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MUED 376: Choral Music, Materials & Techniques  

​MIDTERM EXAM 
Suggested Due Date: November 1, 2019 - midnight 

NAME ​Sophia Anzalone DATE ​10-28-19

 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: help each other, share ideas, strategies 

and definitions! 
 
Part I: ​From O% to 100% in 10 Rehearsals of 15 
Minutes: 
One Suggested Sequence of Rehearsal Threads 

Directions:   
● Take the piece you are doing for VMRC and design a full 
lesson sequence as indicated below, based on a 
fifteen-minute rehearsal.  
● Modify each class as needed from this template. ​Add or 
delete activities and chunks as needed​. 
● Do not do a Direct Instruction Script for this 
assignment​, ​only outline the activities and chunking that 
will complete each rehearsal thread.  
● Be creative and include lots of kinesthetic and learning 
experiences.  
● Please spend no more than 60 minutes on this part of 
the exam 
● Please feel free to work with others on this exam! Share 
answers,  
 
Rehearsal 1 – “Hook” and introduction to the piece (rote 
introduction, and rote to note in the music.) 

Time: (2/0/15) Activity 1: Introduction and Rehearsal Threads

Chunk 1: Welcome: ​Good Morning VMRC! The piece we will be working on

​ o, How A Rose E’er Blooming​ My rehearsal threads today are:
today is: L
listening and harmony, as this piece is acapella.

Chunk 2: Talk about the history of the piece and its relation to Christmas
 
Transition statement: ​The piece is in F Major so let’s start by tonicizing that.

Time: (1/2/15) Activity 2: Tonicizing F Major

Chunk 1: Tonicize F Major (choir echos) 

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Transition statement: ​Great echoing, choir.

Time: (7/3/15) Activity 3: Learning A section by rote

Chunk 1: I sing Soprano part on solfege; whole choir sings it

Chunk 2: I sing Bass part on solfege; everyone sings it; basses and altos sing it
while sopranos and tenors sing other part (soprano)

Chunk 3: I sing alto part on solfege; everyone on their own part, except tenors
also sing alto

Chunk 4: I sing tenor part on solfege, everyone on their own part together
 
Transition statement: ​Nice job. Now, you may open your music to page 12. The
music should look familiar to you now.

Time: (3/10/15) Activity 4: Singing first verse together

Chunk 1: Holding first chord and instructing choir to listen to one another;
achieve nice harmony and blend

Chunk 2: Sing first verse in four-part harmony acapella on solfege

Chunk 3: Sing second verse; remind choir about harmony and blend
 
Transition statement: ​Beautiful, choir! I could tell you were really listening to
one another to achieve perfect harmony.

Time: (2/13/15) Activity X: Learning Summary

Chunk 1: Recap what we learned; tell them what we will learn next time

Chunk 2: Thank choir for a great rehearsal; goodbyes

Rehearsal 2 – Section A - mapping melody, harmony and text 

Time: (1/0/15) Activity 1: Introduction and Rehearsal Threads

Chunk 1: Welcome: ​Good Morning VMRC! Please turn to ​page 12​ in your
music folder. My rehearsal threads today are: blending and diction.

Chunk 2: Tell choir what the plan is for today’s rehearsal (working on A section
and text)
 
Transition statement: ​Let’s take a look at the text of both verses of the A section.
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Time: (5/1/15) Activity 2: Looking at the text of the A section

Chunk 1: Ask a volunteer to read both verses of the A section

Chunk 2: Ask choir to chant both texts in rhythm in a high voice and aim for the
best diction

Chunk 3: Fix any issues heard with diction; focus on taller vowels and crip
consonants  
 
Transition statement: ​Now that we are more familiar with the text, let’s see if we
can achieve a perfect blend across the choir

Time: (5/6/15) Activity 3: Balance and blend

Chunk 1: Ask choir which voice part they think is most important in the first
chord

Chunk 2: Hold first chord and instruct them to listen around; work on balance
(basses most important here); sing a tall “O” vowel

Chunk 3: Choir sings just the vowels of first and second verses
 
Transition statement: ​Great, now let’s sing the A section on text. Try to blend
and really emphasis the diction.

