More Octavos

I went to the music store today to pick up my new music.  Unfortunately, someone had pulled the old editions of 3 books I wanted rather than ordering the newest edition.  Yes, it does matter, especially since I already own the old ones and I wanted the new ones because they have changed the contents somewhat.  Anyway, I didn't get the music that I was excited to review this weekend.  But, I did get copies of 9 octavos that I have not used in this format before.  So that's what today's post will be about.

In July, I wrote this post about using octavos and other options that are cheaper than buying complete books.  I especially like these options for students new to my studio.  By assigning the first two songs from my library of octavos, it gives me a chance to get to know a student's voice better before having them make a big financial commitment in the form of a book.

Most of the songs I'll be writing about today are also found in the books that I recommended for beginners.  Many of the songs in books by BriLee Music are actually solo settings of choral songs.  Heritage Music Press and Alfred also have considerable crossover between their solo and choral works.  I generally only purchase the octavos designated unison.  I do have some that are 2 part and I just walk the student through how to follow the melody.

All of the linked song titles will take you to more information about the songs and choral recordings.

When I purchased Tales of the Land and Sea, I fell in love with the very first song I played through, "Never Far From Home", and I knew that it would be one that would appeal to many students.  But it was in a book with "Solo Songs for the Male Changing Voice" plastered across the cover.  I couldn't really send my girls to buy this book.  Now I don't have to.  The octavo is in D and in the book, the songs is in A flat, so I now also have key options.  Most of my students are fine with looking at one key   but singing in another if I make a recording for them to practice with.

These are the other octavos I purchased and the books that the songs also come in.

• "O Captain" by Mark Patterson.  TB.  Also in Tales of the Land and Sea in the same key.  
• "I'm Bound Away" by Mark Patterson.  TB.  The octavo is in F, and in Heroes and Vagabonds you find the solo version in Eb.  
• "My Lord, What a Morning" by Ruth Elaine Schram.  Unison.  In Traveling On in the same key.  
• "How Can I Keep from Singing" by Laura Farnell.  Unison/Two-Part.  In Let Nature Sing in the same key.  
• "Night Winds" by Laura Farnell.  SA. This song is in the key of G in the octavo, and the key of F in Let Nature Sing.
• "The Arrow and the Song" by Mary Lynn Lightfoot.  Unison.  Both the octavo and the Medium Low book of And This Shall be for Music have this in the key of Eb.  The Medium High book is in the key of G.  

I haven't had anyone sing "Velvet Shoes" by Randall Thompson in a long time because I only had it in one ancient book that I got at a used book store.  I just bought the SA octavos from ECS Publishing (No. 2526). The music says that it is also available as a solo, but the SA version only really breaks into parts for the last phrase, so it is easy for a solo singer to work from, and I still have the option of using the music for ensembles.  (The recording of this is the SSATTBB.  I haven't heard it before, but I think I love it.)

My only totally new to me purchase was "O Rushing Wind" by Mark Patterson.  I'll let you know if students like it.

Part of me wants a few more weeks of summer, but all these new music options are getting me excited for school to start so I can try them out.

Giving Praise

How do you find a good balance between praise and constructive criticism?  Is saying one nice thing per lesson enough?  Is one compliment per criticism a good balance?  The sandwich method involves telling the student something they did well, then something they can work on, and then wrapping it up with something else that they did well.  I've even heard people say that we need to hear 5 positive things for every negative comment.  

I believe that it will be a little bit different for every lesson.  Sometimes one well-phrased comment about a student achievement will let you sail through a whole lesson of picky details.  Some students don't want to waste time hearing what's already right.  They want to spend every possible minute learning how to be better.  Some students can't see what is working well for themselves.  They only see the flaws, and part of teaching them to sing better is teaching them to acknowledge and trust what they are doing right.  Those kids may need 90% of their lessons to be carefully chosen, honest compliments.  I have also had students that just want to pay me to tell them how awesome they are.  Just building kids up without really teaching them how to sing does not serve them or me.  So in the beginning, these kids also need more compliments so they can swallow the truth I will be giving them next.

