Today's post is written by my church musician friend, Janis Maxwell. She's the Director of Youth Music Ministry and Organist at Athens First United Methodist in Athens, GA. I hope her thoughtful perspective on ministry encourages and blesses you in your work this season.
- Ashley
As I reflect on the topic, “Why What We Are Doing Is Important”, this Bible verse pops into my head.
Reflection is vital to learning, growing, and success.
It works hand-in-hand with action, a constant cycle of doing followed by observing and evaluating our work, our relationships, and the choices we make.
We all know it’s true.
But so often, we get caught up in the doing part - creating, teaching, and playing (especially at this time of year) - and don’t make time to stop and reflect.
Today, I'm taking a step back to reflect on my business goals, blog content, offerings, and ways I can serve you better.
And I'd love for you to be part of that process. (Think of it like a virtual coffee chat.)
Transitions. They are a fact of life, but they can seem especially cumbersome and drawn out when working with a group of children.
It takes time for everyone to come in and get settled.
It takes time to get everyone quiet and listening to directions.
It takes time to pass out instruments or other props.
It takes time to collect instruments or other props.
It takes time to move to another area of the room.
You get my point. And when your rehearsals are only 30 minutes in length, the amount of time you spend transitioning from one thing to another can really add up.
Here’s a question: What if we could make these transition times musical? What if we could keep children engaged, listening, moving, and singing, even, as they transition from one activity to the next?
Today, I’m sharing 12 practical transition songs you can use in your children’s choir rehearsals.
A few weeks ago, I shared a “What to Teach When” post for Younger Elementary (read it here, in case you missed it!)
Today, I’m sharing the same type of post for Older Elementary singers.
Here is a general list of musical skills and concepts you can teach to children in 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade. Use this chart as a point of reference in your teaching, an outline of what to teach when, and a guide to what children at different ages may be capable of, developmentally and musically.
Like with Younger Elementary, remember that children are often capable of higher levels of learning and musicianship when surrounded by others who are a bit older and more experienced. If you have younger and older elementary children together in one group, you may be able to introduce things that are a level or two above the youngest members of your choir.
Have you ever wondered what’s developmentally appropriate for children in 1st grade versus 2nd grade, or what order you should teach things in? How soon should you start talking about things like steady beat or vowels or breath? When are children ready to sing in parts?
There aren’t hard-and-fast rules about this sort of thing in church choir settings, but I’ve put together a general list of musical skills and concepts for children in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade, a group often referred to as Younger Elementary.
Use this chart as a point of reference in your teaching, an outline of what to teach when, and a guide to what children at different ages may be capable of, developmentally and musically.
A note for those of you with a combined choir: I know it can be a challenge sometimes to know what to teach when. How do you challenge your older children while not planning activities that are over the younger ones’ heads and keep everyone engaged and participating the whole time? Do you aim for the median grade level?
Last week, I shared my top 12 reading session picks for adult choir; today, I'm sharing my favorites from this year’s Choristers' Guild reading session - lots of good music to consider for your choir this year!
Some of these anthems are new this year; others have been around for a while, but are worth considering, if you don't already have them in your library. I especially loved the ones that include optional rhythm or choir chime parts, as this is a great way to get more children involved and incorporate another dimension of music-making into your rehearsals.
Even if the anthem doesn't call for it, this is a relatively easy way to tailor a piece to your group and resources. Pull out part of the piano accompaniment (the bass line or perhaps the notes that fall on downbeats in the melody line) and add bells or chimes. Create a simple rhythmic ostinato pattern to accompany one of the verses, or give a few children triangles or finger cymbals to play during an interlude. Be creative!
Do you find it challenging to find time to plan exciting, thoughtful, musical rehearsals for your children’s choir every week?
From finding relevant, good-quality resources to choosing age-appropriate songs and anthems to preparing, introducing, and properly sequencing new musical concepts and skills throughout the year, the job can seem overwhelming at times.
Where do you find music and materials? How do you develop musicianship in young singers? What makes a rehearsal fun and productive?
If you can relate to any of this, then this course is for you.
Whether you're a full-time staff member or a dedicated volunteer, whether you have a music degree or not, whether you lead a small group of six singers on Wednesday nights or oversee a large graded choir program, this course will equip you to lead, teach, and inspire your young singers and give you the practical skills and useful step-by-step processes you need to plan, direct, and teach on a weekly basis, and grow your choir ministry.
Working with young singers can be such a fun and rewarding experience, but it can be challenging to teach a new song or anthem to children who aren't yet reading (words, let alone music!). What do you do? How do you teach something new, quickly and effectively?
For children who are not quite reading, teaching by rote is the way to go.
Rote learning is based on imitation and repetition (source). This is how young children learn best! Hearing, seeing, and experiencing things over and over again.
If you've spent some time around young children, you know one of their favorite words is "again" - "do it again," "read it again," "sing it again," etc. This is how we learn.
When teaching music (an aural art form), it's important to help children develop their listening skills and auditory memory from the beginning. Teaching by rote is a great way to do this.
Looking for a musical for your children's choir to do this spring or summer?
There are dozens of children's musicals out there, with topics ranging from Creation to the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, Noah, Moses, Esther, Jonah and everything in between. Most are based on a familiar Bible story, though set in a more modern context.
Some include production notes with ideas for set design, staging, and costumes. Others can be put together in less time with a smaller group of children.
I tend to look at the quality of the music first - something that's singable and in a good range - then, I look for meaningful text - a story line based on scripture with sound theological teaching.
I did a little searching to see what I could turn up this year - here are a few spring/general musicals worth considering:
If you go to the grocery store or the park or Target, you’re likely to hear it - the sound of a small child singing a song they know by heart (often looping through a favorite section over and over). “The impulse to move, speak, sing, and play rhythmically is a natural and vital part of being human” (source). But, if it’s not encouraged and nurtured from an early age, children can “forget how to sing.”
How do you help them rediscover their singing voices?
How do you develop it and teach them to sing in a choir?
Where do you start?
In today’s post, I’m walking you through the ins and outs of developing children’s singing voices in a choir setting - from vocal exploration to developing choral musicianship. Let’s get started!
This is a vital step in the process. Give children numerous opportunities in rehearsals to explore what their voices can do. This helps them build coordination and gain control of their voice, develop an understanding of the voice and what it means to sing, and build confidence.
Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew
