uavld C Schelber

CLv 393S34 MA/LS ro[ecL Semlnar rof !ennlfer ?oung

ro[ecL resenLaLlon
uue !uly 28 2011
Choial Nusic: uiaues K-
Introduction
n Lhe fleld of educaLlon Lhere ls a greaL deal of splrlLed debaLe and lndeed a falr amounL of
conLroversy regardlng Lhe Leachlng of choral and general muslc ln grades k12 uesplLe Lhe facL LhaL
nearly everyone who has an oplnlon on Lhe sub[ecL seems Lo be acLlng ln good falLh wlLh Lhe besL
lnLeresLs of sLudenLs ln mlnd no one seems Lo be able Lo agree on whaL Lhose besL lnLeresLs ote 8elow
ls a summary of a documenL whlch resembles a choral muslc currlculum buL raLher serves as a gulde"
for Leachers who lnLend Lo Leach muslc ln a unlfled manner ln grades k12 1ruly successful currlcula are
besL creaLed (or aL leasL flnallzed) aL Lhe dlsLrlcL level so LhaL Lhe needs of Lhe sLudenLs wlLhln tbot
Jlsttlct are besL served L should also be noLed here LhaL ln Lhls presenLaLlon only some of whaL
sLudenLs wlll learn wlll be addressed 1hls ls due ln large parL Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhe mere ouLllne for Lhe
fulllengLh paper ls 11 pages long Powever lmporLanL evenLs wlll cerLalnly be dlscussed

W_i_
Lach phllosophy on muslc educaLlon conLalns boLh sLrengLhs and weaknesses based on Lhe
phllosopher's own perspecLlve and experlence 1hough deemed exLremely conLroverslal ln some clrcles
Lhe meLhods presenLed here are based ln a large parL on Lhe Lheorles of Ldwln Cordon 1hls declslon
was based on boLh research and four years' experlence Leachlng publlc school muslc ln (aL varlous Llmes)
grades k12 1hough Ldwln Cordon hlmself rudely dlsmlsses Lhe wldely respecLed muslc educaLlon
phllosophles of kodaly Crff and Suzukl (Cordon 3233)each accounLlng for Lhe foundaLlon of many
school muslc programslL ls advocaLed here LhaL elemenLs of oLher phllosophles be comblned wlLh a
basls of Muslc Learnlng 1heoryLhe meLhods of Ldwln Cordon
ecoose oo sloqle moslc eJocotloo pbllosopby oJepootely oJJtesses tbe mooy ooJ votleJ
moslcol oeeJs of oll stoJeots lt ls best to ose Jlffeteot ospects of Jlffeteot pbllosopbles wltblo tbe pobllc
scbool closstoom 1bot solJ tbe foooJotloo fot o soccessfol cbotol ooJ qeoetol moslc cottlcolom sboolJ
be Moslc leotoloq 1beoty JevelopeJ by Jwlo CotJoo
otW about tWrm_
1he Leachlng of muslc by lLs very naLure geLs very Lechnlcal wlLh respecL Lo Lermlnology A
greaL efforL wlll be made Lo deflne Lerms along Lhe way buL one seL of Lerms whlch comes up
LhroughouL Lhe presenLaLlon regards Lhe namlng of noLes LeLLernoLe names" refer Lo A 8 C# eLc
Solfege" refers Lo ln Lhe words of Marla 8alner ln 1be 5oooJ of Moslc uo 8e Ml la Sol and so on"
1he leLLer noLes refer Lo an acLual noLe LhaL ls played whlle Lhe solfege refers Lo how LhaL noLe
funcLlons wlLhln a LonallLy
rimary CradW_ {K-]
1he purpose of general muslc ln Lhe prlmary grades ls Lo LranslLlon sLudenLs beLween Lhe
muslcal experlences sLudenLs have ln Lhe home envlronmenL and Lhe lncreaslngly formal muslcal
Lralnlng wlLhln Lhe elemenLary muslc program ndeed aL Lhls sLage sLudenLs LranslLlon Lhrough several
dlfferenL muslc approaches as a greaL deal of cognlLlve developmenL occurs aL Lhls sLage 8eglnnlng ln
klndergarLen sLudenLs engage ln solml" slnglng or slnglng on only Lhe plLches sol and ml and uLlllze
kodaly's syllablc rhyLhm sysLem SLudenLs LranslLlon ln grade 1 and by grade 2 are slnglng Lhe Cordon
Lwo and LhreenoLe paLLerns used conslsLenLly Lhrough grade 6 and as needed Lhrough hlgh school
graduaLlon AddlLlonally by Lhe sLarL of grade 2 sLudenLs are chanLlng rhyLhm uslng Cordon's
rhyLhmlc solfege" SLudenLs play classroom percusslon lnsLrumenLs boLh plLched (such as a
