Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Date:
Class:
Announcement:
8/12/13
Women’s Choir
Welcome Back To School!
Syllabus & Rules
Seating Arrangement for SA Sections
Warm-up:
Scale Warm-Up:Mee-Meh-Mah-MohMoo
Yawn Sigh
Shoulder/Neck Roll
I Love to Sing Indeed I do
Lesson:

Handout “Festival Sanctus,”
“Agnus Dei,” “Carrickfergus,”
“Prayer of the Children,” and
“¡Cantar!”

Start sight reading “Festival
Sanctus” and “Carrickfergus.” Go
over text and translations in
“Festival Sanctus.”

If time to spare, rehearse “Prayer
of the Children.”
Ending Point of Lesson:
Left off on “Carrickfergus.” Begin next
lesson with “Prayer of the Children” and
“¡Cantar!”.
What Went Well?
The young group of ladies were
focused! They picked up the words
quickly and sight reading went well!
Intonation and blending together as a
whole was troublesome. Mention this in
warm-up’s next rehearsal and do
exercises.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Corrections
Mention the intonation/blending issue
in warm-up’s next rehearsal and do
exercises to help improve this.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Date:
Class:
Announcement:
8/12/13
Concert Choir
Welcome Back To School!
Syllabus & Rules
Seating Arrangement for SATB sections
Warm-up:
Scale Warm-Up:Mee-Meh-Mah-MohMoo
Yawn Sigh
Shoulder/Neck Roll
I Love to Sing Indeed I do
Lesson:

Handout “Adoramus te,” “Vere
Langoures,” “Gloria,” “Ahrirang,”
and “Ain’t Judgin’ No Man.”

Start sight reading “Adoramus
te” and “Gloria.” Go over text and
translations.

If time to spare, rehearse “Vere
Langoures”
Ending Point of Lesson:
Left off on “Adoramus te.” Begin next
lesson with “Vere Langoures” text and
translation.
What Went Well?
Students were focused! They picked up
the words quickly.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Sight singing needs a little bit more
work.
Corrections
Make sight singing part of my warm-up.
Something easy will get them ready for
the lesson.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Date:
Class:
Announcement:
8/12/13
Men’s Choir
Welcome Back To School!
Syllabus & Rules
Seating Arrangement for TB Sections
Warm-up:
Scale Warm-Up:Mee-Meh-Mah-MohMoo
Yawn Sigh
Shoulder/Neck Roll
I Love to Sing Indeed I do
Lesson:

Handout “Bonse Aba,”
“Homeward Bound,” “Danza,
Danza, Fanciulla Gentile,” “Ching
A Ring Chaw,” and “Abide with
Me”

Start sight reading “Homeward
Bound” and “Bonse Aba.” Go
over text and translations in
“Bonse Aba.”

