ChorTeach Vol. 5, No.

4 Summer 2013
Practical Teaching Ideas for Today’s Music Educator
Dr. Terry Barham, editor
barhamte@gmail.com

Welcome to ACDA’s online magazine for choral director/music educators. The articles below have been gleaned from
state and division online and paper ACDA newsletters around the United States and from submissions by seasoned choral
directors with topics germane to the profession.

ChorTeach, our name, is derived from the German word for chorus, chor. It is pronounced, as most of you know, like the
word, core. I hope ChorTeach’s articles will be a breath of fresh air for you, provide you with a few ideas or techniques that
give you a lift and help your singers reach the goals you and they have set. ChorTeach is designed for those of you who
work with amateur singers at all levels.

If you have written an article and believe it would be of interest to ChorTeach readers, send it to me in Word.doc format. I
will get back to you after reading it. Have you read an article from an ACDA newsletter you think would be beneficial to
ChorTeach readers? Send me the details and I’ll check it out.

Contents of this issue?

• Role Playing and Teamwork in the Male Choir by Andrew Crow

• IPA—It's Not Just for Voice Studios Anymore by Colin Brown

• Quotes and Sayings for Teaching Lessons About Music and Life by Terry J. Barham

• Challenge Your Singers and They Challenge Each Other by Travis Rogers

• Literacy Achievement and the Impact of Choral Music Participation by Keith Hernsberger

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 Role Playing and Teamwork in the Male Choir
by Andrew Crow
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

(Used with permission of ICDA Notations, Volume 34, Number 2 Winter 2012-13)

Building any musical ensemble requires teamwork. Of
course, an effective team functions well when the roles of con-
tributing members are well defined. Picture the youth soccer
team with a crowd of jerseys, in a cloud of dust, following the
ball en masse wherever it travels across the field, and you will
recognize the chaos of ill-defined roles. Each player wants to
score and to win, but such an action hampers the team effort
by individuals doing too much and ignoring the other members’
prescribed role.
Likewise, young singers in a male choir may have little
idea what role they ought to play. Guys simply report dutifully
to their assigned seats, assuming their placement is the result
of factors they don’t control, e.g., how much their voice has
changed, how tall they are, or whichever section needed sing-
ers when they joined.
Since young men often relate well to sports analogies and
guys can be motivated to make a role-driven contribution, I
offer a model that may help direct young men’s efforts in re-
hearsal toward a specific role. In my experience, singers respond
with pride and good attitudes when given individual roles within
a group setting. Since I live in Indiana, using basketball analogies
makes good sense!
Bass, the Point Guard
On the court, the point guard manages the pace of the
action and the spacing of the team members on the floor. Lots
of contact with the ball means frequent evaluation of the other
team members – sharing leadership and opportunity accord-
ing to skill and finding the hot-handed shooter. In the male
choir—or any choir, basses are well positioned to determine
issues of tempo, intonation, balance, and color.
Assigning young basses such a role may seem counter-
intuitive to them. Doing so pre-empts the typical bass attitude
of “background” singing since they seldom have the melody.
Make basses aware of their importance; ask them to find and
support the melody from among other voice parts; identify
their crucial role in good intonation.
As a young bass many years ago, I grew tired of conduc-
tors telling our bass section that we were consistently late. As
a young conductor, I found out these teachers were right! Due
to the low frequency of bass pitches and the typically larger size
of the bass vocal mechanism, these voices “speak” more slowly
than other voice parts.
The problem is exacerbated in just-changed voices since
the musculature has not developed enough for voices to be
agile in the lower register; however, harping at singers in one
section for the same problem only demoralizes that section and
doesn’t help the ensemble as a whole. Instead,“cover” for these
singers by telling them—and the rest of the ensemble—that
there’s a valid reason for the lateness of their sound. Explain
from an acoustical and physiological point of view.
The conductor can then give the basses a unique assign-
ment, invigorating their efforts and improving the situation by
asking them to think proactively and make their sound earlier
than the rest of the ensemble.They will take pride in this action,
I believe, while they “pave the way” as the advance guard for
their brothers in the ensemble.
Tenor I, the Shooting Guard
The shooting guard must have the ability to get open
plus display the steely nerves necessary to knock down a dif-
ficult three-point shot as time expires. Shooting guards must

