NDACDA Chorister, Winter 2019 Issue

Issue 23 • Winter 2019

In This Issue: “Why Music?”

NDACDA Conference Successful Auditions

The Official Publication of the North Dakota Chapter

of the American Choral Directors Association www.ndacda.com | 1

North Dakota ACDA Leadership Mike Weber, president, North Dakota State University Cheryl McIntyre, president-elect, Jamestown High School Sheldon Weltz, treasurer

North Dakota Repertoire and Resources Committee Repertoire-Specific Coordinator: Tom Porter, University of Mary  Men’s Choirs: Tom Porter  Women’s Choirs: Charlette Moe, North Dakota State University  Vocal Jazz: Mike Seil, Bismarck Legacy High School  Showchoir: Brian Saylor, Bismarck High School  Ethnic Music: Mary Pat Archuleta, Bismarck Century High School

Youth Coordinator: Sarah Barnum, Discovery Middle School  Children and Community: Jacy Walker,  Middle School/Jr. High:

Allyse Hoge, Valley Middle School Jessica Blair Stoppleworth, Wahpeton Middle School  Senior High School: Phillip Voeller, Beulah Middle/High School

Collegiate Coordinator: Chris Redfearn, Valley City State University  Youth College/University: Chris Redfearn  Student Activities: Melanie Popejoy, University of North Dakota

Life-Long Coordinator: Sara Lichtblau, Fargo South High School  Community Choirs: Sarah Barnum  Music in Worship: Vicky Boechler, St. Mary’s High School, & Sara Lichtblau

Brent Rogers, Dickinson State University Editor and Designer, The Chorister brent.w.rogers@dickinsonstate.edu

2 | The Chorister • Winter 2019

Contents “Why Music”

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Melanie Popejoy, University of North Dakota State Conference Info

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Successful Auditions

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Mike Seil, Bismarck Legacy High School

Visit NDACDA online at ndacda.com, or by clicking below.

www.ndacda.com | 3

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Ask Yourself...

“Why Music?”

n day two of the Secondary Music Education Methods and Materials class at the University of North Dakota, I begin by handing each student a button, a small square of fabric, a needle, and a spool of thread. I proceed to give the students step-by-step instructions on how to thread the needle and attach the button to the material. After we have successfully completed the task I ask the burning question, “Why would I waste precious class time teaching the proper way to sew on a button?” The answer is because I feel very strongly that this is a skill they are going to need sometime in their life AND if they learn to do it correctly it will not only give them greater satisfaction, but a quality end product as well. Then, I pose the next question... “Why do you believe people should learn about music?”

In Charles Hoffer’s book “Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools” (2001 Schirmer, Cengage Learning) he refers to the “5 Step Teaching Process.” The steps actually involve answering 5 questions when preparing to teach anything: 

Why should this be taught?



What concepts should be taught?



Who should learn it?



How should it be taught?



With what results?

I believe that, before everything else, we should know the answer to the “Why music?” question. If we do not have strong opinions, thoughts, and evidence 4 | The Chorister • Winter 2019

about music and its importance in the growth and development of people, we do not have a foundation on which to build the answers to the other questions.

Experienced educators are very familiar with a variety of reasons for “Why music?” is integral to a wellrounded education. Of course, there are the many non-musical reasons such as instilling pride, increasing selfconfidence, teaching self-discipline and collaboration. Then, there are the many ways that music connects to other disciplines such as literature, foreign language, math, science, and history, as well as developing higher order thinking skills that can translate to higher standardized test scores. And, we shouldn’t forget the important research on music engaging different areas of the brain.

There are the musical reasons “Why?” Music is reflective of numerous cultures of the world. Music activates responses which create aesthetic experiences. It is a powerful means of self-expression and provides insights into the human condition. Music can help heal and create wholeness. However, there are much better resources for all of these justifications than this article.

It is important for young future educators to ponder this question now so that they are ready to “advocate” for their subject, students, and program starting from day one. Advocating does not just mean delivering a speech in front of the local school board, nor does it only involve vigorously defending what you do. It means that you are so secure in the reasons “Why?” the study of music is so beneficial to those involved that it comes across in the delivery of your lessons, in your conversations with colleagues and administrators, in your interactions and correspondence with parents, and in your appearances in the community.

The stakeholders of your program will want to know the reasons “Why?” The answers will be important to students who are considering involvement in your program, to your colleagues who will support releasing students from their classes for music lessons or events, to the school district administrators who determine what kind of education the children they serve should receive, and to the entire community who will be looking for employees with 21st century workplace skills and who will become conscientious citizens. Yes, the consideration of the question “Why music?” impacts all of these groups and more.