What you say and how you say it matters.  It must be sincere and it must be true.  That's not always easy.  While going through my files, I recently found a single sheet of paper titled 99 Ways to Say "Very Good".  I don't know if I received it at a contest I judged or in a class, but I know that I've had it probably close to 20 years.  I love that someone thought we needed to not get stuck it the same boring compliment.  I'm concerned that someone might just pull items from the list at random.  "You've just about mastered that" is very different from "FANTASTIC!"  That's like thinking that all the synonyms listed in the thesaurus for the word nice can be used interchangeably.

When I have a student sing through a song for me, I listen both for things I want to work on and things that worked well.  Very often a trouble spot can be fixed by analyzing what was working well in another spot.  One of my students was singing "Here Amid the Shady Wood" and had a very tight [i] vowel on "seat", but the vowel was gorgeous on "retreat". We discovered that it was actually the way she was creating the s that was causing the tension.  We also found that even though it was on the same  high pitch, when she sang the the word "soul", she released the s tension faster.  By using two good spots, she found beauty and freedom in a trouble spot.  

Elly Ameling has been known to stop a singer, not to correct something, but to comment on the beauty that just occurred, from the singer, the pianist, or both.  Try it with your students.  It's fun.  Most people expect that when they are stopped that it is to fix something.  Some of my students even tell me what was bad before I get a chance to say anything.  No one expects to be stopped because of something they did well.  Maybe we need to do more of that in lessons, and in the world.

I have a couple of secret clubs in my studio.  They are secret because I don't usually tell people about them until they earn membership in the first club.  Plus, no one knows who else is in the club.  Many students perform well and sing beautifully, but membership in these clubs requires a little more.

When I play for my students at lessons, I am playing, listening, trying to help them move through the line, etc.  It's not always as musical as I would like it to be.  But sometimes, one of my singers brings so much to the interpretation of the song that they make me change the way I am playing.  (I've been accompanying for years.  It's habit. If someone gives me something to follow, I will.) Sometimes they will even make me look at a song in a completely different way.  When they make me play musically, then they are given membership in the first club and told about the second.

The second club is harder to get into because it takes a lot to get this response from me. I love and appreciate good music, but apparently I'm not moved as easily as other people are.  Standing ovations bug me because only a handful of times have I been sufficiently moved to justify one.  But that's a post for another day.  Students gain membership in the second club when they give me goosebumps, or when they make me cry.  And this is a very small club.  But, I had a student reach it this week.  She has one more lesson with me before she leaves for college.  Her performance was stunning.  We both wish we had recorded it, because I would put it up against any professional.  The technique was solid. The tone was pure.  She became the character, showing all the subtle changes in emotion.  She found artistry.  And you can bet that I told her just how well she had done. The interesting thing is that when you reach this level, you don't need to be told that it was good.  You know.  She felt it.

Song of the River

I actually have my wonderful friend and colleague Kari Douma to thank for discovering Mark Patterson's "Song of the River" and the BriLee publication My Heart Sings that also contains this song.   She used it with one of her choirs, and since then I've had many students choose to work on this song.

Mark Patterson wrote new words to the tune of "Salley Gardens."  Like "Give Me Wings," this is a text that young students easily relate to.  I love the beautiful, flowing accompaniment.  In addition to being in a very singable range for most young voices (just over an octave), this song gives me many opportunities to teach both theory and vocal technique.

• The first thing I talk about with students even before we sight-read the piece is that this song is in AABA or song form.  I point out the patterns, and the places that those patterns vary slightly.  Because they recognize that pattern, by the time we get to the last A phrase of the 2nd verse, they are singing with confidence and I can tell if the song is going to be one that will work well for them.  
• The B phrase gives me an opportunity to work on high notes. It begins with a Do to Sol jump, and ends with an almost step-wise progression to the high Re, so in one simple phrase I learn which approach is easiest for the student, and I can also give instruction on making both approaches easier.  
• In the first verse, the melody is almost always doubled in the accompaniment, providing a little more security for the student early in the learning process. After that, the accompaniment has more variation, and although the piano part gives harmonic support, the student must be fairly confident to hold on to the part.  
• Phrases are mostly 4 measures, but commas mid-phrase allow for extra breaths if needed.  I use this song to talk to students about how to decide where to breathe if you can't make it to the next rest or editor's breath mark.  
• The song ends with a slowed down repetition of the last phrase.  Although it is not pure augmentation (everything doubled exactly), I do introduce the student to that concept.  