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 CHOR EACH
want the ball when the game is on the line, and they should
be almost flawless at the free throw line. As partners in the
backcourt, they have a strong and attentive relationship with
the point guard.
In the choral realm, singers in the first tenor section must
likewise check in frequently with the basses, the point guards in
the analogy. First tenors are generally in the weakest position
to affect the pitch of the ensemble, but they certainly can make
any chord ring with a focus on proportional balance, vowels,
and tuning within the ensemble if they are attentive to their
back court partners in the bass section.
As for maintaining a cool hand with the game on the line,
the first tenors should, for example, tune the third at the top
of their range for the final chord and balance it so the whole
room rings with the team sound! Describing such a challenge
to students gives the section a sense of purpose and a dash of
healthy competition.
Tenor II, the Forward
On the basketball court, forwards must have swagger! They
must be able to drive the lane or pull up for a jump shot. Good
forwards don’t call attention to themselves; they just quietly
score lots of points, actively rebound, pass, and play good de-
fense. They can move effectively without the ball—the melody
in my analogy—but they must also be masterful ball handlers,
making quick decisions about whether to shoot or pass.
A basketball coach asks that his or her players focus on
foot position. A choral director should help young male sing-
ers navigate the “break” between chest and head voice by
frequently thinking about vocal “position” in the musical line.
Foot position helps an athlete give attention and flexibility to
the next step, rather than simply anchoring the body where a
guy currently stands.
Vocal position, likewise, does not rely solely on the note
being sung but teaches singers to look ahead at upcoming notes
so that they can adjust their thinking about vocal weight to make
a quick change of direction. A phrase that begins in a low or
comfortable chest voice may quickly ascend, thus requiring a
lighter weight while maintaining sufficient breath energy.
Because the second tenor part often encompasses a wide
range and treacherous register shifts, singers in this section
need tools (understanding how the voice works and how to
navigate between registers) and positive reinforcement to play
a good high/low game.
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
Baritone, the Center
Even if contact with the ball is limited, centers have a pro-
found effect on every play. Unlike the basketball analogy where
true centers are rare, baritones in male choirs are often the
most common voice assignment for guys. Although baritones
seldom carry the melody, they frequently provide a pivot for
shifting harmonies in male choir repertoire.
You may have heard the baritone part referred to as
the junk part, a term that is bantered about in barbershop
circles. That designation is humorous and harmless in mature
ensembles, but no beginning singer in any choir wants to be
designated as junk. Describing the baritone role as the center
for the ensemble, the team, is accurate and much more inspiring.
Baritones are the glue holding the other parts together.
Consider creating an analogy in which offensive rebounds
are opportunities for the baritone section to salvage the intona-
tion of the ensemble from inside. In basketball, it is imperative
that the center be aware of the location of everyone else on the
court. He can then set up his teammates with expert passing
and also yield if anyone drives to the paint for a shot.
For each voice part, you, the teacher, can easily create an
analogy to serve specific needs within the repertoire for your
male singers. For example, ask guys to “dunk” when a show
of vocal force is needed. Talk about a bounce pass when the
melody shifts between two voice parts.
Incorporate appropriate basketball gestures into the warm-
ups so your guys engage physically and naturally with their
vocal mechanism. As sports seasons change, find activities that
connect musical elements to other sports and other facets of
the daily lives of young men in your male ensemble. You are
giving them creative avenues in which they will have a positive
role to play. Your male choir will grow in more ways than you
can ever imagine!
A little spark kindles a great fire.
—Spanish proverb
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 CHOR EACH
IPA – It’s Not Just for Voice Studios Anymore
Colin Brown
Omaha Bryan High School
Omaha, Nebraska
(Used with permission of Nebraska’s Short Notes, Spring 2013)
I believe language and dialect are at the center of group or
cultural identity and pride in any society. We choral directors
strive to bring that language and cultural identity to life in as
authentic a way as possible for every work our choirs sing. I
advocate the study of, teaching with, and use of the International
Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) during the preparation phase of the
choral music rehearsed and performed with our choirs.
IPA is a scientifically-based alphabet that represents lan-
guage sounds with symbols which tell us how each sound is
formed in the mouth and by the tongue, with or without the
voice. IPA is precise, and when followed according to the rules
of the selected language and regional dialects, singers can sound
like native singers.
IPA is also a tool for helping singers agree on the target
vowel in each word. I teach the IPA symbols for what I call the
basic vowels, the five cardinal Latin vowels, at the beginning of
the school year. We then apply these symbols and sounds to
all of our music throughout the remainder of the year. This ap-
proach gives singers a sense that all languages are approachable.
It also puts foreign languages on a par with English.
Choral teachers know that in some choral situations, it is
necessary to motivate the singers to work on songs in foreign
languages. In the process, students begin to appreciate the
sounds of languages in general and attune their hearing to
subtleties and differences.
I teach IPA even when singing in English because singers
in our choirs come to the English language from diverse back-
grounds and various dialects in other languages, e.g., Spanish. By
studying IPA symbols for Standard Singing English, singers are
more willing and able to sing with unified vowel shapes, proper
placement and consistently idiomatic consonants.
Several excellent websites are listed below. Your taking
advantage of their content will develop and expand your knowl-
edge of the IPA. Charts on many of these sites tell you how
to form vowels and consonants and where they are formed
in the mouth.
By using a uniform, international system, singers develop an
intimate knowledge of diction rules and practices which they
will carry with them to other choral experiences. Students
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
also learn appropriate foreign-language nuances (glides, closed
[e], open [e], double consonants, rolled or flipped r’s, dental or
aspirate t’s, for example) that will apply over a lifetime of singing,
both as soloists and as members of choirs.
When singers study music in languages that sound different
from their native tongue, IPA symbols help them learn the feel
of different and sometimes unique sounds. The more subtle
details of IPA and its use and application are the subject of a
number of doctoral dissertations, so they will not be explored
here.
For a brief example of how IPA charts work, please see the
Wikipedia IPA consonant and vowel charts with audio links at
the following websites:
(a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_
Alphabet#Pulmonic_consonants
(b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Audio_samples
Many choral music publishers now include various lan-
guage guides to help singers and conductors perform their
music more authentically; however, there are problems with
English-oriented phonetic spellings used instead of IPA. Here
are just a few:
• Inconsistent letters used for sounds. This differs from
publisher to publisher. For example, is “j” pronounced “jay” or
“yay?”
• The American accent in a foreign language—the French
repetez being transliterated as “ray-pay-tay.” The closed
[e] in French is quite different from the English diph-
thong [e:i].
• Lost educational opportunity for singers to learn the high
standards expected and maintained in the professional
voice world.
• The numerous dialects and nuances in the English (British)
and American English languages make unity of vowels
and consonants a major challenge. Why do publish-
ers base their phonetic spellings on a language of such
complexity and subtle variation?
We choral directors should, as a major block of consumers,
communicate with publishers and let them know that we prefer
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 CHOR EACH
IPA symbols be used for pronunciation. Tell these companies
we need songs transliterated using IPA not phonetic spelling.
For our recent summer conference reading session, I chose
four works:
• Elementary level: Arlequuin Dans Sa Boutique, a French folk
song arranged by Earlene Rentz and Suzanne Rita By-
rnes for two-part treble voices, keyboard and optional
percussion.This octavo uses the English phonetic spelling
for French. I recommend that you listen to the recorded
example for the best guidance.
• Middle level: Korobushka (The Peddler - a Russian folk song)
arranged by Emily Crocker for three-part mixed voices,
Hal Leonard. English phonetic spelling is also employed.
The title, Korobushka, is transliterated as “kah-roh-bush-
ka.” Is the vowel in “bush” supposed to be an [u] as in
hoot or [U] as in foot? A Russian speaker in your audi-
ence would certainly know the difference!
• Small high school: Papa Loko, a Haitian song by Sten Kall-
man, arranged for SATB and percussion by Sperry and
published by Earthsongs. My hope is that Earthsongs
utilizes IPA because Haitian is similar to French but dif-
ferent enough to make it a treacherous language journey
without proper guidance.
• Large high school/community chorus/collegiate choir: Ba-
bethandaza, a South African folk song for SATB divisi and
percussion arranged by Daniel Hughes, Santa Barbara
Music. Minimal errors in pronunciation are possible be-
cause the five vowel sounds are similar to what is utilized
in Italian, and the consonants are similar to what you find
in English with three exceptions, all of which are clearly
listed with examples of each.
I encourage you to begin this rewarding journey by teach-
ing your singers a few IPA symbols. Start with the basic vowels
then add a few of the special consonants if needed. Prepare
yourself through practice alone or seek help from a colleague.
In my way of thinking, being precise with texts and the
language of a choral work is a sign of respect for a culture, the
composer/arranger, and the choral work. Such an approach us-
ing IPA shows the due diligence and meticulous work necessary
in our quest for excellence and authenticity in performances by
our choral ensembles.
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
Recommended IPA websites
• www.ipasource.com - thousands of art songs and choral
works are transliterated using IPA
• www.ipa.group.shef.ac.uk/ - IPA charts and related information
• french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-ipa.htm - French
language IPA
• http://ipap.calpoly.edu/ipa/ipap.html - English, French, German,
and Spanish IPA and related tools
• www.ipanow.com - type in a text in a foreign language and
the “tool” will transliterate into IPA
• www.langsci.uci.ac.uk/ipa/ - official site for the International
Phonetic Alphabet
Quotes and Sayings for
Teaching Lessons about Music and Life
Terry J. Barham
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
(Used with permission of the author)
For eight summers in the 1990s, I was privileged to be a
part of the teaching staff at a one-week summer music camp
for young, developing singers founded and managed by Leonard
Van Camp and sponsored by Southern Illinois University—Ed-
wardsville. During the day, students, ranging in age from about
ten to eighteen, learned about the fundamentals of music,
including music literacy, and how to sing in a healthy manner.
Students sang in choirs and had great fun meeting new friends
in a supportive, positive atmosphere.
In the evenings, music teachers from the area had op-
portunities to examine and reflect on their teaching, learn and
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 CHOR EACH

