Developing the Elementary Choir
MSVMA 2015 Summer Workshop
July 31, 2015
Jackie Sonderfan Schoon
email: jackie@grsyc.org
Choosing repertoire:
 Text:
1. Choose texts that can stand on their own such as poems, an interesting story, or
sacred texts. The text should have integrity. If chosen purposefully, it can be used as a
vehicle to teach choristers to sing with sensitivity to phrasing, text painting, syllabic stress,
and genuine expression. Marcia Patton of Casper Children’s Chorale asks,

“Do the texts you choose encourage thought and wonder? Does the subject
encourage character? Is it worthy of discussion? Does the music make them
think, to feel, to express?”
Music
1.
Melody: Choose music with a “singable” melody. Is there repetition that will
give your singers a framework and help them anticipate the next section? Are
there manageable jumps?
2. Tessitura: Choose music with a tessitura from D to E’ or F’, which enables
choristers to access their head voice.
3. Musicianship: Choose music that will invite your singers to be artists! (i.e. music
with a beautiful line, with challenging articulation, with expressive qualities).
4. Interesting: Choose interesting music with an exceptionally beautiful
accompaniment or with an obbligato part, (although sometimes this is too much
for younger singers).

Concepts to teach early and continuously
1. Breath:
Smell the cookies, fill up your gas tank, belly bumps, inhale/exhale on different
counts, lip trills or on a sustained “v”, breathe the vowel
2. Tone Quality:
Know the sound you want from your choir: Listen to various children’s choirs and
have your choir listen to children’s choirs. Discuss what you hear. Do you
prefer a darker or brighter sound? Soft palate raised, corners tucked in for a
focused sound
Schoon/ Developing the Elementary Choir
Jackie@grsyc.org

Gestures and movement:
 Hand positions, pull a string from the top of your head, granny
shots vs. “all net”, pull a golden string from forehead, spinning the
tone “Path to the Moon”, by Eric Thiman
 Planet high hooty/Planet smart singing “The Mending Song”, by
Dan Kallman
 Singing “nose to toes” vowels, north and south vowels, and “fish
lips/rabbit teeth”
“Ani Ma’Amin”, arr. Caldwell and Ivory
 Tennis ball people

Analogies:
 Make the roof of your mouth like the ceiling of a cathedral, open
an umbrella in the back of your throat, place McDonald’s golden
arches in the back of your throat
 Experiment with asking your choir to sing like an older choir
 Singing like a beautiful brick vs. a beautiful feather
3. Posture:
Royal posture “King/Queen of the straight backs!” (swords, crowns, and
capes…)
4. Expression:
Eye brow push-ups, wake up the face, party hats (encourage singers to have a
“party on their face”)
5. Self-discipline: Catch a singer doing the right thing, especially when s/he thinks
nobody is
looking. Catch a singer using “body, mind, spirit, voice!” and reward
with getting to hold the choir mascot. Catch a singer with eyes on the conductor and
s/he gets to wear funky sunglasses for a while.
 Warm Ups, Pacing, and Brain Breaks:
1. Warm Ups: Make them meaningful and begin to fix problems even before they
start. Compose a warm up that addresses a challenging interval or melodic
rhythm. Example: “Boogie Woogie” by Ken Berg. Involve the whole body with
rhythmic belly bumps. Access head voice right away with roller coasters.
2. Consider starting with one of these games/activities as latecomers arrive.
Who has the __?, John the Rabbit, My Feet Love the Beat of the Popcorn.
3. Brain Breaks: Chocolate Cookie, Little Cabin in the Woods, Rhythm Cards,
“The Forbidden Pattern”
Schoon/Developing the Elementary Choir
Jackie@grsyc.org

Four Ways to Introduce a Song
1. You Sing/I Sing (Example: “ I Had a Little Nut Tree”, arr. Berteaux)
 Help choristers find a common theme; teach it.
 Have singers generalize the theme to other parts of the song by aurally or
visually identifying it.
 Choristers sing that theme each time it occurs in the song while you sing
other part
 Trade parts
2. Finding Tonic (Example: “The Birds”, by Eleanor Daley)
 Identify the tonic by singing the song to singers and pausing to throw up
the resting tone ball. When you catch it, they sing the resting tone on
appropriate syllable.
 Do this with individuals who can handle it. Be sensitive. True, this
technique is more teaching by rote than teaching singers how to read and
understand their score, but it allows you to model musicianship (i.e.
phrasing, dynamics, enunciation) to blossoming choristers.
 Correct tuneless singing by gently re-establishing dominant-tonic
relationship
3. Movement (Example: “El Pequeno Nino” arr. Ruth Dwyer)
 Teach/show students the form of the song by assigning expressive
movements to each theme. Works well for visual and kinesthetic
learners.
4. Reading music/Solfege (Example: “Bring Me Little Water Sylvie” arr. Mark
Scott)

Miscellaneous
1. Singer of the Day
2. Eyeballs
3. Chorister Survivor
4. Therabands in each folder for singing through a phrase
5. String in each folder for no breath lessons
6. Geosphere for crescendos, diminuendos, breath support
 Books
Sound Advice: Becoming a Better Children’s Choir Conductor, by Jean Ashworth Bartle
Teaching Kids to Sing, by Kenneth H. Phillips
We Will Sing! by Doreen Rao
Choir Builders, by Rollo Dilworth
Quick Starts for Young Choirs, by Miller and McKenna
The fact that children can make beautiful music is perhaps less significant than the fact that
music can make beautiful children. -Anonymous
Schoon/Developing the Elementary Choir
Jackie@grsyc.org
Suggested Repertoire
*Song of the Stable
D. Haas
G-2888
GIA
Publications
*Carol of the Children
J. Rutter
HMC-605
Hinshaw Music
The Pasture
D. Kallman
YS200
Mark Foster
Five Little Chickens
D. Kallman
YS402
Mark Foster
I Will Give You the Key
D. Kallman
YS202
Mark Foster
Ferry Me Across the Water
L. Williams
OCYB7063
B&H
A Song of Angels
J. Horman
B223
Hope Publishing
*Polish Lullaby Carol
V. Shields
XM-525
Plymouth Music
V. Shields
YS100
Mark Foster
Co.
*Carol for the Poor
I Had a Little Nut Tree B. Berteaux OCTB6498
B&H
Manx Lullaby
L. Dolloff
OCTB6913
B&H
A Great Big Sea
L. Dolloff
OCTB6914
B&H
The Raggle Taggle Gypsies R. Hugh
OCTB6747
B&H
Hine Ma Tov
A. Naplan
OCTB6782
B&H
*Jesus, Rest Your Head
P. Carey
15/2168R
Roger Dean
Ani Ma’Amin
Caldwell/Ivory
*Lullaby Noel
Donnelly/Strid
earthsongs
SV9853
Alfred
Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie arr. Scott
BL223
BrilLee Music
Jazz Man
B. Britten
HL48003983
B&H
Sing to Me
A. Ramsey
SBMP 1003
Santa Barbara
Kusimama
J. Papoulis
48021188
B&H
*The Birds
E. Daley
VG1011
Alfred
*Never a Child As He
D. Brunner
M-051-46838-6
B&H
*Unending Flame
P. Carey
SBMP 788
Santa Barbara
Mozart’s Adagio
K. Aamot
SBMP 565
Santa Barbara
Bowling Green
N. Page
48005003
B&H
Fairest Lady
N. Page
48004859
B&H
*Grant Us Peace
M. Scott
SV9993
Alfred
* denotes Holiday/Christmas titles
Junior Youth Chorus (4-6)
Prelude Chorus (1-3)