest, and look back on the most popular posts. I brainstorm content and themes for the coming year, start researching helpful resources, and outline a preliminary editorial calendar.

Last year, for the first time, I did a little round-up of the most-read posts in 2014 (read it here). Today, I'm continuing the tradition by featuring the top 10 posts from 2015. Enjoy!

Singing games are a great way to teach musical concepts, incorporate movement, and give children an opportunity to sing alone and with others. They're perfect as gathering activities, ice-breakers, or a quick change-of-pace in the middle of rehearsal. 

A few months ago, I shared seven fun musical games for children's choir. As a follow-up to that post, I'm rounding up fifteen singing games - some, more suitable for younger singers; others for older elementary; and even a few that your youth choir would love. Most of these are sung in unison, without accompaniment. Also, since movement activities are difficult to describe in writing, I've included video demonstrations for most of these. 

Enjoy!

Ever since I wrote this post with my top 50 favorite anthems for small church choirs, I knew I wanted to create a similar list for children's choirs. This list includes only unison and two-part music. There are some tried-and-true favorites and some newer publications, so I'm sure you'll see some titles that you recognize! Choosing anthems is an individual process and everyone has their own approach. When searching for children's choir music, I tend to look for the following:

- singable melody + good range
- good text (rich meaning, age-appropriate, good declamation)
- accessible two-part writing
- interesting, but supportive accompaniment
- teachable moments! (musical form, minor mode, new meters, etc.)

Now that you know a little more about my process, here is my Top 50 list!

For most of us, memorizing is not a "fun" task. It can be tedious, repetitive, and sometimes, just plain boring. However, we all know that memorizing music is an important part of singing in a choir and making music, in general. Rather than just singing through a piece over and over again, here are a few hands-on, engaging activities that are so fun, your choir won't even know they're memorizing their music! (Bonus points if you try any of these with your adult choir!)

1. Fill in the Blank

This is a quick, easy way to scaffold memorizing at the beginning. See how much of the text the children remember by speaking the first few words of each line and having them finish.