2016 Reading Session Picks: Adult Choir

2016 Reading Session Picks: Adult Choir

It's always a joy to return to the beautiful Lake Junaluska, nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western NC.

I've been attending Music and Worship Arts Week off and on since high school and I have so many memories of chilly morning walks to worship in Stuart Auditorium, evening concerts by the Junaluska Singers, simply suppers at the Allgood House, and stopping to admire the roses along the Rose Walk.

In case you haven't been, the week-long conference includes daily morning worship, several performance tracks for people of all ages and abilities (choir, handbells, dance, instrumental ensembles, and drama), a variety of helpful seminars and reading sessions, and evening concerts.

Like last year, I thought I'd share my reading session picks. Here are my favorite new adult choir anthems - hot off the press!

Prayers for Choirs: No. 6

Prayers for Choirs: No. 6

Just when we thought we were healing, picking up the broken pieces and putting things back together, trusting one other and believing in our society, our nation once more, we find ourselves right back here again. Surrounded by chaos and conflict and confusion. Lost in the darkness of hatred and anger and prejudice and fear.

The mass shooting in Orlando last week is just one in a string of tragedies we've had to face as a nation. How do we respond? How do we lead? How do we pray?

In times of unspeakable tragedy and loss, times where it feels like hate is winning, and times when we feel afraid of what's to come, we pray for relief and redemption and grace.

For the hurting, grieving, and persecuted, we pray for comfort, peace, and security.

For the difficult conversations we're having as a nation and the challenging days ahead, we pray for guidance, wisdom, and justice.

When we don't know what to say or how to help, we pray that God would speak through us.

When it feels like God is silent, we pray for love and light and faith.

Let us pray.

Score-Study for Church Musicians

Score-Study for Church Musicians

The words “score study” take me right back to music history at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays (you, too?). Grout anthology in one hand, class notes in another, marking cadences and phrase structure and German augmented sixth chords.

Don’t worry - I’m not suggesting you analyze your music for Sunday quite to that degree.

However, the practice of studying a score - before teaching, rehearsing, or performing the piece has its merits.

First of all, as the director, you won’t be caught off guard when you turn the page and find divisi for the divisi or an abrupt modulation to G-flat Major. You’ll also have time to prepare answers for all of Lillian the alto’s questions:

“Where do we get to breathe?” “Do you want us to sing piano there?” “Can I sing the lower part on p. 6? You know I can’t sing above a C.”

Like those early morning music history classes, the time you spend getting to know a new anthem and studying the score, looking at the details, sight-reading, singing, playing, predicting, analyzing, and looking for patterns is not just good preparation for teaching - it helps you become a better musician.

, ,

How to Choose Music for Your Choir: An Inside Look at My Process

, ,
How to Choose Music for Your Choir: An Inside Look at My Process

It's that time of the year again - the time when choir directors everywhere begin choosing music for next year!

From conferences to reading sessions to the seasonal reading packets in your mailbox, the stack of anthems, catalogs, and listening CDs on your desk at any given time can get overwhelming.

Where to begin? Is there a method to this madness?

As a quintessential Type A individual, I believe there is a method for every madness, anthem selection included! Today, I'm sharing an inside look at my process - my selection criteria, the things I take into consideration, and questions I ask myself along the way.

Whether you're choosing music for an adult choir, youth choir, or children's choir, I hope you find this insight useful and beneficial to your ministry.

Let's get started

In the Face of Violence

In the Face of Violence

I had another post scheduled for today, but given the tragic events of yesterday, it just didn't seem appropriate. It's easy to stand by quietly, to be sad in our hearts but keep our thoughts to ourselves. But in the face of violence, we need to be bold. We need to stand up. We need to say something. --

Another day. Another mass shooting. More fear. More hatred. More confusion.

Can I be honest with you? My first reaction to the tragedy yesterday was polite sympathy - sadness for all who are hurting, but only from a distance. When did that become okay? When did acts of violence become so commonplace that we stopped feeling their weight? When did the shock and daze and heartsickness wear off?

I'm tired of mass shootings becoming one-day news cycles. I'm tired of feeling helpless and numb and indifferent. 

I'm afraid that violence is becoming more and more the norm. That tomorrow we'll go back to our normal lives, eating our normal breakfast, reading normal headlines about the election and the Tony Awards, thinking about our normal (crazy) week ahead. I'm afraid that hate is growing stronger. That the world is growing numb to it

Developing Aural Skills in the Piano Studio

Developing Aural Skills in the Piano Studio

Aural skills (also known as ear-training) is a fundamental facet of musicianship. Learning to listen, identify, discern, and understand music without notation present helps develop the inner listening skills needed to become a well-rounded, well-versed musician.