explore new choral music and styles, write arrangements of • Expectations determine where we will arrive.
music for their ensembles, etc. At the end of the week, students
—Sally Hermann
and teachers offered a short program for family and friends.
I’ll never forget walking for the first time into Dr.Van Camp’s
rehearsal space at SIU-E where all teaching and rehearsals took
• We can do more and learn more when we are willing to
place. On the walls were small banners with eye-catching say-
take risks.
ings about music, life, goal setting, getting along with others, etc.
I collected several of them, took them back to Kansas, —Leonard Van Camp
searched for and found other meaningful quotes, and began to
use them in my rehearsals with the university choir.The sayings
traveled with me every time I was invited to conduct a festival • Perhaps it is music that will save the world.
or honor choir anywhere in the country. At first, the sayings —Pablo Casals
were on overheads, and I used an overhead projector—ancient
technology—wherever I worked.Those projectors disappeared,
of course, so I put the sayings on my laptop and, with power • It is music’s lofty mission to shed light on the depths of the
point, continued to use them with singers of all ages. human heart.
Students were intrigued and sometimes puzzled by what
—Robert Schumann
they read on a screen. I asked various questions while an en-
semble looked at a quote, e.g., “How would you reword the
statement you see in today’s language?” Invariably, a few students
• They may forget what you said, but they will never forget
would offer superb, even insightful, translations in the language
how you made them feel.
of today. Sometimes I would stop a rehearsal and have an entire
ensemble read aloud a saying because it was germane to what —Carl W. Buechner
was happening in the text and/or music.
Leonard Van Camp, a master teacher who passed on a
number of years ago, is the author of several of the sayings. • That’s the thing about music. . . They can’t take it away from
Others are quotes from literature, philosophy, writings by you.
composers, authors, etc. Feel free to use any of the sayings
— Shawshank Redemption
to inspire or energize your singers or to make an important
point that will lift the thought of your choir to a new level of
understanding and artistry.
• The biggest opponent of success is not failure. It is
These sayings are listed in no particular order. Transfer
mediocrity.
these jewels, some of which are profound, to your computer.
Show, share, and discuss them with your ensembles whenever —Wallace Long, Jr.
you are moved to do so.
• We each learn in our own way, at our own pace. Each of
• You cannot discover new oceans unless you lose sight of us is an individual.
the shore.
—Anonymous —Leonard Van Camp