Whether you are a young educator or a veteran, asking yourself the question of “Why music?” is critical to the planning and execution of the music programs we develop and foster for our students. I also believe that if we are committed to the answers of the question, they formulate the mission that drives your teaching every day. Who benefits from that? Everyone!

Melanie Popejoy University of North Dakota NDACDA Student Activities Chair

www.ndacda.com | 5

The 2019 NDACDA Friday and Saturday, February 1st and Honor Choir Directors

Treble Choir Sara Lichtblau, Fargo South High School

Mixed Choir Andy Beck, composer, arranger

Men’s Honor Choir Charles Bruffy, Kansas City Chorale

for more information, visit nda 6 | The Chorister • Winter 2019

State Conference 2nd • Grand Forks Central High School Interest Sessions World Drumming • Laurae Dykema (Dickinson MS) Musical Theatre 101 • Anne Christopherson (UND) Using a Spectograph in a Choral Classroom • Michael Thompson A Study of Spirituals • Rebecca Raber (UMary) and Jeffrey Stone (BSC) Practical Q & A with Experienced Music Teachers • Jeffrey Mueller (West Fargo HS), Sheila Zinke (Valley City JHS and HS), Casey Behm (Davies HS), Lauren Brandenburg (Fargo South HS), Karen Askerooth (Jefferson ES, Valley City) Reading Sessions • Women’s Choir, Show Choir, Children’s Choir, MS Choirs, Mixed Choir, Vocal Jazz, Church and Community, Ethnic

acda.com/state-conference www.ndacda.com | 7

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Successful Auditions and How to Record Them

articipation in honor choirs is an incredibly valuable experience for our students and our programs as a whole. It goes without saying that our singers will improve musically and personally with the opportunity to work with the wonderful clinicians that are made available in our state and beyond. I can personally attest that my career path was forever altered due to my auditioning for UND Honor Choir. When successfully facilitated, honor choirs can also immediately enhance our own teaching and the quality of our student’s participation in their school’s choirs. Even at a more base level, each student who simply auditions for an honor choir is enriched due to the work they have done to prepare for the audition, strengthening the bond between student and teacher in the preparation process, and an improved level of confidence after successfully completing the audition procedures. In our current teaching environment of trying to instill coping skills in our “special snowflakes,” there is also an educational benefit for imparting the ability in our students to accept not being selected.

If given the option at the high school level, I certainly prefer the “live” audition process versus the recorded audition. In the limited amount of minutes available in our day, I would rather prepare than record. However, we are not always given this option. With younger students, the recorded audition is preferable given that it is potentially less intimi-

d a ti n g and more personal.

In both situations, the audition process begins with teachers being prepared far in advance of the audition, using the time we have with our students to the greatest benefit. As the various audition procedures for each honor choir become available, we work them into our warmup processes. There is a great level of musical enhancement and nuance that can be developed by having all students sing the scales required for the All-State Jazz Choir audition and simply “My Country Tis of Thee.” Done creatively, these similar aspects of many auditions become something the singers can reproduce successfully without any outside of class preparation.

Our philosophy is that all students who are involved in the honor choir audition circuit should always be in the process of preparing their next solo. This gives them the opportunity to have options when it is time to audition. However, for those students who do not have a something previously prepared, we also teach a solo to the majority of our larger choral ensembles. Recently, this process has been simplified with the availability of quality octavo arrangements of classic and accessible solo works. With our www.ndacda.com | 9

9th Graders specifically, the first literature they learn in the fall is several simple, unison folk songs. These songs tend to be more than adequate for the auditions these singers will complete in the first several months of the fall. By completing these auditions, we as a teacher then have a better gauge as to selecting their next solo.

I will try to begin the recording process 10 days to 2 weeks before the auditions are due. Don’t underestimate how long it can take to complete the registration process and upload the files. Also, while sometimes inevitable, it is usually not to the singer’s benefit to record before they are “ready.” Ultimately, this often leads to a frustrating experience for the teacher and singer and typically an unsuccessful audition.

While I am not an expert in the recording process, here are my suggestions for you based on what I do: 

Find a space that is free of “noise.” Besides the typical school noises, also try to eliminate noises from heating/cooling, loud light fixtures or sounds from outside.

Some spaces are wonderfully reverberant and great for making recordings.

However, with some of the recent stipulations against the use “effects” such as reverb, be sure to choose a room that doesn’t bring this into question.



I currently use the Zoom H4N recorder. Slight upgrades have recently been made to this unit and it has been renamed the Zoom H4N Pro. Having used much more elaborate means of recording in the past, I can attest that these units will provide everything you need to complete the recording of a successful honor choir audition. The Zoom H1N is also available with similar features and quality, but for half the price. When determining your specific needs, talk to your trusted music equipment professional before making a purchase that works for you.