Time: (3/11/15) Activity 4: Run A section

Chunk 1: Run the A section; listen for diction and blend; stop and fix along the
way

Chunk 2: Fix any big, underlying issues at the end

Chunk 3: Discuss what the choir did well and what they need to work on
 
Transition statement: ​Thank you for working so hard!

Time: (1/14/15) Activity X: Learning Summary

Chunk 1: Review what was worked on during today’s rehearsal and what that
means for next time

Chunk 2: Thank the choir; goodbyes

 
 
Rehearsal 3 - B Sections - melody, harmony and text 
 
Time: (1/0/15) Activity 1: Introduction and Rehearsal Threads
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Chunk 1: Welcome: ​Good Morning VMRC! Please turn to ​page 12​ in your
music folder. My rehearsal threads today are: harmony and text.

Chunk 2: The goal for today is to learn the B section and finish the piece!
 
Transition statement: ​Please take a look at the pickup to measure 13 in your
music, the start of a mini B section. Look through here till the end, you should notice that your voice part’s
melodic line is similar to the A section.

Time: (5/1/15) Activity 2: Learning the B section/finishing piece

Chunk 1: Everyone be a soprano on solfege; just sopranos

Chunk 2: Everyone be a bass on solfege; just basses

Chunk 3: Everyone be an alto on solfege; just altos

Chunk 4: Everyone be a tenor on solfege; just tenors

 
Transition statement: ​Great, now let’s put it all together

Time: (4/6/15) Activity 3: Running B section on solfege

Chunk 1: Holding first chord and instructing choir to listen to one another;
achieve nice harmony and blend

Chunk 2: Sing first verse in four-part harmony acapella on solfege

Chunk 3: Sing second verse; remind choir about harmony and blend
 
Transition statement: ​Beautiful, choir! I could tell you were really listening to
one another to achieve perfect harmony.

Time: (4/10/15) Activity 4: Running B section on text

Chunk 1: Ask someone to read both texts of the B section

Chunk 2: Chant diction of B section in high voice in rhythm

Chunk 3: Instruct choir to listen to one another for tall vowels and crisp
consonants; run B section on text
 
Transition statement: ​Nice job, choir. Thank you for your hard work.

Time: (1/14/15) Activity X: Learning Summary

Chunk 1: Recap what was done today and what it means for next rehearsal
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Chunk 2: Thank the choir; goodbyes

 
 
Rehearsal 5 – Review B for corrections, link A and B Sections, 
singing long Chunks, review for meaning and expression 
 
Time: (1/0/15) Activity 1: Introduction and Rehearsal Threads

Chunk 1: Welcome: ​Good Morning VMRC! Please turn to ​page 12​ in your
music folder. My rehearsal threads today are: meaning and expression.

Chunk 2: Today we are going to review the B section, sing through the whole
piece, and dive deeper into the text.
 
Transition statement: ​Please, take a look at the B section we learned last
rehearsal.

Time: (4/1/15) Activity 2: Review of B section

Chunk 1: Singing through B section, listening for good diction and correct
pitches

Chunk 2: Fix anything, address questions/comments/concerns

 
Transition statement: ​Great, now let’s discuss some of the meaning before we
link the two sections together.

Time: (5/5/15) Activity 3: Meaning and expression

Chunk 1: Ask two volunteers to read the entire text (verses 1 and 2)

Chunk 2: Ask students what they think certain parts of text mean; share my
findings and ideas

Chunk 3: Talk about what words/phrases should be stressed

 
Transition statement: ​Keeping the meaning in mind, let’s run the piece

Time: (4/10/15) Activity 4: Running the piece

Chunk 1: Run the piece

Chunk 2: Talk about what went better/what didn’t

 
Transition statement: ​Lovely job, choir; I could tell you were really thinking
about the meaning of the piece.

Time: (1/14/15) Activity X: Learning Summary

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Chunk 1: Review what we did during this rehearsal and what it means for next

Chunk 2: Thank the choir; goodbyes

 
Rehearsal 6 - Buzz words/tone/run&fix  
 
Time: (1/0/15) Activity 1: Introduction and Rehearsal Threads

Chunk 1: Welcome: ​Good Morning VMRC! Please turn to ​page 12​ in your
music folder. My rehearsal threads today are: buzz words and tone.

