• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Following the Leader

Andrew R. Motyka · April 24, 2013

NE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT things a director can do to promote good singing in the choir is to be a good singer and model for the group to follow. If the director cannot demonstrate competence with every aspect of a piece of music, he or she will not be able to inspire confidence on the part of the choir. How do you achieve this?

1) Use your choir warm-up as a springboard for the rest of your rehearsal.

Demonstrating good vocal technique begins with your warm-up. If your choir is improperly or insufficiently prepared to sing, the entire rest of the rehearsal will suffer. Don’t be afraid to spend a considerable amount of time getting your choir to transition from their speaking voices to their singing voices. It will save you rehearsal time in the long run, as it will affect pitch, breathing, and intonation. You can use a thousand words to explain to your choir how good breath support works, but showing them is much more effective.

2) Be able to sing every part of the music your choir is singing.

When you are teaching your choir a new piece of music, take the time to familiarize yourself ahead of time with each line of music. Not only will this save time when your choir asks for a reminder about notes or rhythms, but it will also offer proof of “singability” to your choir. If you’re a tenor and can sing the soprano line (even in falsetto), it will help your sopranos realize that they can do it, too. Even more importantly, intimacy with each voice’s part will help you to identify potential problems before you even begin the rehearsal.

3) If singing is not your strength, practice.

Most of us have a strength as a musician. It could be conducting, playing the organ or piano, composing, or singing. Last week, I wrote about the importance of practicing your composition skills. Singing is no different. You may be a great liturgist, a great organist, and a really nice guy or gal, but if you don’t view being a good singer as just important of a priority, you’re going to have a hard time inspiring your choir to make it their priority as well.

4) Demand responsibility from your choir.

In my experience, competence in 1-3 is very effective in leading a rehearsal. I would like to caution against a pitfall, though, and that is taking responsibility for good sound upon yourself. The choir needs to know that it is responsible for every sound that is coming out of it, and they cannot be lazy about their responsibility just because they have a good model. The trick is to use your demonstration to pass on good technique and musicianship.

We’ve all heard the statement, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” Yet we all know that this makes no sense. Any teacher needs to be primarily an example for their students. When it comes to singing, if you want them to follow you, you need to be a leader.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.

— Pope John Paul II (June 1980)

Recent Posts

  • Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?
  • Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
  • Hymn by Cardinal Newman
  • Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”
  • Introit • Candlemas (2 February)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.