Buying a home is a huge step in life, and though they make it look so simple on TV, it is no easy feat. Especially if you're a freelancer. Since SD and I are both freelancers, this meant our home-buying process was a little more complicated and drawn out than "normal." For those of you who are thinking about and planning for buying a home at some point, here is an inside look at our process, with a few helpful tips thrown in for good measure!

Gather Financial Documents

The first step in our mortgage application process was to pull together several documents:

- Tax returns (last two years)
- W-2s (last year)
- Pay stubs (current year)
- All bank statements
- checking, savings (last two months)
- Investment accounts
- Roth, IRAs (last quarter)

I love discovering new choral anthems, especially ones that are musical, have great text, and are accessible for small church choirs. A few years back, I wrote this post with my top 50 favorite church choir anthems. Today's post is a follow-up, with 50 more anthems to consider adding to your choral library!

General

1. All Things Bright and Beautiful (Rutter)
2. Answer to the Call (McDonald)
3. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel (arr. Emerson) - SAB
4. Do Not Be Afraid (Stopford)*
5. Hiding In Thee (Berry)
6. I Believe (Miller)
7. I Must Tell Jesus (arr. Shackley) - SAB
8. Keep God's Light (Patterson)
9. More Love to Thee (Shaw)*
10. My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (arr. Culloton)*

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:

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!

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)

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:

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:

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.

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 need something simple that you can put together in one rehearsal.

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.