"Song of the River" is available as an octavo (in both Unison/Two-Part and SATB settings) and in the book My Heart Sings.  The song is in the Key of D in both the octavo and the book.  

Music Teacher's Helper and Me Part 3 (or Part 2 Rewritten)

Sometimes technology hates me.  Actually, I just made a dumb mistake and didn't catch it soon enough to undo it, so I totally lost the text for the post "Music Teacher's Helper and Me Part 2".  If anyone was so amazed by it that you saved it and printed it, please send me a copy.  Since the chance of that are slim to none, I decided to try to reconstruct something resembling what the first post looked like.  I remember that although it was intended to be a post about what I learned at convention about MTH, I didn't really learn a lot new, so I used that post to comment on how I am using all the cool new things I learned about while preparing the session.

This post will hopefully help me pull some thoughts together.  I have an article to write for the MMTA newsletter.  It won't really resemble this much, but believe it or not, it really does help me to just write like this.  I'll try to remember to post a link to the article when it is done.

Home Page

Your home page can be customized to include any or all of the following:  unreconciled events, upcoming events, birthdays, latest blog articles, account information, a monthly earnings chart, and overdue lent items.  I like having the account and earnings info come up every time I log in.  If you are up to date with charging fees and reconciling lessons, you can see exactly what you pending earnings are and who owes you.  (Unfortunately, due to a change in the way I am entering the charges in the system, and the fact that I haven't updated old accounts, this feature isn't as helpful for me as it could be.)  I also have the unreconciled events show up on my home page, but I've decide not to include more items because it was just too much for me on one page.  

Students Tab

The pages included under this tab are the ones that I've been trying to make better use of in the last few months.  MTH recently updated the manage student page.  One of the helps of that update is that now when you click on "view", you are taken to one page from which you can easily access all information relating to that particular student.  It's still not quite as clean a process as I would like it to be, but it is an improvement.  

I've always used the email feature, but now that I am being more complete on the information that I include on students' individual files, I can also quickly select just the particular group that I want.  For example, if something applies only to my EVHS students, I can enter EVHS in the filter and it will pull up only the EVHS students and their parents. I'm also getting more comfortable with some of the formatting options in the MTH email page.

Only a few of my students are using the MTH practice log.  (I don't require it.)  I'm also having trouble remembering to check the logs.  I wish the practice log information was included in the daily summary emails that I receive.  Although there is great potential with this feature, I'm not using it as well as I probably could.  

I am doing much better with the Lending Library.  All of my materials that circulate are now entered in the system.  I've been checking things in and out during lessons so I'm not forgetting or getting behind.  Once it is all set up, the Lending Library is very quick and easy to use.  

Repertoire Tracker is another area where I'm just not doing all I would like to.  I think I really do need to spend lesson time on this or it won't get done.  I might end up just using it to record songs that students use for contests.  I like the ability to record information about the score the student received.  

Calendar Tab

I am pleased to announce that the calendar features are being well used.  I am now using my MTH calendar as my personal calendar too.  (I just added myself as a student.)  I've added several new categories and locations with their own individual colors and icons.  It looks pretty good.  

I required all students and parents to have log in information, and now all scheduling, canceling, and rescheduling is on the website.  I love it!   No more phone or email tag trying to set things up.  A student signs up on the website, it is automatically changed on my calendar, and I receive an email to let me know that a change has been made.  The only tricky thing is that I still need to go in a change the price when a student cancels with the required 48 hours notice.

I've also discovered that when setting up the calendar, if you use the blocked dates page, you can choose a range of days rather than blocking just one day at a time on the actual calendar.

