MUED 376: Choral Music, Materials & Techniques (M2 & T)

Developing Choral Excellence Through Teaching and Performance:

TASK ANALYSIS - musical
(Use the back to list/graph: What is involved (musical elements and
learning outcomes that we discussed in class) in what order, and what
degree of IMPORTANCE?)

NAME_Kelsey Wessels___________________________________
CHOIR: (REAL OR IMAGINARY)_Normandale Lutheran Church
Choir _____

Weighting Order Tasks

(Strong, med, weak)

________ 10 accuracy & confidence (artistic performance

by musically independent choir)

________ 9 expression and interpretation

________ 8 musical understanding and inclusive awareness

________ 7 solfege and note identification

________ 6 rhythm and counting

________ 5 vowel matching and diction

________ 4 harmonic function and tuning

________ 3 setting up the resonator and pitch matching/part
confidence

________ 2 breathing

________ 1 body deconstruction and realignment

Music is a large part of the Normandale community.

Through the power of music, we share of ourselves, our gifts,
and enhance our worship and the lives of others. The
Normandale Choir is a mixed voice ensemble for post-high
school singers. Choir members attend weekly rehearsals and
participate in worship on a regular basis. Major
choral/orchestral works are presented yearly. The ensemble is
comprised of 40-50 members ranging in ability. Some members
have finished collegiate studies in music, while others are
members simply for the love of music and desire to share their
gifts.
Due to the ensemble being a church group weekly
rehearsals are not mandatory but attendance at as many as
possible is strongly encouraged. With that said however, many
members of the ensemble are parents that have conflicts with
their childrens schedule which in turn affects their schedule.
Even so, there are normally a core group of singers that are
able to come every week helping to create a more consistent
sound. This variation in members present per week affects
how rehearsal time is used. Normally a 60 minute rehearsal will
consist of a warm-up and 3-4 15-20 minute sections to work on
3-4 different pieces (depending on what is coming up for the
ensemble).
 Because time is valuable, the early weeks back at
rehearsal (the last week in August and the first couple weeks
of September) are used to reconnect the ensemble sound and
to rebuild musicality that may have decayed in the summer
months and starting right away with the music. In terms of
task analysis, the ensemble will begin with working to
deconstruct poor posture habits and tension that may have
formed over during the time off and just from day to day
activities. This will allow them to be in proper alignment for
proper breathing and sound production. The ensemble will also
work on moving from unconscious breathing to a conscious
singers breath that can function more fully to suspend the
breath and support phrasing. This is imperative because
without proper alignment singers cannot take good breaths
and will be unable to have supported sound production,
detracting from the potential and skill of the ensemble.
The next level of musicianship the ensemble will work on
deals with vocalization and tuning. Here we begin with setting
up the resonator and working on pitch matching. Harmonic
function and vowel matching will contribute to tuning. This
step is important to get right as it will influence the rest of the
rehearsals and performances. If the time is not spent on tuning
and working on pitch independence, ensemble members will not
be able to move on to more complex pieces, nor will they be
able to move past this to the next level of musicality.
Following this the ensemble will begin to stress correct
rhythms, counting, and note identification. These are all vital
to musicality because they are the scaffolding for musical
expression. Ensembles that are able to accurately do rhythms
and are successful with note identification also have more
success with sight reading, meaning that less time will need to
be spend on learning music and more time can be spent on
meaning and expression.
Meaning and expression, along with inclusive awareness
are the icing on the cake. They transform pieces from being
notes on a page to being a story. This is where ensemble
members are able to give personality to a piece moving away
from the academic and into the social. The more expression in
a performance the more interaction there will be with the
director and the audience.
All in all, every level is significant for different reasons,
but without the basic building blocks being steady and firm,
the upper level thinking will not be able to occur. This
ensemble is capable of reaching the upper level of thinking
through fast learning from new members and the core of
returning members setting a clear example of the goal of the
ensemble.