7th grade singing in unison

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Music Teachers Chatboard

7th grade singing in unison

by Gary

Dec 12, 2014

My 7th grade this year can hardly sing in unison and sing in tune. I only get half the 7th grade one semester and the other half 2nd semester. I tried to divide them and get them to sing parts and it was a train wreck. I even tried to get them to come in a lunch time and work but my principal nixed that idea. I do have some echo things going on between the boys and girls, but all their music is unison. Even the partner songs they had problems doing. My principal only allows me to put my 7th grade together the day of the concert for rehearsal for one hour. I have 3 seventh grade groups. I wanted to have each group sing like 3 songs but my principal said all of them had to be put together as one group and sing so I resorted to unison singing. The HS teacher who taught Elem music 2 years ago said this was her worst class as far as singing and she only had them do 2 songs in the concert because no one could sing in tune. We are doing a Christmas concert, so do you think doing the echo thin...See More

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DonnaR/CA On 12/12/14, Gary wrote: > My 7th grade this year can hardly sing in unison and sing > in tune.

There's something to be said for a good unison tone, so that's really where you should start. Lots of "fire engine" noises (but with 7th, don't call it that, as they don't want to be treated like babies), landing on one pitch. T...See More

Dec 30, 2014

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Gary On 12/30/14, DonnaR/CA wrote: > On 12/12/14, Gary wrote: >> My 7th grade this year can hardly sing in unison and sing >> in tune. > > There's something to be said for a good unison tone, so that's > really where you should start. Lots of "fire engine" noises > (but with 7th, don't call it that, as they don't wan...See MoreOn 12/30/14, DonnaR/CA wrote: > On 12/12/14, Gary wrote: >> My 7th grade this year can hardly sing in unison and sing >> in tune. > > There's something to be said for a good unison tone, so that's > really where you should start. Lots of "fire engine" noises > (but with 7th, don't call it that, as they don't want to be > treated like babies), landing on one pitch. Then proceed to > two pitches -- sol-mi. Then sol-mi-la. Then add do - high and > low. Keep this up every single rehearsal, as a warmup. Have > them grab their ribcage, and do "Ch-ch-whee!" as an echo to > YOU. Change that "whee!" to fire engine noises, ghostly > sounds, and land on a pitch every time, challenging them to > land on that pitch. > > Never underestimate the power of a round! My 7-8's loved > "Black Socks", "Missus Shady", "One-Bottle-of-Pop", as their > favorites. I think it's the lyrics that appealed, but the > tunes are rather "contagious" as well. > > Have you had Kodaly training? Level I is supposed to be for > Kinder-first grade, but I found that it was also very helpful > for beginning singers at ANY level. It's all in your approach > to it. I've taught K-12 vocal music, and while I am no longer > teaching it full time, I still grab for that Kodaly Level I > training. > > Donna

I did a couple of rounds with them and it worked out. I do teach solfeggio and I am certified in Kodaly. I have three 7th grade classes and I have to put them together and sing the same songs for the concert ( principal's orders). He only lets me have them one time as a group before the concert ( the day of the concert) so the only time they get to practice as an entire group is the day of the concert. My classes are not even either, I had 20 girls and 1 boy in one of my 7th grade classes and in the other I had 12 boys and 2 girls. My 3rd 7th grade class was more even in numbers. It is hard to have the boys sing one part and the girls sing another when it is arranged this way so each class sang one part each and we did 2 3-part rounds on 2 songs. The rest was in unison. It worked out and they sounded great ( standing ovation from the audience) . Thanks for your imput, I really appreciate it. My principal is a retired master Sargent in the army and he runs the school that way. If it is not his idea then it's not a good idea and it won't fly.

Jan 8, 2015

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bec I can't imagine having a principal like that. I feel for you. Why do they try to dictate something they know nothing about. Our principal won't let us have much class time but we get together after school when getting ready for a program. How can you even figure out how to get on and off the risers, much less work on blend and balance in only one h...See More

Jan 26, 2015

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