xylophone) and unplLched (such as a Lambourlne) and llsLen Lo recordlngs of real muslc boLh speaklng
abouL whaL Lhey hear and reacLlng Lo Lhe muslc Lhrough body movemenL
IntWrmWdiatW CradW_ {-]
!usL as classroom maLerlal moves forward ln Lerms of dlfflculLy ln grades 3 and 4 so does
muslcal maLerlal n grade 3 sLudenLs begln Lo learn muslc sLaff readlngldenLlfylng noLes on Lhe sLaff
by Lhelr leLLer namesLhrough Lhe use of sLaffreadlng karaLe" n Lhls sysLem sLudenLs comblne
concepLs learned ln a Jojowhere karaLe ls lnsLrucLedwlLh vlsual aural and klnesLheLlc
represenLaLlons of Lhe noLes on Lhe sLaff learnlng Lo remember Lhem ln Lhls way SLudenLs ln grade 3
also learn Lhe lnsLrumenLs and lnsLrumenL famllles of Lhe orchesLra n grade 4 sLudenLs revlslL Lhe do[o
Lo relnforce muslc sLaff readlng and sLudenLs ln grade 4 also learn Lo play Lhe recorder as Lhey prepare
Lo sLarL Lhe band program ln grade 3 Crade 4 also beglns chorus buL Lhe school choral program wlll be
addressed separaLely
\\Wr ElWmWntary {CradW_ -]
Whlle conLlnulng Lo develop Lonal and rhyLhmlc skllls uslng Cordon paLLerns ln grades 36
sLudenLs also begln applylng Lhelr muslcal knowledge ln new ways n grade 3 sLudenLs learn WesL
Afrlcan drummlng uslng some of Lhe meLhods lnsLrucLlons and (where posslble) auLhenLlcsLyle drums
SLudenLs ln grade 3 are lnLroduced Lo Lhe fooctloo of a harmony (Lonlc domlnanL and subdomlnanL)
and where and how dlfferenL harmonles fall ln sLandard wrlLLen muslc Crade 6 on Lhe oLher hand
serves Lo wrap up" elemenLary lnsLrucLlon SLudenLs begln analyzlng more popular songs searchlng for
meanlng wlLhln Lhe lyrlcs and are also lnLroduced Lo Lhe rudlmenLs of plano playlng Crade 6 also
serves as a perlod Lo relnforce concepLs sLudenLs should know" by Lhe Llme Lhey exlL elemenLary
school
unior Hig Scool {CradW_ -8]
Crades 7 and 8 emphaslze performlng muslc much less and concepLs llke muslc Lheory and
muslc hlsLory much more n grade 7 sLudenLs learn abouL WesLern Classlcal" muslc beglnnlng ln Lhe
8aroque perlod and endlng wlLh early Amerlcan muslcal forms of Lhe 20
Lh
cenLuryparLlcularly band
muslc and popular songs composed ln Lhe 1lnan Alley" secLlon of new ?ork ClLy SLudenLs ln grade 7
also relnforce leLLernoLe readlng and learn Lo play fullslzed malleL percusslon lnsLrumenLs SLudenLs ln
grade 8 conLlnue learnlng muslc hlsLory wlLh Lhe hlsLory of 8ock 8oll from abouL 1933 Lo Lhe very end
of 1969 1hey also learn (mosLly relnforce) flndlng Jo based on a key slgnaLure placlng noLes based on
solfege labels and labellng noLes on a sLaff SLudenLs also analyze muslc wlLh an eye Loward how a
parLlcular song could be crafLed lnLo a muslc vldeo 8eglnnlng abouL halfway Lhrough Lhe grade 8 muslc
course sLudenLs selecL plan edlL produce and screen a muslc vldeo sLarrlng Lhe class
Hig Scool {CradW_ 9-]
Llke a greaL many hlgh school muslc currlcula Lhere needs Lo be one class almed aL Lhe sLudenLs
who have noL parLlclpaLed ln band or chorus durlng hlgh school buL need Lo recelve a muslc credlL ln
order Lo graduaLe lor many schools a muslc ln our llves" class slmllar Lo Lhe classes ln grades 7 and 8
here ls Lhe only opLlon 1he alLernaLlve proposed here ls Lo Leach sLudenLs Lo play Lhe gulLar raLher
Lhan make sLudenLs' only hlgh school muslc experlence one ln whlch Lhey slmply Lake noLes and dlscuss
muslc 1he gulLar program ls deslgned wlLh an eye Loward performanceldeally programmlng Lhe
gulLar class as parL of Lhe school concerL Also offered aL Lhe hlgh school level ls muslc Lheory whlch
dlscusses Lhe readlng and analyzlng of muslc aL a very hlgh level denLlfylng each chord and harmony
