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Views from the Choir Loft

Chorister Vocal Pedagogy

Lucas Tappan · February 9, 2016

LMT Singer HAVE WRITTEN QUITE A LOT in the past about the training of choristers in the art of sight-singing, but I would also like to share some vocal training helps as well. If you are leading a children’s choir (or any choir for that matter), one of the most important things you could do to improve the sound of your choir is to take voice lessons yourself if you have never previously had the privilege. After you have taken lessons, then teach someone else in a private lesson. This simple act forces you to take what you have learned and then find a way to communicate it to another singer. Then take it to your choir.

I once heard a choir director say it was impossible to give a vocal lesson to an entire choir all at once, but I don’t believe this. You might not be able to go into as much depth with each one as you would in a private lesson, but you can teach the general mechanics of good vocal technique.

Today I would like to share with you a presentation that Melanie Malinka, the Director of Music for the Madeleine Choir School, gave to participants in the CMAA Colloquium several years ago when it was held in Salt Lake City, UT:

    * *  PDF Download • “Working with Young Voices” (Melanie Malinka)

Perhaps this might serve as a foundation for your future work with young singers in your parish.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski
Sound Familiar?

1 June 1579: “The chapter passes a rule that anyone ascending to the new organ without official permission shall be fined a month’s pay.”

26 October 1579: “The altar boys remain always separate and distinct from choirboys—the one group learning only plainchant and assisting at the altar, the other living with the chapel-master and studying counterpoint and polyphony as well. Father Francisco Guerrero postpones his departure for Rome and instead spends the entire year in Seville making ready for the trip. In the meantime he neglects his choirboys. On 16 November, after considerable complaint against their unruliness and ignorance, he engages an assistant, Bartolomé Farfán.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Some are called not to much speaking, | nor to conversations about the Church, | but, rather, to a deep silence | and to a life hidden in the heart of the Church, | far from wrangling tongues, from speculations, and discord. […] This is the essence of a Eucharistic monastic life.

— Fr. Mark Daniel Kirby (Meditation on Colossians 3:3)

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