Episode #126: Cultivating a Positive Singing Culture

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Upcoming Presentation:

Tanya and Carrie will be presenting "Bright Ideas for New Performance Traditions" at the Organization of American Kodály Educators national conference in Jacksonville. The conference is March 16-19 and you can register here.

Main Theme

In this episode, Carrie and Tanya talk about how to cultivate a positive singing culture in your music room. Here are some suggestions and tips that might be helpful if you are looking to promote more singing in your classroom:

  • Sing everyday
    • Include singing in every lesson, even when focusing on other units such as recorder, instruments of the orchestra, folk dance, etc.
    • Use singing in your warm-up routine (roll call solos, arioso, vocal exploration, choral warm-ups).
  • Intentionally develop the singing voice
    • Sing for the kids, not with them.
    • Carefully choose keys, tone sets, and starting pitches to encourage students to sing in their head voice.
    • Include vocal exploration in lesson plans, even with upper grades.
    • Include solo opportunities through games and fun activities.
    • Develop part-work sequentially. Check out episode #123 for more ideas!
  • Encouraging Older Students and Reluctant Singers
    • Choose appealing and high-quality literature, both folk music and popular music. Also ensure music is culturally responsive and age appropriate.
    • Choose music with good hooks through games, movement, props, and/or competition.
    • Have high expectations, but don't force it and cause further trauma.

Know Better, Do Better

Tanya has a few video recommendations for teaching kids about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Kid President

Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr by Brain POP

Fun Video on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Work Smarter, Not Harder


Carrie recommends storing sets of crayons in heavy duty supply boxes, one box for each row of students. She color-codes her crayon boxes to the colors of the sit spot rows in her classroom. So for example, all of the students in the red row share the red supply box of crayons. Here are the supply boxes Carrie uses.

Coda


Carrie recommends listening to the Original Broadway Cast recording of the musical Six.

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