• We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an • Only speak when your words are better than your silence.
act, but a habit.
—Arabic proverb
—Aristotle

• T - E - A - M Together, Everyone Achieves More. • Joy is not in things. It is in us.

—Ron Jones —Richard Wagner

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 CHOR EACH
• I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
—Arthur Rubinstein
• It’s intelligent to ask for help. No one need do it all alone.
—Leonard Van Camp
• Vocal music is an attempt to take the whole human being
and project it into space. It is the ultimate gesture of
getting out of yourself. You take a part of you that is
most private, most personal, most inward, and you
hurl it into space. The gesture of opening this whole
region of the body results in an enormous spiritual
release which is felt by other people with tremendous
impact.
—Peter Sellars
• Any great performance or work of art is great because it
creates a special world of its own. It revives and re-
adapts time and space, and the measure of its success
is the extent to which it invites you in and lets you
breathe its strange, special air.
—Leonard Bernstein
• Perhaps this is why music is in people –so they are not
afraid. –so they can be closer to one another. –so
they can find themselves in each other. Music is not
only a gift but also a service; not only a work but also
a struggle; not only a mission, but also a message.
—Zdenek Lukas from The Message of Music
• A Safe Place to Sing: In a safe place, people are kind.
Fighting, sarcasm, backbiting and name-calling are ex-
ceptions. ºKindness, consideration, and forgiveness are
the usual way of life. In a safe place, there is laughter,
not just canned laughter like television, but real laugh-
ter that comes from sharing meaningful work and play.
People can laugh at themselves. In a safe place, there
are rules. The rules are few and fair and are made by
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
the people who live and work there, including the
students. In a safe place, people listen to one another.
They care about one another and show that they do.
This is a safe place to sing.
—Rich Nace
• Ten Vocal Commandments—A Judge’s Perspective:
(1) Open your mouth. (2) Stand tall. (3) Breathe low.
(4) Move the air. (5) Increase throat space. (6) Pay
attention to diction. (7) Sing phrases not sounds.
(8) Balance vocal registers. (9) Communicate with
eyes and face. (10) Be confident.
—Pamela Wurgler Choral Journal, 1994
• Basic Workings of the Voice for Beginners: a. Starter (brain
impulse) b. Actuator (breath stream) c. Vibrator
(vibrating vocal folds) d. Resonator (throat, mouth,
sinuses)
—Terry J. Barham
• Seven C’s for Success: (1) Clear conception of what you
want (2) Unwavering confidence with competence
(3) Focused concentration (4) Stubborn consistency
when times are rough (5) Emotional commitment
(6) Good character to stay ethically on course
(7) Capacity to enjoy the process along the way
—Tom Morris from True Success
• Three Essential Ingredients for Singing: E - S - C
E (Energy—posture, breath, balance); S (Space—in-
terior lift, vowels, resonance, color); C (Communica-
tion—mental focus, face, body, shared interpretation)
—Terry J. Barham (borrowed and modified from
Don Hoiness)
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 CHOR EACH
How many times have you noticed that it’s the
little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem
to give the rest extra-special meaning?
—Fred Rogers
Challenge Your Singers
and They Challenge Each Other
Travis Rogers
Napa High School, Napa, California
(Used with permission of
California’s Cantate Vol. 24, No. 3 Spring 2012)
Veteran choir teachers can relate to the fact that only a
few times in a career does one get a special group of singers
who inspires, motivates, and challenges one to find music and
methods that will dramatically enhance the ensemble’s potential
for success.
That happened to me at Napa High School in1992– 93
with a beginning men’s choir. I’ve never before or since worked
with a beginning men’s choir so eager to learn, so quick at figur-
ing out any challenge, so intelligent, and so much fun to be with.
Those guys were the beginning of a tradition and pedagogical
method I use to this day, an approach that has motivated and
challenged nearly all of our choirs to sing at the highest possible
level for high school students. Here’s how it evolved.
In less than a month, the 1992– 93 beginning men’s choir
had learned and memorized the music for the November fall
concert. No problem, I thought.We would start the December
concert music early and be that much better prepared. Well,
the December concert music was learned and memorized
about a week after the fall concert. There was still a month to
go! What should I do?
The group wasn’t perfect, of course, but these guys were
the best beginning men’s choir I had had up to that time. I re-
membered that while I was in college, Weston Noble came as
a guest clinician one weekend and demonstrated his amazing
voice timbre matching technique which he used with the Luther
College Choir. I had also read that singers perform better when
a strong, confident singer stands behind them.
I knew that every Friday, our Napa High band director al-
lowed his instrumentalists to challenge for chairs. For example,
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
if the second-chair clarinet decided that she could play a part
more accurately than the first chair clarinet, she could challenge
for the higher chair.
The band director chose a section of a work being re-
hearsed. The two players would find a practice room and