wlLhln cerLaln pleces and ldenLlfylng Lhe longer muslcal form wlLhln fugues by 8ach and symphonles by
Paydn SLudenLs also learn abouL Lhe seven moJesor Lypes of LonallLy ln muslc Cf Lhese modes
ma[or ls one and a form of mlnor called oototol mloot ls anoLher 1he oLher flve are dlfferenL from
ma[or and mlnor buL represenL oLher scales whlch can be used Lo compose muslc
oru_ {CradW_ -]
Cne of Lhe sLaLed ob[ecLlves ls Lo malnLaln a sLrong and unlfled choral muslc program ln whlch
sLudenLs learn Lo boLh en[oy choral muslc and perform lL aL a hlgh levelundersLandlng Lhe muslcal
elemenLs aL an equally hlgh level Chorus beglns ln grade 4 wlLh Lhe expecLaLlon LhaL sLudenLs wlll make
muslc aL a hlgh level and Lhus muslc ls programmed LhaL wlll challenge sLudenLs muslcally and Leachlng
LechnlqueswlLh a heavy emphasls on warmupswlll be used Lo help sLudenLs be successful MosL
elemenLary choral muslc ls ln Lwo parLs accompanled by elLher a plano or gulLar L ls necessary LhaL
sLudenLs aL Lhls level slng botb potts ln dlfferenL pleces so Lhelr volces do noL become plgeonholed"
lnLo only a small vocal range As Lhe year progresses and parLlcularly ln grade 6 Lhe Leacher may begln
Lo program llLeraLure wlLh a Lhlrd parLlncludlng buL noL llmlLed Lo a sololsL or a Jescoot or small
group slnglng above Lhe hlghesL choral noLes SLudenLs should aLLempL a n?SSMA Level plece by Lhe
end of grade 6 n [unlor hlgh school Lhe greaLesL challenges lnclude Lhe selfconsclousness LhaL comes
wlLh adolescence and Lhe dlce game" LhaL ls Lhe volces of Lhe [unlor hlgh school boys 1hls ls an area of
Lhe choral program whlch ls necessarlly dlfferenL every year and ls vlLally lmporLanL because of any
Leacher's deslre Lo see sLudenLs conLlnue Lhough [unlor hlgh school chorus may be frusLraLlng deally
sLudenLs wlll slng ln Lhree parLsplaclng Lhe boys ln a separaLe secLlon or among Lhe sopranos and alLos
as Lhe dlrecLor sees flL 1he cholr should aLLempL a n?SSMA Level v plece by Lhe end of grade 8 Plgh
School Chorus conLlnues Lo address lssues wlLh Lhe changlng male volce buL focuses more on Lhe
ensemble sound slnce many of Lhe physlcal vocal problems experlenced ln [unlor hlgh school have
begun Lo level ouL 1he goal ls Lo malnLaln a mosLly SA18 cholr ln hlgh school slnglng challenglng muslc
and addresslng vocal lssues ln Lhe small group seLLlng of mandaLory choral lessons (slmllar Lo band
lessons ln Lhe hlgh school program) 1here wlll be a selecL cholr audlLloned from members of Lhe hlgh
school chorus and Lhls cholr wlll slng muslc LhaL ls boLh more challenglng and muslc LhaL ls deslgned Lo
be sung ln a smaller seLLlng 1he selecL cholr wlll llkely be called upon Lo slng evenLs ouLslde Lhe normal
Lwo school concerLs per year and should be made up of Lhe sLrongesL cbotol moslcloos wlLhln Lhe
school 8oLh cholrs should endeavor Lo slng muslc LhaL ls made up of more Lhan four parLs and boLh
cholrs should slng aL leasL one level v plece and one oLherlanguage plece by Lhe end of grade 12
onclu_ion
1here ls a greaL deal of maLerlal regardlng Lhe Leachlng of choral and general muslc ln grades k
12 L seems LhaL no Lwo lndlvlduals have preclsely Lhe same phllosophy and also LhaL many lndlvlduals
have ldeas LhaL bear conslderaLloneven lf Lhose same lndlvlduals dlscounL Lhe Lheorles of Lhelr
colleagues L seems LhaL a unlfled currlculumln whlch Lhe same muslcal concepLs are revlslLed ln
many dlfferenL years aL lncreaslngly more challenglng levelsand where Lhe goals of Lhe program
remaln consLanL LhroughouL all of a sLudenL's years ln schoolls a good reclpe for sLudenL success
8eferences and fulllengLh paper avallable upon requesL