If time to spare, rehearse “Abide
with Me.”
Ending Point of Lesson:
Left off on sight reading “Bonse Aba.”
Begin next lesson with “Bonse Aba” and
“Abide with Me.
What Went Well?
The young men were focused most of
the time. They picked up the words
well. Sight reading needs improvement!
Sight reading needs improvement!
Intonation and blending together as a
whole was troublesome. Mention this in
warm-up’s next rehearsal and do
exercises.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Corrections
Mention the intonation/blending
issue/sight reading in warm-up’s next
rehearsal and do exercises to help
improve this.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Choir Descriptions:
Women’s Choir: 9-12 Grade (Auditioned)
16 students (4 sopranos, 4 second sopranos, 4 altos, 4 second altos)
I will change the numbers in each section if the song needs it.
Concert Choir: 7-12 Grade (Non-auditioned)
40 students (5 sopranos, 5 second sopranos, 5 altos, 5 second
altos, 10 tenors, 10 bass)
Men’s Choir: 9-12 Grade (Auditioned)
12 students (3 first tenors, 3 second tenors, 3 baritones, 3 bass)
I will change or combine the numbers in each section if the song needs
it.
Teaching Aspects for each Selection: Most of the teaching aspects are the same.
However, there are leaps, different foreign words, and different rhythms in each
piece that will need worked on throughout every song.
Festival Sanctus: I will demonstrate how each student and section needs to blend
together as one. I will demonstrate how to sing in unison
successfully (everyone should make the same vowel sounds and
annunciate words properly). I will also teach the students Latin
pronunciation and translation. Words will need to be articulated in
order for the audience to hear what they are singing.
Agnus Dei: I will demonstrate how to blend within the group properly, how to
confidently sing in unison, how to use dynamics, and the Latin
pronunciation and translation for this piece. Words will need to be
articulated in order for the audience to hear what they are singing.
Carrickfergus: I will demonstrate how to blend and sing in unison properly like the
other songs. The voice parts in this piece have moments where they
are singing different rhythms and words. I will have to work with the
group and make sure that each section is singing their correct part.
Each voice will need to be brought out and heard. Words will need to
be articulated in order for the audience to hear what they are singing.
Prayer of the Children: How to sing in unison and blend properly. This piece has
more complex rhythms that the students may have a struggle
with. This will be a great song to teach different rhythm
patterns. Words will need to be articulated in order for the
audience to hear what they are singing.
¡Cantar!: How to sing in unison and blend properly. This piece has parts that are in
Spanish. I will teach the students the pronunciation and translation for
this piece. Words will need to be articulated in order for the audience
to hear what they are singing.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Vere Langoures: How to sing in unison and blend properly. Each voice in this piece
are much different from one another. This piece will help reinforce
that each voice section is being accountable for knowing their part
and being confident in their singing. This piece is in Latin and has
different words than the other Latin pieces. I will teach them the
correct pronunciation and translation for this piece.
Adoramus te: I will demonstrate how to blend within the group properly, how to
confidently sing in unison, how to use dynamics, and the Latin
pronunciation and translation for this piece. I will teach the Latin
translation and pronunciation. This piece will reinforce each group to
learn their parts individually because the voices have independent lines.
Gloria: I will demonstrate how each student and section needs to blend together as
one. I will demonstrate how to sing in unison successfully (everyone should
make the same vowel sounds and annunciate words properly). The leap of a
fifth in the beginning may need worked on at the beginning.
Ahrirang: This piece is a Korean folk song. It is in English so I will not have to worry
about teaching translations. One thing that I will want to work on with
the group is the different rhythms that are throughout this piece.
There is a solo so I will have to work with the student who receives
the solo after hours if she needs help. I want to work on phrasing and
dynamics with this piece.
Ain’t Judgin’ No Man: This piece is very different compared to the others in this
upcoming concert. It is a gospel tune. This piece is performed a
cappella. This will be a great piece to get the students used to
singing without accompaniment. It will help with their ear
training, sight singing, and blending significantly. It will also
help them gain confidence in their singing.
Bonse Aba: This piece starts out with a solo. This will be a great opportunity to let
the men have a chance to shine and gain confidence in their singing.
This piece is a traditional Zambian song, therefore, I will need to teach
the text pronunciation and translation of the piece. This piece also has
some challenging rhythms. It will be a great time to practice different
patterns that the group may not be used to.
Homeward Bound: This piece is in English so I will finally not have to worry about
text translation. This piece does have an option of having a solo in
the tenor voice. If I do not have a student wanting to sing or is
unable to sing the part alone I could put in a few more men on the
part. The words in this piece will have to definitely be articulated
in order for the audience to hear the lyrics.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project
Danza, Danza, Fanciulla Gentile: This piece is in Italian. This will be a great way to
teach a different language besides Latin. This piece
only as a tenor and base part. This will mean that
each section will have to blend properly within
their section and the whole ensemble. Dynamics
will be a great thing to work on in this piece.
Abide with Me: This song is suggested to be performed a cappella. This is a piece that
will be great to encourage the singers to work hard individually on
their own parts. The text is in English so it should be simple in that
aspect. Phrasing and dynamics are going to add a lot to this piece.
Ching A Ring Chaw (and Great Gittin’ Up Mornin’): This piece is an upbeat song that
will be fun for the guys to perform. The aspect that will be the most
troublesome is the different voice parts. The two voices sing different
words and rhythms throughout the entire piece. The group will have
to work on their parts in order to not sing the opposite part and get
lost. They will also need to articulate words and sing out so their voice
line gets heard by the audience.
Overall Goals for the 9 Weeks:
Throughout the semester I will be teaching the students how to sing confidently and
in tune. They will be taught how to use clear articulation, how to blend within the
whole ensemble, how to sing a cappella, and the proper physical techniques to sing
healthfully. In my warm-ups I will incorporate short and simple pieces that will
address sight reading, phrasing, dynamics, and vocal production. Overall, I want my
students to learn how to sing in depth and have fun while doing it. At the end of the
nine weeks each ensemble will perform a concert. This will be a way for the
students to show what they have learned to the school and community.
Week Lesson Overview
Date:
Class:
Announcement:
Warm-up:
Lesson:
8/12/13 – 8/16/13
Concert Choir
Women’s Choir
Men’s Choir
Scale Warm-Up:Mee-Meh-Mah-MohMoo
Yawn Sigh
I love to Sing Indeed I do
12345-54321
Sight Reading
Other Exercises When Needed
 Hand out and introduce all of the
songs.
Sha-Nae Orr
Choral Project

Ending Point of Lesson:
For the pieces that are in a
different language, go over
translations and pronunciation.
 Go over at least 2-3 songs per
lesson. If they struggle just pick
up on the section you left off
with. Go as far through the
music as possible.
 Talk about blending and
intonation.
 Work on sight reading, rhythms,
dynamics, and articulation.
 Work on a cappella singing.
 Work on solo singing.
The section that I left off with will be
the place that I will begin with next
rehearsal.
What Went Well?
Sight singing, translation, articulation of
words, dynamics.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Blending, a cappella singing, and
singing their part when the other part is
singing different words and rhythms.
Corrections:
Work on blending and sight singing in
warm-ups. Work on a cappella singing
at the beginning of the lesson so we
have enough to time work on it. I can
warm up with a song that is a round in
order for them to get used to singing
different parts all together.