record the designated portion.The director would listen to the
two recordings and choose the better rendition, not knowing
who played it. The second-chair clarinetist became first-chair if
she played it better.
A great idea, I thought. Immediately, I took the time to
place each guy who would sing a pre-selected portion of a
song I chose. Strong, confident, in-tune singers were placed on
the top row. The other fellows filled the rows below accord-
ing to demonstrated singing ability. The improvement in sound
was immediate and dramatic. Singer-leaders were free to lead.
Singer-followers had more confidence because of strong voices
behind them.
Early on, challenges occurred frequently so a few rules were
put into place. No person could be challenged more than three
times in one day. If you were “knocked down” from an upper
row on the risers (lost a challenge), you could challenge any
spot above you, but you could challenge only three times in a
day. Some days we only allowed one or two specific sections
to challenge.
As this new process continued, I found I could choose a dif-
ficult section of a song, one which not all singers were mastering,
and use it as the challenge for the day. Of course that portion
of the musical work would get the extra practice needed. In
addition, the singers would listen with great interest to the
specific suggestions I offered for performing difficult passages.
Especially with high school boys, whom I have found are,
almost without exception, more competitive in this type of
situation than high school girls, and especially with beginning
ensembles, the challenge process has been a strong motivating
tool for focusing the efforts of our ensembles and for celebrat-
ing individuals’ success as they move up the rows towards the
back.
There has been no greater spontaneous applause in our
choir classes than when a singer moves up from a lower row.
Over time, this type of affirmation has turned on more kids to
singing than I can count!
You might ask what happens when everybody makes the
top row. We equalize the rows, place an equal number of sing-
ers on each row. In a large placement round of singing, even
the smallest mistake is counted against a singer towards a point
total that determines a student’s final standing position on the
risers. These rather large “sing-offs” have an intensity, focus and
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 CHOR EACH
student buy-in that is incredible.
Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind.
• This system works best in beginning classes which tend to
include a wide range of talent and ability. Challenges
do help move less talented and/or reluctant singers to
a higher level. In advanced classes, challenges and the
resultant placements are not employed nearly as often
because the ability of these more advanced singers is
typically narrower from best to not-as-good. Also, more
experienced singers function at a higher level and have
more developed talent than beginning classes
• Singing by himself or herself before peers is the most stressful
thing a guy or girl can do in a choir class. Once singers
have been through this process, confidence levels rise
immeasurably. I’ve found that almost no singer is truly
nervous prior to concerts or competitions. Why? Every
singer has already been through the toughest test imag-
inable—singing in front of peers and surviving!
• Keep track of student row positions. When the time comes
to audition students for next year’s advanced choirs, data
on row placement and highest row achieved is available
and used to place students in the next choir class.
• “Moving up” is an incredible high for most of the singers. It
builds a confidence that usually withstands losing a later
challenge.
This system or method is not perfect. On some occasions,
a student who has challenged several times without success can
get discouraged or turned off about singing.
Important: Make it a point to offer at least one positive
comment about each singer who is challenging for a new spot.
Give immediate feedback. This helps lessen discouragement.
Through the years, the benefits of this practice have far out-
weighed any negatives.
Little did I realize twenty years ago that this challenge sys-
tem would become such a large part of the choir experience
at our school. Seeing singers, with little or no previous choir
experience, discover their voices and find their niche in a choir
has been deeply rewarding.
During my tenure at Napa High School, challenges and
resultant row placement have been an integral part of bring-
ing hundreds of singers to a high level of excellence in their
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
choral experience. The process literally gives young people a
place on the risers that is theirs. They can offer help or receive
encouragement. They share the lasting joy of singing choral
music with friends and peers, an experience they won’t forget.
Music gives soul to the Universe.
—Plato
Literacy Achievement and the
Impact of Choral Music Participation
Keith Hearnsberger
Arkansas Northeastern College
Burdette, Arkansas
(Used with permission of Arkansas’ Accent, October 2012)
During my years as a middle and high school choral director,
I realized that American education was going through dramatic
changes in the beginning of the 21st century. The way children
were educated was constantly evolving. Public, private, parochial,
charter schools and post-secondary educational institutions
were and still are being affected by various federal and state
regulations.
Students, teachers, and educational leaders in these institu-