Chunk 2: The goal for today is to perfect the song, as this is our last rehearsal
with it.
 
Transition statement: ​If you’ll recall from last rehearsal, we looked at the
meaning of the text. That being said, let’s write down some buzz words for the piece.

Time: (4/1/15) Activity 2: Buzz words

Chunk 1: Ask for volunteers to give buzz words; write list of them on board

Chunk 2: Ask students to pick 3 and write them down in different spots in the
music
 
Transition statement: ​Now, before we run the piece, let’s work on our tone
quality.

Time: (5/5/15) Activity 3: Tone

Chunk 1: Ask choir to sing their opening chord in different styles (pop, theater,
gospel, bel canto); ask which they liked best

Chunk 2: Tell them to sing the piece in a bel canto style, pretend there is a golf
ball in the back of their mouth to create space; sound older/more mature

Chunk 3: Sing first chord again with this style in mind; instruct them to listen
around them
 
Transition statement: ​Good, choir, we have improved our tone quality. Keep this
in mind when we run the piece.

Time: (4/10/15) Activity 4: Run & fix

Chunk 1: Tell choir to keep the buzz words in mind when we run the piece

Chunk 2: Run the piece, stop to fix things along the way such as poor diction or
tone quality
 
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Transition statement: ​Wow! We have come such a long way in these six
rehearsals; I’m so proud of each and every one of you.

Time: (1/14/15) Activity X: Learning Summary

Chunk 1: Reminders about upcoming concert

Chunk 2: Thank choir, goodbyes

 
 
Part II: ​PHILOSOPHY STATEMENTS LIST 
Directions: Pick 10 out of the 20 philosophy statements below and 
define them in 1-3 sentences. Please spend no longer than 20 
minutes on this portion of the exam. 
Philosophy Statement Definition
97% of what you teach is who you are.

Be the Music. It’s not just enough to perform music, you

have to fully engross yourself in it and all it
has to offer. It is a performers job to take
the notes and rhythms on a page and
transform them, adding their own artistry to
it.
Controlling the environment that in turn
controls us.
Creating the culture that in turn creates the
community.
Cultivate FLOW and the culture will GROW! If as an ensemble and teacher you strive to
have flow moments, and achieve them, it
will feed the overall choir culture and make
people want to continue pursuing
music/choir due to the unexplainable
feeling associated with flow.
Curricularize the social and deliver highly
effective music curricula.
Everything is related to everything. If you think something you are doing or
learning doesn’t have a meaning or
purpose, look harder; there is always a
purpose or relation to something else.
If it is meant to be, it is up to me. If you want something to happen, you must
take the necessary steps to achieve it; not
everything will happen by chance. You can
design your own future!
JAHEES?​ S​ HRED’M!

Learning occurs at the intersection of the In order for learning to be successful, there
academic and the social. must be a perfect blend of the academic
and social aspects in the classroom. This
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refers to effective academic learning

happening (students learning) and a
positive classroom environment in which
the students and teacher interact with one
another.
Meet your students where they ARE, not where Each student comes into the classroom
you think they should be. with different learning abilities and
knowledges. It is the responsibility of the
teacher to set individual goals for each
student and help them achieve those goals
based on where they are prior to.
Positives come and go, negatives accumulate. Humans often think more negative thoughts
about themselves than positive (in most
cases). This negative hate can accumulate
over time and deplete one’s self esteem,
sticking with them forever. Positive
thoughts, however, are far and few in
between.
The Concert is the Celebration of What Has The concert is a reflection and celebration
Already Happened. of the hard work an ensemble has already
put in during rehearsals. Since the majority
of the learning has already happened, the
concert should be a time for ensemble
members to showcase their hard work and
talent and enjoy performing.
What is your agenda?

When you know better, you do better. When you are more knowledgeable about
something and have more experience under
your belt, you make fewer mistakes and know
the best routes to take, so to speak. This is
especially relevant in teaching.
Wherever you go, there you are.

Who am I to judge?

Who claps for you? This essentially means to people in your life
that support you. Whenever you are feeling
down, you should think about those that
love you, support you, and want the best for
you.
Who do you want to be when you grow up?

You don’t know what you don’t know!