My MTH calendar also sends updated to the calendars on my computer and phone so I see things there too.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work the other way around, so everything has to be entered in MTH first.  I also can't edit events in iCal or on my phone.  If someone has found ways around this, please let me know.

Billing Tab

There are things I need to clean up and do better with in this area.  Because I charge quarterly, but it isn't at a regular interval (like the 15th of every 3 months), I can't set it up to charge tuition automatically.  What I used to do was divide the tuition by the number of lessons and have the system charge a per lesson fee.  But that got messy when dealing with make up lessons, etc.  Last year, I changed to making lessons $0 and then using the charge a fee function to enter the full price of tuition.  It worked much better, but unfortunately, there are still a few things to clean up from previous years.  

I also want to get better at using the mileage tracker and expenses records.  I always put my expenses in, but it's usually as I'm preparing my taxes at the end of the year.  I want to get better at recording things right away.  I also think that some of the travel I am doing could count as a business expense, so I need to do a better job of recording that.  

My goal for reports is to download and back up the information more often.  If the entire MTH site crashed (which is highly unlikely, but still possible) would I still be able to reconstruct my records?  I'm a firm believer in having multiple back ups in place.  I just downloaded my latest reports and in addition to saving them on my computer, I emailed them to myself so there is a copy in my email too.  

Website Tab

This tab is where you control all the content of your site.  One of the reasons I chose MTH is that it allowed me to make password protected files available to my students.  I have about 30 handouts that I used to copy and give to students as we discussed that material. Now I just put a note in their lesson notes to go log in and look at the related file on the website.  I'm saving paper and time by having these all ready to go and making them easily accessible to my students.  I've been working revising all of my handouts (about 30 right now), creating PDFs of them, and posting them in the File Area.  

I need to learn more about how to post photos.  I don't like the way it is set up right now.  

I'm also hoping to get better about posting announcements on the website.  I send out a lot of email communications, but I need to remember to get the short version on the website too.  

I just spent some time updating the information on the various pages of my website.  I'm not saying that it's totally what I want yet, but it is better.

Affiliate Program

I haven't made any money yet through the affiliate program, but if you're interested in creating your own Music Teacher's Helper website, please click here to get 10% off your first month.  Then you too can join the affiliate program and make money (maybe) just by telling people about Music Teacher's Helper.  

Give Me Wings

The next few posts will be about some of my favorite songs to assign to new beginners. The bonus with these is that they are available as octavos, so students don't have to spend a lot of money while I am getting to know their voices.  Some, like today's song, "Give Me Wings", are available a book in one key and in the octavo in another.

In creating "Give Me Wings",  Mark Patterson wrote new words and set them to the familiar tune of "O Waly, Waly".  Teens respond well to the text that essential says give me space to be everything I can be, but let me also return to the safety of home.   Most of my young singers can totally relate because they really want to be seen as adults and given the privileges and rights of an adult, but they still need that connection to home, family, and people that take care of them.

"O Waly, Waly" is one of my favorite tunes to teach.  Many of the concepts I cover in "Give Me Wings" could also be worked on in any setting of "The Water is Wide".  It's not necessarily an easy song, but I do think that it can be done by young singers.

• One of the first things we work on in this song is the idea of keeping the sound moving and growing through the long notes.
• If needed, I let students breathe mid-phrase (after the long note), but I also use the 4-bar phrase to work on going further with the breath.  
• For some students, moving into the high phrase requires a register shift. Young students often haven't sung in anything but chest voice before, so this gives us opportunities to figure out how to negotiate the "break".  And the first thing I tell them is that they can't use the word "break".  A break is a problem. A passaggio is a passage, something we move through, and it can be done with ease.  
• In this particular setting, the first high note is on the word "reach" so we work on how to sing an [ i ] vowel beautifully without compromising the integrity of the vowel.  
• The first verse end on the word "below" and provides a great opportunity for discussing how to deal with diphthongs and creating a clean cut-off without a consonant to help.  
• I also use the opening Sol Do to reinforce this pattern that shows up frequently in other songs.  