tions are directly affected by regulations, increased academic
demands, and an ever-changing educational landscape. Admin-
istrators and choral directors at every level should, in my view,
examine reasons and the rationale for success in our institu-
tions of learning while maintaining a commitment to musical
excellence.
The concept of a connection between music and literacy
goes back to the time of Plato. Learning and retaining literacy
skills and the transfer of musical knowledge share a common
heritage.
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 CHOR EACH
Researchers Michael Mark and Charles Gary [A History of
American Music Education, 2007] have drawn a clear picture of
the evolutionary path traversed by American music education.
The results of their research should be studied and reviewed by
all choral directors because we can then get a clearer picture
of where we are and we should be moving as a profession.
Mark and Gary offer insights which are invaluable. For
example, they show that we music educators are training
amateur musicians, not professional musicians in-the-making.
The term, amateur musicians, must be understood in order
for us to help equip our students with the skills necessary for
developing musical excellence. As we teach these skills to our
students, have we wondered how these same skills could be
used in other areas of academia?
When I was teaching in a high school in its seventh year
of the Arkansas Department of Education’s literacy improve-
ment plan, I was intrigued by the possibility of helping shape
my choral students’ academic achievement, especially in literacy.
Our school’s choral program was experiencing great growth
and truly was a beacon of light for higher levels of achievement
in other academic areas in our school.
The 2009–10 school year was tension-filled because of
the demands for achieving higher literacy goals within the
school learning community. During our beginning-of-the-year
professional development day, a literacy coach presented the
end-of-course (EOC) format for our school’s eleventh-grade
literacy exam. I was fascinated and decided to explore a number
of suggested instructional strategies and then implement them
in my choral rehearsals.
EOC (end of course) testing occurred at the end of that
year, and when the results came back, not only did eleventh-
grade choir students do well, 98% of them scored at the
proficient or advanced levels. I was amazed! The connection
between choral music and literacy achievement was undeniable.
I decided to write my doctoral dissertation on this correlation
which I had observed first hand.
In this short article, I will talk about the relationship be-
tween participation in choral music and academic achievement,
especially literacy, in five different high schools.The results of my
research show that students with a prolonged involvement in
choral music, grades 8–11, have a statistical advantage in literacy
achievement when compared with those students who do not
participate in choral music.
The methodology behind my study included an ANCOVA,
a statistical term that entails comparing two groups while exam-
ChorTeach Volume 5 • Issue 4
ining an outside constant. The eighth-grade benchmark exam
scores and the 11th grade EOC literacy scores were used as
the variable.
Factors considered included socio-economic status, race,
and gender. All student participants had to be enrolled in a
minimum of two consecutive semesters of choral music in
grades 8 through 11.
I undertook a review of how choral conductors and music
educators could affect academic achievement, particularly in
literacy, in a way that would be quantitative and helpful for ad-
ministrators. Without sounding too prideful, I hoped to impact
literacy achievement at my school in a way that would allow me
to remain fully committed to this wonderful art, choral music. I
believe administrators and choral directors at every level should
examine the reasons for success in institutions of learning while
maintaining a commitment to musical excellence.
The purpose of the study was to compare eighth- and
eleventh-grade literacy benchmark scores and eleventh-grade
literacy end-of-course (EOC) literacy scores of those who
participated in choral ensembles with students who did not
participate in choral music.
The goal was to determine if there was a statistically sig-
nificant difference in the scores. Research suggested a positive
correlation did exist between participation in music programs
in the secondary educational experience and cognitive abilities
(spatial, temporal, language abilities), but it had not yet been
determined if participation in a choral music program had any
relevance to literacy achievement.
Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed in order
to address the question which compared the literacy end-of-
course (EOC) exam scores of 110 eleventh graders who did
and 108 eleventh graders who did not participate in an aca-
demic year of choral music.
The independent variable was the student’s participation
or non-participation in choral music. The dependent variable
was the eleventh-grade literacy end-of-course exam scores of
both groups. The eighth-grade literacy benchmark scores were
the covariate.
Linear trend lines for the two groups (see Table 1), those
who enrolled in choir and those who did not, were examined.
Students who were enrolled in choir for one consecutive
academic year scored higher than those not involved in choral
music.
The scores increased in both groups.These findings indicate
that there is a positive relationship between prolonged choral
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 CHOR EACH

