Pitch Is A Specific Address…

NOT A ZIP CODE!!!!!!!!!

I Think We Can All Agree…

THIS IS A PUG

King Henry VIII?

Count Dracula?

Spock?

Dress Them Up However You Want To, But They Are Still Dogs!

“Intonation problems tend to fall into two fundamental categories: physiological and

psychological.”• Physiological – Way that singers produce the tone

• Psychological– How singer hears tone before they sing

Wine, Thomas, “Check Your Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (April 2004): 23-27.

“The majority of intonation problems stem from faults in vocal technique. This is mentioned to dispel one of the biggest myths regarding intonation: one with good ears does not always sing in tune…The biggest mistake choral conductors make is attributing a problem with intonation to ‘singers' understanding of a pitch, rather the production of it.”

Skelton, Kevin D, “Choral Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (September 2005): 28-49.

• Vowels– Open vs Closed– Tongue, Jaw, Lips– Modification

Vowel/Placement/Production

Closed(front)

Closed (back)

i e a o u

LipsTongue

Open

Breath• Often lack of energy or commitment – ‘Quality’ of exhalation

• Posture• Vocalisms– Tongue Trills/Lip Flips– ‘V’

• Gestures/Movement– Twirl or Belly Slaps– Shake The Monkey– Fire Feet

Placement/Registration

• Typical Issues– Fuzz, lack of resonance– Pressed/Chesty/Heavy– Swallowed

• Funny Hum– Funny Hum Text

• “It Is A Fa Fa Fa Day”• Top Down – falsetto or [tri-u]

“Engaging and connecting the mind’s ear to the vocal process is critical to developing independent singers with good intonation.”

Johnson, Eric A & Klonoski, Edward, “Connecting the Inner Ear and the Voice,” The Choral Journal, (October 2003): 35-38.

• Audiation– Multiple keys!!!??– Imaginary Rehearsal

• Multiple Keys– Nursery Rhymes• Twinkle (C)• Mary (Bb)• Row Row (D)• My Bonnie (G)

Stop Playing The Piano!

• Change Keys– Sing a monophonic line and

modulate gradually– Change the key of the piece –

might fix your problem!• Overtones– Nasal [i]– [si – e – a]

• ‘Shaw 16’• Chords– Root, 5th, 3rd

Building the chord

Building the chord

1. Root

Building the chord

1. Root

2. Fifth

Building the chord

1. Root

2. Fifth

3. Third

Building the chord

1. Root

2. Fifth

3. Third

4. Added tones

Choristers must posses “knowledge of musical and expressive concepts pertaining to intonation and well-tuned singing, particularly the establishment of a systematic approach to music reading”

Grant, Joe, “Improving Pitch and Intonation,” The Choral Journal, (December 1987): 5-9.

Literacy

• Don’t train your kids to be mocking birds!– Teach them to read!

• Inhibitions– Fear of being wrong• Culture of ‘testing’

• If I don’t play it for them?– “No, but we can read it together!”– Raise your hand if you perceive you’ve made a

mistake

Literacy

• Probing Questions– Was it correct?– What was wrong? How was it wrong?– Too High? Too Low? Etc.– How might we fix it?

• Basics– Direction– Step vs leap– Kids will get dangerously close!!!!!– Just take the time to talk about it

Literacy

• Try and teach/incorporate a little theory– Scales, intervals, chords– Teach them the vocabulary

• Error detection• General rehearsal idea– CORNERS– Give them responsibility

• Solfege is your friend!– Hand-sign solfege can be your BEST friend!

• Scales (paired with solfege also)– Major– Minor– Chromatic– Whole Tone – In Combination???!!!! – Round???

• Call & Response– Neutral syllable – Solfege– Solfege – Interval– Neutral Syllable – Interval

Literacy

Literacy - Solfege

• Moveable Do• La Based Minor• Hand-signs– Assessment • Visual – may not sing it but you see it• Writing similar – cognitively get it, just can’t perform

– Range of Motion • A singers ‘button?’

Literacy - Solfege

• In the Air First• Patterns– Descending minor 3rd

– Arpeggio– Scales– Do, mi, re, fa, mi, sol, etc– Do, do re do, do re mi re do, etc

• ‘skip’ a note • Make it a game

– Do, re do, mi, do fa, do sol, etc

Literacy - Solfege

• Transfer to written page– NO STAFF– Circles first (whole notes)• Stack thirds• New chord next to it• Add ‘lines’• ‘spread’ them out (scale)

– Key Signatures WAY later!! • Farthest Flat is Fa• Last Sharp is Ti

Literacy - Solfege

• Write Solfege Into Score– It’s Ok!!

• Resources– John Armstrong• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/solfege-by-th

e-sea.html• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/146.pdf• http://www.armstrongmusicliteracy.com/movieclip.ht

ml

Literacy - Solfege

• More Resources– Masterworks Press• http://www.masterworkspress.com/files/catalog.pdf• American Folk Songs• 371 Bach Chorales• Palestrina Motets

– http://www.masterworkspress.com/files/palestrina.pdf

– Choral Net• http://www.choralnet.org/list/resource/1888

”It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” ~ Howard Ruff (financial advisor)~

“Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine

where you start.”~ Nido Qubein (President of High Point Univ) ~

REMEMBER!!!

REMEMBER!!!• Takes Longer

– Slow And Steady Wins The Race!!!!– Better in long run

• Incorporate into your teaching/rehearsal style• Be discerning

– Every publisher has something they are ‘willing’ to sell you!• IT WILL PAY OFF!!!!!!

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

~ Muhammad Ali ~

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the

seeds that you plant.”

~ Robert Louis Stevenson (author: Treasure Island) ~

“Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together. The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no more or less than the convolutions of my inner life.

Viewed from this angle, teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am willing to look in that mirror and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain self-knowledge—and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my subject.

-Parker Palmer from “The Courage to

Teach”

When You Look Into the Mirror, What Do You See?

• Are you teaching and developing skills, independence, and LITERACY?– Or simply ‘pounding’ parts?

• What do you’re students deserve to see?

Thank You!Ryan Beeken Indiana University Of Pennsylvania ryan.beeken@iup.edu

Just Give Them The Pug!

BUT MAKE IT A GOOD ONE!