When using the Zoom recorder, I suggest that you have it plugged in using the ac power adapter if possible. I always have batteries inserted in case of a loss of power to the unit. When only using battery power, be sure not to record in “stamina mode” as the recording quality is reduced.



Zoom recorders record directly to an SD card. These units can use cards up to 32GB in size. Take note that when using larger SD cards, the recorder will take longer to initially load. When using a new SD card in the unit, be sure to use the “format” function in the menu option of the Zoom. With all of the recordings I make each fall, I’ve never needed more than 4 GB.



The Zoom H4N recorder can record in several different modes based upon your specific needs. For making honor choir auditions, I record in the default stereo mode, using the built-in X/Y stereo mics in the 90 degree setting. This setting keeps the stereo image created focused on the singer.



I record at the default 44.1 sample rate/16 bit depth setting. This is the industry standard playback setting for most consumer music products. The other settings are more useful in a studio environment. However, I do record using a

10 | The Chorister • Winter 2019

WAV file rather than directly to an MP3 file. The WAV file is much larger, but is also better sonically. I have had bad sounding experiences recording with the Zoom directly to MP3. Since the majority of our auditions require MP3 submissions, I use the program Xilisoft Audio Converter Pro on my laptop to make these conversions. This a really great and inexpensive program (http:// www.xilisoft.com/webapp/pay.php?product_code=x-audio-converter-pro). 

During the recording of the audition, be careful to consider the effect that proximity to the microphones can have on the recording. Given the variety of voices that will be recorded, distance from the microphone changes the overall sound of the recording. Also, since most of our recordings will involve some kind of accompaniment, be sure to test the balance between the accompaniment and voice. A 1/8” jack on the Zoom recorder is available for headphones or connection to an external speaker to monitor this balance. When I am recording, I have the Zoom recorder on a microphone stand above my

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keyboard, close enough that I can reach it, but far enough where there is typically an equidistance between the piano and singer. Louder voices may require more distance from the recording unit. 

Once you have the physical set up arranged, you are ready to record. Before attempting a recording, be sure to adjust the mic level. For all of us who grew up in the analog recording days, we were always taught to record at the loudest possible level. This was often the case to reduce the amount of tape hiss in the cassette age. When making digital recordings, the opposite is true, as the recording process is free of these impediments. However, the sound created when the levels are too high is really terrible. I will usually create a default setting where the majority of my singers are recording to 70% on the mic level meter at their loudest volume. The Zoom recorder includes a function called “normalizing” that can be used on your file after the completion of the recording process. It is important to note that this is not an effect. Normalizing simply raises the overall volume of each recording to its maximum potential volume without going over.



When recording with the Zoom unit, pressing the REC button places the unit in record mode, but does not begin recording. This allows you to test the mic level settings before making an actual recording. This is also the time where I will adjust the proximity of the singer from the recorder. By pressing the record button again, the recording begins. At the end of the recording, pressing STOP creates a file that is immediately placed in the folder you have designated on your sd card. When recording, if you press the PLAY/PAUSE button, this will allow you to pause the recording without creating a separate file. This is useful when the audition process requires you to record several scales that need to be included as a single file.



For me, the most difficult aspect of recording on the Zoom is managing the hundreds of files that you will create. In my first years of recording, I used the RENAME and DELETE functions on the Zoom to do this. However, I also once accidentally deleted weeks of recording as the DELETE ALL function is dangerously close to these options. As a result, I keep a tally of the files that belong to each student, often with notes about what was potentially useful for each file. I also periodically take the sd card from the Zoom unit and create a backup on my laptop. I will rename the files as required by the specific auditions after the MP3 conversion with the above mentioned software.

Here is a link to a great video which walks you through the steps of using a Zoom recorder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP9AKt5JBcI).

My final suggestion is to make as many efforts as you can to make each student feel successful when they have completed their audition process. So often, this is achieved with a balance of what has been discussed above, but also by controlling the recording environment. In my experience, my attitude and the words I use when working with and recording the students is just as much of a determining fac12 | The Chorister • Winter 2019

tor as their eventual inclusion in the honor choir as to whether or not they will eventually try again. Even if at first unsuccessful, hopefully an initial positive experience can lead to future auditions that are better prepared and of greater quality.

Happy recording!

Mike Seil Bismarck Legacy High School NDACDA Vocal Jazz R&R Chair

www.ndacda.com | 13

Photo: First English• Free Church, Lostwood, ND. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons 14 | The Chorister WinterLutheran 2019