Part Four are the rhythm tools: Rap the words, Takadimi, count singing. Each have their roles, and particular problems that they help to solve. In this episode, peek into some rehearsals where students demonstrate their tool selection and application.
Give Them Tools Part 1
Beat is felt in the body, constructed in the brain, and CAN be taught. Rhythm is the next layer of time division. Choirs are notorious for not being great at it… Mine are no exception. A few years ago I got tired of choirs that struggle with rhythm and beat. So, we began installing more tools. We are nowhere near where we need to be, but we are getting there!
In Part 4, we will go through the various rhythm tools that solve 99% of rhythm problems for singers, and players alike. We STILL want students to hear music happening, as fluently as language, in their head. And as Carol Krueger said wisely in episode 90, we want them to “be able to grab a score, and go sit under a tree and read it like it’s Moby Dick.” But how do we do this? (Pitch is only one part of the puzzle. Be sure to go back to Part 1-3 if you
The secret is the sequence, the repetition and the QUESTIONS! The ones we ask, and eventually the ones they learn to ask.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
7 Years of Choralosophy: The View from the Other Side of the Mic by Chris Munce
Seven years ago, Choralosophy was an experiment. Today, it’s a career. It is a job, no different than your job, albeit a bit more public? Today is the show’s 7th birthday. Here is what I’ve learned:
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
Part Three is the Solfége or Pitch tool: Give Them Tools and Let Them Build is based on a premise. We are not the music makers. Our students are. So, are we teaching them songs? Or the tools used to build songs? So, what do we do if the students don’t know what the pitches sound like? Teach them how to figure it out!
Give Them Tools Part 1
The scaffolding began at birth. The audio library is more advanced than you think. Begin introducing both the sound and the sight… BUT… don’t let the sight get ahead of the sound AND the muscular coordination required to reproduce it fluently.
In Part 3, we dig out the first tool. Solfége. We want students to hear music happening, as fluently as language, in their head. And as Carol Krueger said wisely in episode 90, we want them to “be able to grab a score, and go sit under a tree and read it like it’s Moby Dick.” But how do we do this?
The secret is the sequence, the repetition and the QUESTIONS! The ones we ask, and eventually the ones they learn to ask.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
7 Years of Choralosophy: The View from the Other Side of the Mic by Chris Munce
Seven years ago, Choralosophy was an experiment. Today, it’s a career. It is a job, no different than your job, albeit a bit more public? Today is the show’s 7th birthday. Here is what I’ve learned:
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
What can vocal and instrumental music education learn from each other? At what point does specialization become uneccessary siloing of what should be a “music ‘education” profession?
Matthew Arau is the guest. Yes… ANOTHER band teacher…
Back in January, I accidentally attended Matthew’s session at the recent Missouri Music Educator conference. You read that right. I went into a room where choir things normally happen. But when I heard Matthew teaching people about the importance of audiation, vocalization and all of the internalized music comprehension concepts in a band class, I stayed glued to my seat. After the session, I introduced myself, and now we are here.
In this episode, Matthew Arau, an instrumental educator and leadership author, shares innovative strategies for integrating vocalization into instrumental and band education. He is also a passionate advocate for Mindfulness, and the “inner work” of the conductor/teacher as a leader in their environments. We discuss how to achieve a kind of teacher peace and how this can improve our attitude about work, but also can influence classroom management and culture. Music educators of all stripes won’t want to miss this episode.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Internationally renowned speaker, author, and conductor, Dr. Matthew Arau empowers people to their shatter limiting beliefs, unlock their full potential, and orchestrate their lives in alignment with their values and vision. As the founder and CEO of Upbeat Global and author of the bestselling book, Upbeat! Mindset, Mindfulness, and Leadership in Music Education and Beyond, Dr. Arau believes in the power of gratitude and joy to make meaningful, transformative change from within. Drawing on his 29 years as a conductor, music educator, leadership expert, and professor, Matthew empowers educators, entrepreneurs, and executives to create inner harmony and rekindle their inner spark through focusing on well-being, purpose, and mindset.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
Additionally, Dr. Arau is an Associate Professor of Music and the Chair of the Music Education Department and Symphonic Band Conductor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician, and the Leadership Editor for GIA Publications. Dr. Arau has guest conducted, led professional development, and presented clinics on leadership, mindfulness, overcoming burnout, growth mindset, rehearsal techniques, and creating positive cultures in 40 states and 4 continents in person. Thousands of high school students and educators have attended his Upbeat! Leadership Workshops across the United States to develop their leadership skills and reach for their fullest potential. In addition to being in demand as a keynote speaker, presenter, and professional development facilitator, Dr. Arau has conducted honor bands in Australia, Thailand, Greece, Cyprus, and Malaysia, and All-State honor bands across the United States.
Dr. Arau draws on a deep reservoir of fifteen years of experience as a successful middle school and high school band director in Loveland, Colorado, where he led his bands at Walt Clark Middle School and Loveland High School to numerous honor performances and championships and pioneered the Leadership Symposium. He lives with his wife Merilee in Neenah, Wisconsin accompanied by their sugar glider, Flash, and two Dachshunds, Savannah and Eli.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
I’ve said for a long time that music education is at a crossroads—but depending on who you ask, we’re either evolving… or we’re missing the point entirely. Are traditional school music programs—band, choir, orchestra—reaching enough students? And if not, why?
There’s a growing narrative in music education right now that what we’ve been doing for decades just isn’t working anymore. My guest today, Kevin Droe, makes that case in a recent TED Talk—arguing that if we don’t rethink school music programs, we risk losing students altogether.
Now, I want to say this up front: Kevin’s not coming at this from the outside. He’s a music educator, a band director, someone who clearly believes in what we do. And I think that matters.
But I also think some of the assumptions behind this argument need to be examined a little more carefully.
Is 20% participation really a crisis—or actually pretty strong for an elective?
Are we excluding students—or just not offering every possible pathway?
And what does meaningful expansion actually look like in a real school setting?
This conversation is honest, respectful, and at times… a little challenging. Which probably means it’s one worth having…
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Kevin Droe, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He specializes in teaching undergraduate and graduate music education. Alongside his teaching and research responsibilities, Kevin Droe is the founder of the UNI Spectrum Project. This initiative offers children with differing abilities a weekend of music, movement, drama, and art activities. His research focuses on special populations, innovative music education, and popular music.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
In 2018, Kevin established AmpCamp, an annual summer popular music youth camp. In 2022, he launched Spectrum JamFest, an annual youth music festival. Kevin Droe teaches workshops in audio, modern band and popular music education throughout Iowa. When not teaching and researching, Kevin is the drummer for Corn Riot, a punk metal band made up of faculty and staff of the UNI School of Music. He holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. in music education from The Florida State University.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
