In a message dated 7/3/00 10:30:22 AM, Marthea@a... writes:
<< I'd love to pick your brain sometime about teaching teens in a group
setting. What was the length of the class? I'm planning on an hour class
which I hope will give enough time to cover basics each week and to sing
both vocalise and literature. >>
Marthea, my class was both TOO short and TOO long! It was only a week-long
workshop, but met from 9:30 to noon each day. If I had had all high
schoolers, it would have been okay, but these students did great until just
about 11:15 AM. I watched them to see when they'd start looking at the
clock. Next year we will meet from 9:30 until 11. I did give them a break
halfway.
My only worry in a week-long class (my situation, not yours) is that I won't
have time to say everything I want to say. But I think that an hour a week
on an ongoing basis is a good length of time for young singers. It will be
good for you, also, because then you can re-vamp next week's lesson to be a
logical continuation from this week's. It was difficult in a one-week
session to do that as well as I'd have liked, but it was extremely
successful, nevertheless.
I'd add one suggestion: regardless of the length of the course (semester or
year or month), include some some of recital at its conclusion. What we did
was ask anyone the students wished (parents, siblings, and I added some
teachers, administrators, counselors) to come for the last 45 min. of our
last class day. We demonstrated things we had learned, I asked some
questions so they could show off what they'd learned (and educate parents and
others in the process), and then we finished by performing in unison 3 of the
pieces from the collection we studied. One song was memorized (we had also
worked on memorization techniques) and the others were sung while holding the
music.
Tuition included the price of the music, so I encouraged them to mark it in
any helpful ways. I also tried to help them know how to deal with that
mental overload that occurs when they go to the music store...what to buy??
I led them toward collections similar to the FOLK SONGS for SOLO SINGERS. I
included those suggestions in what I said prior to the demonstration for
parents.
I hope some of this information was helpful. I know that I learned "by
doing", and that next summer may be even more successful.
Sincerely,
Lynda Lacy, Soprano
Director of Choral Activities, Jackson Preparatory School
Jackson, MS
LYNDA313@a...
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