"Give Me Wings" is available in the key of G in the octavo from BriLee, or in the key of D in the book Heroes and Vagabond:  Solo Songs for the Male Changing Voice.  The book comes with a CD that has both demos and accompaniments.  If the student is learning the song from the octavo, they can listen to the choral demos on the JWPepper or BriLee Music websites.  

Les Misérables in My Voice Studio

The recent movie, plus a touring company performance in the Twin Cities means that Les Misérables is even more popular than usual with students in my studio.  And I have mixed feelings about that.  I love the music.  There is just something about the music that just resonates with me.  (I have the same reaction with Miss Saigon, and what I've heard of Martin Guerre, and The Pirate Queen).  The students also really love the music which means they work harder to improve.

But...there is always a but...the music is not easy and often is beyond what the student can do well.  Most young voices are simply not ready to give what the music demands. For years, I have told students that I reserve the right to say that we cannot work on certain songs in voice lessons.  Sometimes I tell them that we can work on them as exercises, but they may not perform them yet, and possibly not at all while they study with me.

Because it's been so popular lately, I've used my veto power less.  Instead, I have reinforced the idea that we are working on important concepts, but the song will not be performance ready for a very long time.  A successful performance that honors the composer's intent, the music itself, AND shows that singer at his or her best might be years away.  Under these conditions, I've had some students make big progress.

One student really loves "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables".  In the key found in the vocal selections, it goes to a G, which this particular student has, but it is very strained.  I have the song a step lower in 2 other collections, so we've been working on freeing up the D, E, and F pitches in the lower key.  Although we've been addressing tension in those notes for a very long time in other songs, he has made tremendous progress while working on this song.

I have another student who asked to sing "Stars".  As written, it is totally wrong for him. He is a very low bass who has trouble getting to middle C without extreme tension.  But he insisted he could do the song and it was comfortable, so I had him sing it for me.  He sang it an octave low.  (Yes, he really does have those notes!)  But because it was so low, he was way too heavy and forceful on the lower pitches.  I let him sing it down there, but we talked a lot about finding an easy, free tone down there.  Then because I'm mean and cruel, I've had him work on the lower sections in the octave they are supposed to be sung in.  He's not totally happy about it, but that octave between middle C and the C below is becoming easier for him to sing.

One of my middle school boys wants to sing "Do You Hear the People Sing".  In the vocal selections, the range is simply too big for his mid-change voice.  He can sing the opening chorus easily, so we work that and then move on to other things.  The energy he brings to this is exactly what I want him to bring to other songs we are working on.

The girls at least have "Castle on a Cloud" which I am pretty much OK with letting anyone sing.  "On my Own" is more of a challenge, but again, I've had a few students that have amazed me with their willingness to work to improve because they love the song.  "I Dreamed a Dream" has a few places that are vocally difficult, but I think the challenge in this song actually lies in the interpretation.  A high school singer may be able to sing this, but as freshmen in high school, few have lost enough and had enough dreams killed to really understand it.

Yes, I am letting students sing Les Mis.  Yes, I'm even letting a few of them, mostly advanced seniors, perform these songs.  They can be done well by some high school students, but they can't be done well by every high school student, and therefore, I still reserve the right to say no.

When Love is Kind

I moved through the books part of my repertoire series extremely quickly, but addressing individual songs will be a slower process.  I promise.  Some of the songs included here will be listed because they are wonderful works of art.  And others will be listed because students like them and the give me opportunities to discuss certain concepts related to technique or theory.

"When Love is Kind" is not on the list of the top 10 songs I'd want on my desert island playlist, but it is a song that I have found quite useful in the studio, and here's why.

