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This book was the author's Dissertation, prepared while working towards a Ph.D. in Music Education at the University of Utah. Along with numerous other items of great value to choral conductors, it presents all the concepts and materials for teaching 35 "Mini-lessons" to choirs and choral groups. Each mini-lesson is designed to be taught in twenty minutes or less, so regular choir rehearsals can still be dedicated to teaching the scheduled music numbers. When all the members of a choir understand these basic principles, the choir is firmly focused on choral and musical excellence.
The lessons include an introduction, correct sitting posture, correct standing posture, the breathing mechanism, controlled breathing, voice-part classifications, vocal ranges, the reed-flute tone continuum, change-of-color points, audition preparation, objectives of vocal training, the singing mechanism, open throat, personal warm-up, care of the voice, vocal resonance, good singing tone, tone color, attacks and releases, effective practice, dynamic levels, extending vocal ranges, head resonance and head tone, humming, basic musical styles, correct phrasing, vocal flexibility, intonation, the phonetic alphabet, balance and blend, singing the vowels, diphthongs, articulation, enunciation, and pronunciation.
This book, which has been sold for years to high school choral directors, is now being made available to provide valuable assistance to many who direct church choirs, community choruses, barbershop choruses, children's choirs, and other groups. It's also an extremely valuable tool for individuals who want to perfect their personal singing skills.
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Part I - THE MODEL PROGRAM EXPERIMENT
1. The Problem: Lack of an Organized Program for the Conceptual Teaching of Choral Principles, 15
Choral Music Classes Vary Widely in Goals, Objectives and Results,15
Conceptual Teaching Defined, 21
Student Performance Experience Lacks Correlation with the Teaching of Musical Concepts, 22
Objectives of the Study: Testing and Instructional Program Development, 24
Delimitations, 26
Hypothesis, 27
2. Methodology and Procedures Followed, 29
3. Description of Schools and Instructors Participating in the Model Program Experiment, 33
The Experimental Group, 40
Comparisons of Participating Teachers, 43
Comparison of Choral Experience of Participating Students, 43
4. Conceptual Teaching and Related Criteria for Development of Lessons for the Model Program, 47
Need for Specific Curricular and Lesson Objectives, 47
First Criterion: Ease of Teacher Preparation, 49
Second Criterion: Availability of Background Reference Material, 50
Third Criterion: Precise Definition of Learning Objectives, 50
Fourth Criterion: Precise Definition of Behavioral Objectives, 52
Fifth Criterion: Lesson Outlines Should Follow the Natural Order of Learning, 54
Sixth Criterion: Lesson Plans Should be Easily Followed, Meaningfully Stated and Consistent in Format, 55
