How to Set Good Goals

How to Set Good Goals

Summer days (in my opinion) are for good books, long walks, freshly-picked berries, and tall glasses of sweet tea on the porch, so I'll keep this post short so you can get back to what matters. :-)

We've come a long way since the first of the year, so I like to think of July as a checkpoint for my personal and business goals and a time to set new goals for my teaching in the Fall. 

Whether you're planning for your private studio or the start of a new choir year, prepare for success by setting accessible, achievable, and action-oriented goals.

Here is my process:

    Top 50 Favorite Anthems for Children's Choir

    Top 50 Favorite Anthems for Children's Choir

    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!

    2015 Reading Session Picks

    2015 Reading Session Picks

    We had a great time at Lake Junaluska a few weeks ago for Music and Worship Arts Week! One of my favorite things about this conference is all the music we get to hear, read, and sing through, from choir performances to reading sessions to combing the pop-up music store.

    Like last year, I thought it might be fun (and helpful!) to share a few of my favorite new finds from this year's reading sessions. Some of these are new titles, others are just new to me, but regardless, if you haven't heard these pieces, you're in for a real treat! SD and I are pretty careful with what we choose to keep and leave behind, and these are our favorites of the stack we brought home with us.

    Enjoy!

    12 Favorite Supplemental Piano Books for Elementary Students

    12 Favorite Supplemental Piano Books for Elementary Students

    I love choosing supplemental repertoire for my students - even those who are still pretty new to reading and playing. I make recommendations to parents based on the student's interests and try to find supplemental books that complement the other music they are learning.

    It can be challenging sometimes to find repertoire that is appealing, musical, and still at an accessible level, but I've found a few great collections that I go back to again and again.

    Grab a cup of coffee and your favorite notebook - here are a few of my favorite supplemental books for elementary students:

    1. Celebrated Lyrical Solos, Book 1 (Vandall)
    2. Celebrated Piano Solos, Book 1 (Vandall)
    3. Piano Etudes - Preparatory (Snell)

    Best-Kept Secrets of Choral Voicing

    Best-Kept Secrets of Choral Voicing

    Choral voicing is a technique with long-standing history used by choral directors to seat singers based on characteristics of the voice - color, tone, timbre, placement, and vibrato. Contrary to popular belief, this technique is not just for college and professional choirs. Try it at home with your church choir, community choir, and even children's choirs! It will be well worth your time.

    Each voice has a unique series of overtones, which contributes to timbre (source). The ideal choral sound is based on overtone series that complement each other rather than clashing. Having singers with like, complementary voices stand next to each other creates a natural "blend" that does not require singers to compromise their vocal technique. Did I mention it fosters the best intonation? It's a win-win, really.

    Here are some of the best-kept secrets of choral voicing:

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    How to Make Your Next Presentation The Best Ever

    ,
    How to Make Your Next Presentation The Best Ever

    We've all given presentations at one time or another. From classes to conferences, workshops to concert settings, presentations are a proven method for sharing information, knowledge, and resources in a succinct, interesting, and engaging way. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about that time you sat through a presentation that was so boring, you thought your head might explode. Really? Presentations are interesting and engaging?

    Hear me out. Presentations don't have to be stale or boring or by the book - mix it up! Make your presentation style unique and engaging by adding in your own personality and by thinking about it from your audience's perspective. Here are 10 stellar strategies for making your next presentation the best ever:

    5 Ways to Make Memorizing a Choir Anthem Fun

    5 Ways to Make Memorizing a Choir Anthem Fun

    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.

    No-Fuss, Instant Anthems for the Small Church Choir

    No-Fuss, Instant Anthems for the Small Church Choir

    If you work with a small church choir, you know the challenges of having an anthem (or two!) ready every Sunday. Sometimes, you check the sign-out calendar and realize you won't have any Altos next week.

    Sometimes, service plans change at the last minute.

    And sometimes, you just need a no-fuss, simple solution for the Sunday anthem slot.

    Perfect for Sundays when you haven't had a rehearsal, or times when you have a slimmer crowd (think holiday weekends or during the summer), here are a few quick ways to create no-fuss, instant anthems for your choir:

    Hymns

    Your hymnal is a great resource! Choose a crowd favorite, one with 4-part writing and singable lines, and experiment with ways to sing each verse:

    - unison women or men
    - additive by phrase (S, SA, SAT, SATB or S, ST, SAT, SATB)
    - 4-part
    - Sopranos singing the Tenor line as a descant, everyone else in unison on the melody
    - one section singing the melody on text while the others sing the harmony parts on "ooh"
    - Tenors singing the melody (Sopranos singing the Tenor part up an octave)

    Why You Should Have Consultations with Prospective Students

    Why You Should Have Consultations with Prospective Students

    Last year, I received an email from a piano teacher asking about initial consultations and interviews. What do you do? What questions do you ask? How long should it be? What materials do you give them? Great questions! Here are some of the reasons I offer consultations to prospective families (and why you should, too!):

    Why Are Consultations Important?

    1. They give you an opportunity to meet prospective students (and their parents) face-to-face before either of you commit to lessons.

    2. For students who are transferring from another teacher, it's important to see what music they're currently working on, assess what they know, and determine where you want to begin in your first lesson.

    50 Awesome Choral Warm-Ups for Church Choirs

    50 Awesome Choral Warm-Ups for Church Choirs

    Vocal warm-ups are an important part of singing, but they offer many other benefits in a choral setting. Choral warm-ups are an important and powerful tool to get your group singing together with a good tone, resonance, and proper breath support (source). Plus, there are many ways to include pedagogy and teaching in these first few minutes of the rehearsal that will save you time later.

    Warm-ups are often an after-thought in rehearsal planning and many choirs tend to do the same batch of exercises every week. There's nothing wrong with this, per se, but if you spend just a few minutes thoughtfully planning warm-ups that prepare concepts from the repertoire, warm-ups become a valuable teaching tool. There are several benefits to this approach:

    Your choir will be more engaged. By mixing up the warm-up exercises each week, you offer your choir a new challenge every time they come to rehearsal. They will likely pay more attention and be more engaged while singing.

    You will spend less time introducing new pieces. By preparing new concepts in the warm-ups (e.g. triple meter or vowel placement or a melodic phrase), your choir will be practicing a challenging spot from a new piece without even realizing it!

    Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

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