• I'm the queen of slow, pretty songs, but many students new to classical music appreciate an occasional up tempo piece, and this song fits that requirement.  
• This is a great song for exploring expression.  The first half of each verse is happy while we sing about how wonderful love it, and then the second half tells just what happens when love is not so wonderful.  
• Once students have a little experience with solfege and sight-reading, I often use this song as a sight-reading exercise even if we don't intend to polish it later.  
• The song begins with Sol Do and each section ends with a Sol La Ti Do, both patterns that I like to point out and reinforce with students since they show up so much in music.  
• The first 6 bars basically create a sequence.  Each part starts on Sol, but the first chunk starts Sol Do and after a few other notes ends on Re. The second starts Sol Re, and ends on Mi.  The third Sol Mi.  Each new start invites the student to remember the pitch they just left.  
• I love this song for working on melismas because the melismas are short and not too difficult.  You only have 4-6 pitches to worry about on one vowel, so it's easier to focus on vowel purity than it might be in one of Handel's 4-6 measure melismas.  
• Sometimes students are a little overwhelmed by seeing the extra little notes.  In those cases, I often just teach that measure by rote using a consonant vowel combination to clarify the pitches.  (Sometimes I use buh-duh or bum buddy dum.)
• If students are ready to show off their high notes and their flexibility, then I have them add Liza Lehmann's cadenza.  It sounds showy, but is not particularly difficult.  
• The second half of the last verse is a great place to talk about non-harmonic tones and help students develop independence.  In all other verses, the melody has been Sol Mi Mi.  At "For aught I care", we get Sol Fa Mi Fa Mi in the voice part with the Fa pitches occurring against the prominent Mi in the piano part.  Although they sing it just fine a cappella, many students have a difficult time here when we add the accompaniment and it does require a little drill.  

"When Love is Kind" is available in these collections (and probably several others).  

• Songs Through the Centuries High Voice (Key of A flat--does not include the Lehmann cadenza)
• Songs Through the Centuries Low Voice (Key of E flat--does not include the Lehmann cadenza)
• Pathways of Song Vol. 3 Low Voice (Key of F)
• Pathways of Song Vol. 3 High Voice (Key of A flat)
• Art Songs for School and Studio First Year Medium Low (Key of F)
• The Best of Pathways of Song Low Voice (Key of F)
• The Best of Pathways of Song High Voice (Key of A flat)
• Lovers, Lasses & Spring (Key of A flat)
• The Young Singer Soprano (Key of A flat)
• The Young Singer Contralto (Key of F)
• Royal Conservatory of Music Songbook Series Voice Repertoire 5, 2nd edition (Key of A flat--does not include the Lehmann cadenza)
• Royal Conservatory of Music Voice Series Voice Repertoire 5, 3rd edition (Key of A flat)
• Something to Sing Medium Voice (Key of F)

Guest Post on NFMC by Ann Robinett

This is the first in a new series that will be exploring professional organizations for voice teachers.  I will be writing a little about some organizations and the programs they offer, and I've also asked a few people to do guest posts.  

Today we have a guest post from Ann Robinett about the National Federation of Music Clubs.  

As a long-time teacher of piano and voice, I have enjoyed my associate with the National Federation of Music Clubs for over 30 years. The organization has more than 200,000 members throughout the United States. Membership is open to senior, student, and junior members who form community and state clubs.

Federated in 1898, NFMC was created to promote music education as well as the creative and performing arts. One of its primary goals is to promote all aspects of American music.

NFMC is chartered by the Congress of the United States and is the only music organization affiliate with the United Nations.

Awards are available on local, state, and national levels. Each year NFMC provides over three-quarters of a million dollars for awards for performers and composers of all ages. Performance opportunities are offered through the Festival program, with 117,000 juniors AND adults being adjudicated each year.

Participants can earn points toward festival cups by playing piano, strings, organ, winds, brass, and voice. Festival cups are also earned in composition, theory, sight-reading, ensembles, and dance.

Collegiate awards are available in voice, piano, and many instruments.

Every two years auditions are held for young musicians who are ready to pursue concert careers. The national winner of each division wins a $10,000 award as well as a two-year contract for personal appearances throughout the country.

NFMC offers a wide variety of performance and awards for musicians of all ages and levels of study from the young beginner to the virtuoso. Innumerable programs offer assistance to teachers for their own progress and the progress of their students. 

For a more complete overview of the National Federation of Music Clubs, please go to the website at www.nfmc-music.org