Other Criteria, 56
5. Test Results and Evaluations of the Model Program, 58
The Testing Instrument, 58
Test Administration and Grading, 61
Pre-Test Results, 62
Post-Test Results, 68
Lesson Evaluation Form Summary, 75
Student Evaluation of the Model Program Lessons, 77
Summary of Test and Evaluation Results, 78
6. Summary of Results of the Study and Related Items, 80
Part II - THE MODEL PROGRAM FOR IN-REHEARSAL TEACHING OF CHORAL CONCEPTS
UNIT 1
Unit 1-Unit Objectives, 87
Unit 1-Teaching Schedule, 88
Unit 1-Quotations Related to Lesson Topics, 90
1. Introductions and Course Participation Commitment, 94
2. Correct Sitting Posture, 101
3. Correct Standing Posture, 107
4. The Breathing Mechanism, 114
5. Controlled Breathing, 123
6. Voice-Part Classifications, 134
7. Vocal Ranges, 139
8. The Reed-Flute Tone Continuum, 146
9. Change-of-Color Points, 151
10. Audition Preparation, 158
Unit I-Notebook Checklist, 165
Unit I-Review Ideas, 167
Unit I-Review, 170
Notes, 176
UNIT 2
Unit 2-Unit Objectives, 177
Unit 2-Teaching Schedule,178
Unit 2-Quotations Related to Lesson Topics, 180
11. Objectives of Vocal Training, 183
12. The Singing Mechanism, 190
13. Open Throat, 200
14. Personal Warmup, 209
15. Care of the Voice, 215
16. Vocal Resonance, 227 .
17. Good Singing Tone, 236
18. Tone Color, 244
19. Attacks and Releases, 251
20. Effective Practice, 258
Unit 2-Notebook Checklist, 264
Unit 2-Review Ideas, 266
Unit 2-Review, 269
Notes, 276
UNIT 3
Unit 3-Objectives, 277
Unit 3-Teaching Schedule, 278
Unit 3-Quotations Related to Lesson Topics, 280
21. Dynamic Levels, 285
22. Extending Vocal Ranges, 291
23. Head Resonance and Head Tone, 299
24. Humming, 305
25. Basic Musical Styles, 312
26. Correct Phrasing, 319
27. Vocal Flexibility, 325
28. Intonation, 330
29. Introduction to the Phonetic Alphabet, 339
Unit 3-Notebook Checklist, 345
Unit 3-Review Ideas, 347
Unit 3-Review, 350
UNIT 4
Unit 4-Unit Objectives, 357
Unit 4-Teaching Schedule, 358
Unit 4-Quotations Related to Lesson Topics, 360
30. Balance and Blend, 364
31. Singing the Vowels, 370
32. Diphthongs, 377
33. Articulation, 383
34. Enunciation, 389
35. Pronunciation, 395
Unit 4-Notebook Checklist, 400
Unit 4-Review Ideas, 402
Unit 4-Review, 404
Supplementary Materials
Appendix 1 - The Testing Instrument, 409
Appendix 2 - Lesson Evaluation Form, 424
Appendix 3 - Student Evaluation of the Model Program Lessons, 425
Appendix 4 - Basic Library, 427
Bibliography, 432
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1. Participating Teachers Compared by Educational Attainment, 44
2. Participating Teachers Compared by Years of Teaching Experience, 44
3. Years of Participation in School Choral Programs, 45
4. Distribution Data for Years of Participation in School Choral Programs, 46
5. Schools Ranked by Average Total Years of Choral Participation, 46
6. Summary of Means of Pre-Test Scores by Total Sample and Sex, 62
7. Ranked Summary of Pre-Test Scores on Seven Categories, 63
8. Schools Ranked by Means of Pre-Test Scores, 64
9. Schools Ranked by Means of Pre-Test Scores (Paired Sample), 66
10. Summary of Total Pre-Test Scores by Total Group and Sex (Paired Sample), 67
11. Significance Between Pre-Test Means for Experimental and Control Groups (Paired Sample), 67
12. Significance Between Pre-Test Means by Categories for Experimental and Control Groups (Paired Sample), 67
13. Schools Ranked by Means of Post-Test Scores (Paired Sample), 69
14. Difference Between Pre-Test Mean and Post-Test Mean Scores, by School (Paired Sample), 69
15. Significance Between Means of the Difference Between Pre-Test and Post-Test Scores for Experimental and Control Groups (Paired Samples), 70
16. Significance Between Means of the Difference Between Pre-Test and Post-Test Scores by Categories for Experimental and Control Groups (Paired Sample), 70
17.Summary of Means of Post-Test Scores by Total Sample and Sex (Paired Sample), 71
18.Ranked Summary of Experimental Group Post-Test Scores on Seven Categories (Paired Sample), 71
19.Ranked Summary of Control Group Post-Test Scores on Seven Categories (Paired Sample), 72
20.Comparison of Post-Test Scores of Experimental Schools (Paired Sample), 73
21.Significance Comparisons Between Pre-Test and Post-Test Means for Control Schools (Paired Sample), 74
22.Post-Test Scores for Experimental Schools (Expanded Sample), 75
23.Summary of Lesson Evaluations, 75
24.Student Evaluations of the Model Program Lessons, 77
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