Well hello there my fellow bloggers!
I hope you're all having just the BEST day. I myself had the most sudden burst of inspiration to write music today - a melody just walked into my head! 7 hours later I've definitely got the start of something great, (I'm probably the slowest composer since Beethoven) and I've neglected all the things I had planned to do today. Goody.
But that's not why we're here. Perhaps I'll give an update sometime in the future... or perhaps not.
Today I have to draw attention to a fairly recent post on the choralnet.org forum, one that really jumped out at me because it hit rather close to home!
On September 15th, Lauren Melberg, a first year teacher from Wisconsin, wrote to the ChoralNet community about her 7th grade choir. Lauren is having perhaps the most unheard-of dilemma ever to arise. She posts:
"Currently in my 60 voice 7th grade choir, I have 36 young men. Over half of these young men are strong singers who love to sing. My issue lies in balancing their voices with the 24 women I have...there are a few strong young ladies, but the majority of them are pretty quiet."
Well if that's not the most bananas thing you've ever heard of, I don't know what could be. A 60 voice grade 7 choir with 36 strong male singers? Have we just stepped into the twilight zone???
The reason why this post resonated so strongly with me is because in my own experience, and in what I'm sure are most cases, adolescent males have to be grappled with to sing in choir. Growing up, there was more than one occasion in which I was the only one on the risers carrying a Y-chromosome. Singing in choirs is just not within the parameters of what society imparts upon young boys as something "cool," or "manly."
So! For those of us NOT experiencing issues similar to Lauren... (a.k.a. everybody else in the world) what was your experience with this situation!? Did your music teacher have to beg the boys when you were in middle school to get them to join you in choir? Did it work? What about High School? And what are some methods out there to get those strapping young lads to put away the Xbox controller and pick up a choir binder?
Please leave a comment below - even if just to tell me you think I'm daft.
Until next time!
I think that you have a valid point here. Finding boys/men to sing in choirs is not always easy, but sometimes you do get lucky. Both my elementary and secondary schools had an extremely strong choral program. Throughout elementary school we had as many boys as we did girls and high school was not much different. It definitely helped that I attended schools with specialized music programs; however, my high school was ruled by the (virtually always victorious) football players and cheerleaders so we were far from the coolest cats in the school. My high school ran the extension program to the excellent arts oriented elementary school that I attended, which also made it easier for them. Most of the students entering were already cultured in the daily benefits of music class. The two-week trip to Italy and Austria that the music department planned didn't hurt recruitment either. On the flip side, my brother went to a different high school where the music program was extremely weak in comparison and he stopped singing altogether, despite the conductor's begging. He played football instead. I think that the younger the children are when they are exposed to a positive, creative, and successful music program the more likely we are to keep them engaged.
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine a 60 voice grade 7 choir! And to have so many male voices, and so many weak female voices, is certainly something that seems rather unusual. I have little to no experience singing in choirs, however I can certainly understand how boys might view singing as something unmanly. I'm not sure how this stereotype could be broken, other than to perhaps showcase more men singing. I'm trying to think back to my own exposure to choirs/singing and ironically my most vivid memory is of my church choir singing, which was made up of entirely male musician, save the pianist, who didn't even sing! It wasn't until I went to university that I learned of the stigma of male singing... If I were in Ms. Melberg's shoes, I might try finding more repertoire that showcased the different voices sections within a choir, rather than try for mass choir sound. But again, I know little to nothing about choral music, or singing, so I don't know if that suggestion would even make sense!
ReplyDeleteYou're quite right, Shawn....this is quite a bizarre situation but one that most choral conductors would certainly like to experience, even with the challenges. I would certainly suggest looking for repertoire that highlights the TB sections, e.g., folksong arrangements and composed songs where the melody is sung by the men. I would divide the choir and have the men do some TTBB repertoire while working with the women on SA or SSA repertoire to strengthen their vocal and choral technique.
ReplyDeleteTo the issue of males in junior high and senior high choirs...I apologize for sharing something that I have already mentioned in class. The only two things I remember from my secondary music method course are 1) get the football team in the choir and you will have more than enough girls to balance the parts, and 2) make friends with the custodian. I have proven the extraordinary value of this advice time and time again throughout my 40-year teaching career. May you be blessed with such a 'problem' in your teaching career!
I am as surprised about this as you are, Shawn. In my junior high school there was no extracurricular choir. Instead, choir was held one afternoon a week after lunch and the whole school participated on a mandatory basis. In high school there was an after school choir. I can remember there being two males in this choir. The music teacher begged other guys to join the choir to no avail. The low number of male voices definitely frustrated her, but eventually she became frustrated in having to choose repertoire that accommodated these two male voices. The next year, she deemed the choir an all-girls choir (I guess for ease of choosing repertoire and such), which was very unfortunate for the couple of males who did want to take part.
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy Shawn! But awesome at the same time. In my high school there were no boys in the choir at all in the three years that I was there and there were only about 12 to 15 members alone. I'm sure my music teacher love to have this problem! i think it is great that so many male students were interested in joining the choir and teachers can adjust their repertoire based on their own situation. The most important thing is giving as many students an opportunity to sing and become involved with music as you can!
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with what Ki said above - while normally we have to try and make choir cool for the guys, perhaps now we need to make it compelling for girls, too! In my limited experience, I have always found that a well-placed male choral flashmob does the trick - not joking. High school girls go nuts for guys who can sing really well (hopefully they're also handsome).
ReplyDeleteAhem, other than recruiting more ladyfolk, this person could start a men's chorus. There is nothing like the camaraderie of a single-gender ensemble, and it could get some of those men into great leadership roles in a new men's chorus. Nothing's classier than a men's chorus.