Music
MEMBERS
16 Members

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Start a new discussion...
Hi all.

So...I'm a career switcher to elementary education in my 3rd year (as most of you know). I was an opera singer, and I even came to that late in life.

Because I really started learning music seriously at the age of 26, I have never really been able to hear or catch on to harmony. (I NEVER sang prior to age 21.)

I'm trying my best, and I am learning to hear basic stuff through my Kodaly I training (not sure I can do Kodaly II because of my lack of ear training skills), but I think my 40-some year old brain has almost reached its max skill level.

So...my question is: how can I help my choir sing 2-part harmony when I can't hear it or do it myself? Impossible?

I had them sing in unison their first 2 years and this year I started them with canons and then had them perform partner songs for their winter performance. Partner songs are no problem for me to teach.

The partner songs were a HUGE success, but I can't have them sing them...See More
view previous comments
Also Agree that rounds, ostinatos, and partner songs are the most appropriate for elementary choirs.

A few other thoughts:

If you must do a 2 part harmony song, teach the harmony first and make sure it is REALLY solid before ever letting them hear the melody. Then, they all sing the harmony while you sing the melody. Then switch some k...See More
May 1, 2015
Miss Friday Hi 3rd Year!

I agree wholeheartedly with the others who have recommended continuing with rounds, partner songs, and ostinatos. It's the way to go.

For non-dumb partner songs, I concur there are no good collections. But there are some hiding in the 2-part choir repertoire. Here are a few I've used in the past: (The starred ones wer...See More
May 2, 2015
DonnaR/CA I would add to the above list:

"Al Shlosha D'Varim" (Allan Naplan, Boosey & Hawkes) is a very fine partner song, high quality, and in Latin. The Latin is not difficult to teach.

An oldie but a goodie ... "Gaudeamus Hodie" (Natalie Sleeth, Carl Fischer). It's listed as SSA but it's basically a 3-part partner...See More
May 2, 2015
3rd year Thanks, everyone! Great suggestions...
May 5, 2015
bec O Dessayo in the Silver Burdett books is a really cool partner type song.
May 13, 2015


Teacher Chatboards

States

Subject Areas

Language Arts

Foreign Language