Finding the steady beat
Recognizing strong and weak beats
Discerning meter and tonality
Understanding rhythm and tonal patterns
Recognizing dynamics
Discerning articulation
Feeling interval distances
Understanding cadences
Recognizing chords

Aural skills "help musicians at all levels to become more discerning in they way they play, sing and listen to music" (source). 

We all remember those 8 a.m. aural skills classes in college - sight-reading, singing intervals, singing bass lines, spelling chords. But what kinds of aural skills experiences are we giving our students before college? How can we incorporate aural skill activities in our weekly studio lessons

Meet Rory

Meet Rory

Meet Rory!

Since we recently celebrated our three-month dog-iversary, I thought I'd share a little more about our sweet rescue pup and how we're all settling in.

---

Rory is a lab/greyhound mix, just over a year old. We got her through Helping Hounds in Syracuse, NY - a dog rescue organization that works with shelters in Texas and Alabama. 

Many shelters in the South are over-capacity and cannot keep dogs that are surrendered or found as strays. Organizations like Helping Hounds identify adoptable dogs, place them in short-term foster care programs, then transport them up north for adoption. Rory was in a foster home for two weeks before coming up to Syracuse with 40+ other dogs. Many of the dogs from the transport were adopted the weekend they arrived.

,

How to Pray with Your Choir

,
How to Pray with Your Choir

Prayer is our way of communicating with God. It's a way to praise Him, ask for guidance, lift up our burdens, and rest in His promises. But, it's also a way to invite God into our midst. Matthew 18:20 says: "Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." This is the power of praying with others.

God calls us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), "seek His face always" (1 Chronicles 16:11), and "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:18a).

Many choir directors open and/or close their rehearsals with a short prayer each week. This is an active way to invite God into the work we do and lift up specific joys and concerns shared by the group. Not only does this help focus the hearts and minds of those present on the meaning of what we do, I believe it also helps build community among choir members.

Coming together in prayer each week helps unite us and draw us closer to one another as we draw close to God.

The Joy of Children's Handbell Choirs [Video]

The Joy of Children's Handbell Choirs [Video]

While writing last week's post on how to start a children's handbell choir, I came across a number of practical, helpful videos on YouTube. These videos show real children of all ages in real churches playing (colored) handbells in worship and at special church events. In addition to being completely adorable, I found them to be incredibly inspiring and motivating. And did I mention, helpful?

Here's why:

The brain processes visual images 60,000 times faster than text (source). In addition, more than 65% of us are visual learners (source). But that's just images. Researchers estimate that one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words (source). Crazy, right?

So, today, I thought I'd supplement my last post by sharing a collection of videos that show the ins and outs of children's handbell choirs. Click through the slides below to get started. Enjoy!

How to Start a Children's Handbell Choir

How to Start a Children's Handbell Choir

Playing handbells is a great way to foster the development of strong rhythmic skills, physical coordination, and listening skills. It's also an effective way to teach the basics of music-reading (direction, reading lines and spaces) and provide young children with an active way to play and make music together. Yes, young children! With color-coded metal handbells, children as young as preschool-age can play handbells.

Each bell/note is a different color and music notation is often color-coded to match. Some music features colored note values (e.g. red for Middle C). Others use colored letter names or a picture of the colored bell with the letter name inside.

Looking to start a children's handbell choir at your church? Here are some of my favorite products, resources, and teaching aids. Happy ringing!

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

Celebrating 10 years of home ownership this week! We love this 105-year-old house and all the projects we’ve done so far to honor and restore its history. Swipe for a look at how far we’ve come. 🏡 #danyewhome
Our July Musician & Co. book club pick is here! 📙 Summer is the perfect time to work on professional development, delve into a new creative project, practice a new skill, or make progress on your goals (especially when it’s 93 degrees out
Jazz and improvisation can be intimidating to teach, especially as a classically trained musician. Jazz pianist and educator @quentinwalston is dedicated to making this easier for all of us. Through his new book, “How to Teach Jazz & Impro
If you’re a teacher, freelancer, or self-employed creative… you’re not just a musician. You’re a small business owner. And yet, most of us were only ever told: “Be the best musician you can be.” That advice may
I’m honored to be presenting at @mtnaorg’s inaugural TEMPO virtual conference this weekend—April 25–26. TEMPO is designed to equip music educators around the world with innovative strategies, insights, and connections to leve