This week, I am sharing an excerpt from a live webinar I recently hosted breaking down how I actually use Sight Reading Factory in the classroom every day to build confident, independent musicians.
SRF Webinar Taster
If you have spent any time around this show, you know I believe deeply in getting the piano out of the way and giving students the tools to decode music for themselves. But there is a massive difference between occasionally putting an exercise on a screen and building a systematic, daily routine that leads to true automaticity, AND serves the growth of the group and each individual. In this piece of the session, we dig into the nuts and bolts—from tailoring difficulty and using custom levels for changing adolescent voices, to structuring low-stress grading systems that build daily practice habits rather than test anxiety.
While this excerpt covers some immediately actionable strategies you can take straight into your next rehearsal, it is only a small slice of the full presentation. The complete, uninterrupted webinar replay—including the screen-share walkthrough of my exact backend settings, live whiteboard annotation techniques, and the full audience Q&A—is waiting for you on the paid subscriber feed.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
To unlock the full recording and gain access to my complete library of music literacy resources, testing rubrics, and bonus content, head over to Patreon or Substack to upgrade your subscription.
Here on the main show, you are going to get some really good tips and suggestions for how to build progression, assessments and a class culture that thrives on growth. “How do we make reading music not stressful?” By getting good at it and not making it stressful. It’s all in the approach.
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 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!
Back in episode 146, Dr. Jennaya Robison and I had a great discussion about the tension (pun intended) around vibrato vs. non vibrato aesthetics, physiology and acoustics in choral music. Recently, we posted a clip from that show and it blew up.
Let’s just say, the algorithm anointed it with oil and now its cup runneth over with comments. It ignited a massive debate across our social media feeds. Hundreds of comments rolled in—ranging from voice teachers defending full vibrato to singers recalling the sting of being shushed by directors chasing a blend. In this follow-up episode, I dive into the comment threads to unpack the nuance lost in internet absolutism. Moving past rigid dogma, we explore how directors and singers can balance healthy, sustainable vocal technique with the acoustic realities of ensemble singing.
Give Them Tools Part 1
In this episode, we discuss:
The Pitfalls of Blanket Statements: Why claims like “singing without vibrato is always dangerous” or “all choirs must sing straight tone” ignore vocal science, history, and global singing traditions.
The “Sustainability Triangle”: A practical framework balancing high pitch, loud dynamics, and straight tone—and how ignoring this balance risks vocal fatigue.
The “Choral Band-Aid” Trap: Why shushing resonant singers is a shortcut that harms individual voices instead of teaching whole-ensemble resonance.
True Acoustical Alignment vs. Vocal Suppression: How acoustic alignment (which is a better term than blend,) unified vowel formants, and overtones create balance without forcing singers to clamp down.
Age-Appropriate Vocal Expectations: The physiological realities of working with adolescent voices versus changing adult voices.
Stylistic Versatility: Why our vocal rubrics must adapt across different genres and historical eras rather than chasing one homogenized choral aesthetic.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Whether you are a conductor striving for a unified ensemble sound or a singer trying to navigate choral spaces without sacrificing your vocal health, this conversation offers a grounded path through one of the most polarized debates in choral music. Tune in, and let’s keep the dialogue going.
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 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!
An episode born from comment section of one of my social media videos. I was sharing my perspective on finding a middle ground when it comes to competition in music education, and my guest today left a comment that caught my eye, mentioning that her own views on artistic competition had recently undergone a total transformation.
I’m joined today by Dr. Francis Cathlina, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis. Francis brings a fascinating perspective to the podium as a former violist turned collegiate choral conductor. In this episode, we sit down to unpack what it really means to “right-size” competition for your specific school and community. He shares how an international conducting trip to the Philippines completely changed her mind about competition as a tool for program advocacy, and we take an honest look at how social media is impacting the culture of guest clinicians and honor choirs.
Later in the hour, we dive into vocal pedagogy and choral tone—exploring how spoken language and regional linguistics should inform resonance, and why efficient, healthy vocalism has to come first, regardless of the style you’re singing.
Whether you love competition, avoid it entirely, or find yourself somewhere in the middle, this conversation is packed with pedagogical wisdom and honest reflections on our field. Stick around—you’re going to get a lot out of this conversation with Dr. Francis Cathlina.
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.
Francis Cathlina, D.M.A. (he/him) is a Vietnamese-American conductor and educator. His concerts invite audiences into a world where choral artistry becomes a powerful storytelling medium.
Dr. Cathlina serves as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis, where he guides the Choral Area, leads the MM/DMA Choral Conducting program, and conducts the University Singers. His creative work was recognized with the 2025 Dean’s Award for Creative Achievementand 2026 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship.
A Yamaha “40 Under 40” educator, Dr. Cathlina maintains an active international profile. In 2025, he served as the Choral Conducting Faculty for Brazil’s FIMUS Festival and worked in the Philippines as part of ACDA’s International Conductors Exchange Program. His work consistently bridges pedagogy with cultural exchange.
Cathlina’s teaching develops masterful technicians, expressive communicators, and thoughtful citizens. Under his direction, the UofM University Singers have been invited to perform for national conferences. His students lead prominent programs—as university Director of Choral Activities and symphony chorus directors. Upcoming engagements include All-State choirs in New Jersey, Arkansas, and Kentucky, presentations in Macau, and residencies in London and Sweden. Among these, conducting honor choirs remains his most cherished creative work.
An authority on vocal pedagogy, Dr. Cathlina’s research focuses on choral tone and conducting gesture. He has presented over 85 sessions worldwide. He is published in international journals. Recent highlights include headlining the Alabama and Ohio choral conferences and co-leading Conducting Masterclasses in Greece with the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki) and Ionian University (Corfu).
Dr. Cathlina earned a DMA in Conducting with a Vocal Pedagogy cognate from the University of North Texas, an MM from Michigan State University, and a BME from Baylor University. Before his doctorate, he taught in Texas public schools.
In concert, Cathlina wears an áo dài, traditional Vietnamese formalwear. As one of the few Vietnamese conductors in the field, he proudly dons it as a tribute to his heritage.
Beyond the podium, he is a pickleball athlete, coach, and ambassador. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his husband Kyle and their dog, Coco.
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!
Three years ago, I released an episode that got me called the “Joe Rogan of Choir Podcasts.” I was branded a “men’s rights advocate,” and I watched a non-trivial portion of the choral community throw up their hands in collective outrage or disbelief.
What was my controversial crime? I dared to argue that boys are an underserved—and in many educational and arts contexts, marginalized—group in our programs. And even worse, I suggested that their plummeting participation might actually be, at least IN PART, our fault as educators.
When you bring up the boy crisis in choir or education in general, the knee-jerk reaction from arts spaces is usually to point outward. It is sports culture. It is general societal pressure. Look, complex problems do not have single causes or simple solutions. But what we desperately avoid talking about is the climate inside our own house.
Give Them Tools Part 1
This episode takes the meatiest bits out of an EXPERT interview with Dr. Brendan Kwiatkawski related to the psychological research about boys, their relationships to their emotions and identity, and why age 13-15 is SO crucial for them…and for our choirs.
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!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
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!
