SALUTATIONS FELLOW BLOGGERS!
Hello all! How are you all doing? Today is a Friday and I am off of work because of the holiday weekend so I'm pretty excited because that way I can really catch up on cleaning and organizing our house! I tried making lasagna rolls today, here's the recipe I used (although I altered it quite a bit because I didn't have all the ingredients, but I'll try it fully later on in the month and I'll let you know how it works out!). Easy Lasagna Rolls
Alright, let's get to what I wanted to talk about originally. I'm a choir director (as I've said before). My parents were the original choir directors, but they've really been wanting to "retire" from the ministry, so to speak, and have been "training" my sister and I so that they could slowly pass on the ministry to us.
I can't act like I'm an expert on this subject since it's only been about a year and a half that I've started conducting songs during church and taking over teaching people their parts during practice. However, there are some things that I wanted to say so that other aspiring young choir directors don't feel like the task is too daunting to overcome.
1. Don't think that just because you are young you can't do something
Unfortunately, and this does not just concern choir directors, but many young people feel like they can't do something, or be someone because they are too young (Of course, it doesn't help if the parents aren't being cooperative or supportive) and this greatly saddens me because with that mentality, we lose so much potential! We lose so much talent and opportunity and we lose a future that could have been amazing and progressive! Age is just a number, and if you have the desire and the determination to be something or someone, GO FOR IT! Get tutored, learn how to be the best whatever you want to be and excel in it! I wanted to be a choir conductor for a long time but was too scared to actually do it. The whole time I was thinking "I'm only (insert age here - it started around 16), they're going to look at me as a little pip-squeak who doesn't know what she's doing" Boy was I wrong... I got up there and at first it was shaky and it was a rough and rocky road. I messed up and my hands would shake because I was so nervous. However, things got better and mostly it was because of the immense support I got from my parents and from the choir members! They loved having a new conductor and a fresh face with a different perspective and technique!
2. Listen to the people you are trying to teach/work with
I think one of the largest things that helped me also was that I tried to listen to what my choir needed. I'm a soprano in our adult choir and so I know how the soprano section works really well, I know their strengths and their weaknesses and so I know how to individually help them. It became a whole new ballpark when I had to start learning the bass, tenor and alto part also, and I had to learn how to become very in tune with my choir so that I would know who's messing up, and how to nudge them into the right notes and how to slowly get them back to where they are supposed to be. Many times people would come up to me and tell me that they liked one technique over the other, or they liked it when I very clearly cued them in certain spots, while other spots they could handle and I didn't have to waste my energy on those. The more I listened, the more I learned and the more I began to understand how each person/part thought about things and how they worked.
3. Be respectful and don't look down at people
I feel like any leader out there, where it be a queen, king, a president, a class president, or simply the leader of a school group project should know this and act on it. Just because you are appointed a leader of something, or you are made in charge of someone does not give you the authority to look down upon them as though they were nothing or as though you are so much better. You were appointed leader because either you have a certain set of skills that are needed for said position, or you are really good at delegating, or you know how to keep everyone in line and keep the process (whatever it might be) running smoothly and efficiently. Just because you were appointed doesn't that everyone around you suddenly drops in their value. All those people around you also have a set of skills that they can use and that they can work with, A leader must never make the followers feel stupid, disrespected, or lower in intellectual capacity. A ruler/leader should make people feel comfortable, safe, and motivated in whatever they are being led to do.
4. Admit to your mistakes
You had just missed cueing the sopranos on their part in the song, or you miscounted the measures and were one beat behind, thus messing up the pianist. What do you do? Blame the pianist? Blame the choir? No, you say "Sorry, I messed up, let's try that again" It's interesting that in admitting that you're human and that you make mistakes too, the choir becomes more comfortable around you and more receptive. If you were to dismiss the mistake as someone's else's fault, the choir would see that and would be less receptive of any kind of advice or comments you would have about their singing or anything in that matter. Therefore, don't be too high and mighty to admit that you made a mistake because that could be your undoing. The more and more you act haughty, the more and more people begin to think that you don't care about the choir, but you just want people to think that you are a professional at this. My Russian is NOT perfect and sometimes when I'm trying to teach the choirists some song in Russian I have a horrible accent and do not pronounce the words correctly. Instead of letting myself look like an idiot, the ladies calmly tell me how to pronounce it correctly and I take the criticism eagerly. I do not frown at them or tell them "Oh I know" but instead I ask them to repeat it again and then laughingly joke about how bad my Russian is and then ask them to excuse my accent :) My sister was the one that actually told me to do this because she noticed that when she did this, she got a more positive experience out of conducting and the people were more apt to listen to her and work with her.
5. Never forget your right-hand man!
Now in the choir setting this is obvious who this is, your pianist! Your pianist is the one who watches you attentively and keeps the beat and melody going even if the choir has failed you... miserably. If the pianist is messing up at the piece, do not suddenly turn towards them and yell at them or scold them in front of the whole choir for being unprepared and not playing right. What if this is the first time that the person is seeing the notes? If the pianist was given the notes in advance and this is the first they're seeing them, then that's unacceptable but if this is truly the first time, then be patient and give them some time so that they can figure out the right notes and chords to play. A calm and collected pianist is the best right-hand man to have, a scattered and scared one is not, and you do not help by pressuring them and making them feel inept. Same thing goes with any other kind of leadership roles. Your right-hand man is the one who you can rely on to be on time and be willing to work. If they're doing something that you don't completely understand or don't agree with, that doesn't mean that you should start scolding them in front of the whole group, but see and try to understand what is going on before you say something. If you are not respectful to your righthand man, don't expect anyone to be respectful of you...
