🎤 Concert Prep Secrets: 3 Creative Ways to Polish Your Choir's Performance 🎶
I don’t know about you, but as concert day approaches, I’m always looking for ways to add that final layer of polish to our songs. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box 🎯 to add those finishing touches.
Here are three of my favorite ways to engage singers during those final concert prep rehearsals:
1. Movement and Gesture Rehearsal: Engage the Whole Body 🕺
Oftentimes, a performance lacks polish because singers are too stiff or disconnected from the music 🎵. Try incorporating movement and gestures into your rehearsals. This could be as simple as swaying, stepping in time, or using hand gestures that reflect the dynamics or phrasing of the piece 👐. By engaging the whole body, singers become more expressive and connected to the music, which translates into a more compelling performance ✨.
One of my favorite activities is assigning a movement to each dynamic in a short passage of music. For example:
pianissimo = squatting on the floor 🧘♀️
piano = sitting in a chair 🪑
mezzo piano = standing with knees bent 🧍♀️
mezzo forte = standing up
forte = standing on tiptoes 🌟
fortissimo = standing on tiptoes with hands in the air 🙌.
🎶 Pro Tip: End the rehearsal by performing the piece without movement to see how the expressive elements translate when standing still.
2. Layered Listening: Enhance Aural Skills 🎧
Introduce layered listening exercises to help your choir become more attuned to the ensemble's sound 🎼. Start by having the choir sing while only one section sings out loud at a time, with other sections mouthing the words, humming, or singing softly. This forces each section to listen intently to the others 👂 and understand how their part fits into the whole. Rotate sections until everyone has had a turn listening and singing.
🎤 Pro Tip: Record these sessions 🎥 and play them back for the choir. Discuss what they hear and how they can adjust their singing for better balance and blend 🎶.
3. Peer Coaching: Strengthen Teamwork and Musicianship 🤝
My college choir director used to say, “You are on the wrong side of the choir.” Meaning, the choir member never gets to hear the full finished product. I like to involve the students in the final stages of preparation. Invite them to stand in front of the choir to listen, watch, and offer feedback 🎤. You could ask students to “choose 3 people with the best facial expressions” or “look for those who are completely focused on the conductor.” They love being involved in this process!
🎶 Pro Tip: A fun game to play at the end of rehearsal is to choose ONE student to act as a disruptive audience member 🕺💥. This student has full permission to do anything distracting while the choir must focus solely on the conductor 🎶. As long as you choose your student wisely, this game can be a lot of fun to end the class on a high note!
Happy rehearsing and singing! 🎤 May your next performance be your best one yet! 🌟