My high school and community college singers read the texts of

0.5 octavos and examine them for meaning as well as utilize them
0.4 in a conversation with each other at certain points during our
0.3 warm-ups.
0.2
I also ask students to help design rehearsals that bring out/
Z-Scores

0.1
0 explain text meaning, both historically and culturally. Rehearsal
- 0.1 practices which include textual understanding and elaboration
- 0.2 underpin our mission to achieve greater choral artistry while
- 0.3
- 0.4 facilitating a well-rounded education for students and learners
2008 2011 at all levels.
Year
No Choir Choir

Table 1
Plot of 2008 and 2011 Literacy Scores by Choir Participation.

music involvement and literacy achievement.

I presented my study at the Mid-South Research Sympo-
sium on the campus of the University of Mississippi a few years
ago to a wide variety of music educators, all of whom were
either retired, actively teaching, or aspiring to teach at various
levels in music. At the end of the presentation, I was asked
how these findings were relevant to my teaching and how the
98% proficient/advanced results among my choir students had
been accomplished. What follows is a brief overview of the
process at our school.
Each day, choir students completed a “four-square” sheet
relating to literacy (reading) comprehension on either a com-
poser or a text from the music we were rehearsing and pre-
paring for concerts. Students would draw a box and divide it
into four equal blocks. Each student was required to place the
main concept of the text in block one (upper left portion of the
square) and then list supporting ideas in blocks two and three.
Lastly, the singers summarized the meaning of the text in
the fourth box (bottom right). This exercise was preparation
for a more open response as well as for addressing text mean-
ing. Students would then focus on the musical dimensions of
the works through count singing, understanding the underlying
pulse and its relationship to the music, tone quality, diction, etc.
Utilizing this approach every day kept literacy as a focal
point for rehearsals; however, musical goals were never lost
sight of.
This approach, now buttressed by the quantitative study
(my dissertation), has inspired me. I now analyze every piece of
music my students rehearse using the “four-square” technique.

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