Like I said, I am by NO MEANS a professional choir leader, but I do know a thing or two about leading people, and thought that it would be nice if I put some tips out there that I learned along the way, to help you guys out! Hope you enjoy reading this and let me know if you wanted me to blog about anything in particular!!
Have a great day y'all!! :)
1. Don't think that just because you are young you can't do something
Unfortunately, and this does not just concern choir directors, but many young people feel like they can't do something, or be someone because they are too young (Of course, it doesn't help if the parents aren't being cooperative or supportive) and this greatly saddens me because with that mentality, we lose so much potential! We lose so much talent and opportunity and we lose a future that could have been amazing and progressive! Age is just a number, and if you have the desire and the determination to be something or someone, GO FOR IT! Get tutored, learn how to be the best whatever you want to be and excel in it! I wanted to be a choir conductor for a long time but was too scared to actually do it. The whole time I was thinking "I'm only (insert age here - it started around 16), they're going to look at me as a little pip-squeak who doesn't know what she's doing" Boy was I wrong... I got up there and at first it was shaky and it was a rough and rocky road. I messed up and my hands would shake because I was so nervous. However, things got better and mostly it was because of the immense support I got from my parents and from the choir members! They loved having a new conductor and a fresh face with a different perspective and technique!
2. Listen to the people you are trying to teach/work with
I think one of the largest things that helped me also was that I tried to listen to what my choir needed. I'm a soprano in our adult choir and so I know how the soprano section works really well, I know their strengths and their weaknesses and so I know how to individually help them. It became a whole new ballpark when I had to start learning the bass, tenor and alto part also, and I had to learn how to become very in tune with my choir so that I would know who's messing up, and how to nudge them into the right notes and how to slowly get them back to where they are supposed to be. Many times people would come up to me and tell me that they liked one technique over the other, or they liked it when I very clearly cued them in certain spots, while other spots they could handle and I didn't have to waste my energy on those. The more I listened, the more I learned and the more I began to understand how each person/part thought about things and how they worked.
3. Be respectful and don't look down at people
I feel like any leader out there, where it be a queen, king, a president, a class president, or simply the leader of a school group project should know this and act on it. Just because you are appointed a leader of something, or you are made in charge of someone does not give you the authority to look down upon them as though they were nothing or as though you are so much better. You were appointed leader because either you have a certain set of skills that are needed for said position, or you are really good at delegating, or you know how to keep everyone in line and keep the process (whatever it might be) running smoothly and efficiently. Just because you were appointed doesn't that everyone around you suddenly drops in their value. All those people around you also have a set of skills that they can use and that they can work with, A leader must never make the followers feel stupid, disrespected, or lower in intellectual capacity. A ruler/leader should make people feel comfortable, safe, and motivated in whatever they are being led to do.
4. Admit to your mistakes
You had just missed cueing the sopranos on their part in the song, or you miscounted the measures and were one beat behind, thus messing up the pianist. What do you do? Blame the pianist? Blame the choir? No, you say "Sorry, I messed up, let's try that again" It's interesting that in admitting that you're human and that you make mistakes too, the choir becomes more comfortable around you and more receptive. If you were to dismiss the mistake as someone's else's fault, the choir would see that and would be less receptive of any kind of advice or comments you would have about their singing or anything in that matter. Therefore, don't be too high and mighty to admit that you made a mistake because that could be your undoing. The more and more you act haughty, the more and more people begin to think that you don't care about the choir, but you just want people to think that you are a professional at this. My Russian is NOT perfect and sometimes when I'm trying to teach the choirists some song in Russian I have a horrible accent and do not pronounce the words correctly. Instead of letting myself look like an idiot, the ladies calmly tell me how to pronounce it correctly and I take the criticism eagerly. I do not frown at them or tell them "Oh I know" but instead I ask them to repeat it again and then laughingly joke about how bad my Russian is and then ask them to excuse my accent :) My sister was the one that actually told me to do this because she noticed that when she did this, she got a more positive experience out of conducting and the people were more apt to listen to her and work with her.
5. Never forget your right-hand man!
Now in the choir setting this is obvious who this is, your pianist! Your pianist is the one who watches you attentively and keeps the beat and melody going even if the choir has failed you... miserably. If the pianist is messing up at the piece, do not suddenly turn towards them and yell at them or scold them in front of the whole choir for being unprepared and not playing right. What if this is the first time that the person is seeing the notes? If the pianist was given the notes in advance and this is the first they're seeing them, then that's unacceptable but if this is truly the first time, then be patient and give them some time so that they can figure out the right notes and chords to play. A calm and collected pianist is the best right-hand man to have, a scattered and scared one is not, and you do not help by pressuring them and making them feel inept. Same thing goes with any other kind of leadership roles. Your right-hand man is the one who you can rely on to be on time and be willing to work. If they're doing something that you don't completely understand or don't agree with, that doesn't mean that you should start scolding them in front of the whole group, but see and try to understand what is going on before you say something. If you are not respectful to your righthand man, don't expect anyone to be respectful of you...
Like I said, I am by NO MEANS a professional choir leader, but I do know a thing or two about leading people, and thought that it would be nice if I put some tips out there that I learned along the way, to help you guys out! Hope you enjoy reading this and let me know if you wanted me to blog about anything in particular!!
Have a great day y'all!! :)
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