Brianna Shepardson

Reflection

December 17, 2015

At the end of the first semester of the school year, I am feeling more confident in my

abilities as a teacher and also in the role I play in my school. I have felt more prepared for

concerts, my lessons are more sequential and my students are demonstrating a higher

understanding of musical concepts. Part of that comes with the second year, but the courses I

took at Ithaca College have significantly impacted my teaching.

At the end of September, I started a fifth grade choir after school choir. This is the second

year I have offered choir for fifth grade, but this year was different. I told my students before

they signed up that we would be working on singing techniques and challenging repertoire, and I

kept my promise. I used many of the rehearsal techniques I learned in Choral Rehearsal and

Vocal Techniques to challenge my students to meet their full potential. Throughout the Choral

Rehearsal and Vocal Techniques class, Dr. Avery showed us examples of childrens choirs that

astounded me. I knew children could sing beautifully, but I hadnt realized the potential for

incredible music making that was standing in front of me every day.

I started every choir rehearsal practicing posture and breathing techniques. I used a few

of the warm-ups my classmates showed me in Choral Rehearsal and Vocal Techniques to

encourage the students to open up their voices and learn how to create a resonant, but not forced

sound. We have worked on vocal flexibility, breath support, note reading, polyphonic harmony

some chordal harmony. I implemented some of the theories of Robert Shaws choral school

(School F) by focusing on diction and word stress. I have been amazed at how willing my fifth

grade students are to learn these abstract concepts. They are loving the challenge presented to
them, and many of them come to me in the middle of the week begging for me to hold choir

more than once a week.

Choral Rehearsal and Vocal Techniques gave me the tools and the inspiration to challenge

my students more than I have dared before. I realized through this class that good singing can be taught

at any age, and the sooner, the better. As long as I am staying current in my research and understanding

exactly what students of each age should be capable of producing in a healthy manor, I should be able

to teach my students how to make beautiful choral music even at the young age of eleven. I am beyond

excited to see how far these fifth graders progress at the end of the school year. They have shown me

they are capable of great singing, and I am determined to hold them to it.