Submitted by Linda Puccini, Union City, Indiana
Idea posted April 10, 2006
With a difficult group, I think that you need to pick your battles and get them singing.
Decide what you want to accomplish first. Chairs are definitely helpful in keeping some semblance of order. Stick to your seating chart, and watch for those who try to switch without your noticing.
When infractions occur, use humor whenever possible to move the situation along. For example, instead of sternly commanding a student to move to their assigned seat, you can act so very sympathetic about their apparent lost state, and you'll gladly help them find the right chair. If you can get them laughing with you and not butting heads, you'll accomplish so much more.
Have the choir begin with unison singing. Music K-8 selections are terrific, and most can be done in unison, even when there are other parts written. My HS choir has performed "American Tears", "Shenandoah", "We Might Heal" from Music K-8, Vol. 10, No. 4, "Share Your Goodwill", "The Tree Toad" (great for exaggerated style changes) from Music K-8, Vol. 14, No. 5, "Music Alone Shall Live" from Music K-8, Vol. 7, No. 1, and others. Go ahead and try some two-part singing once you assign some of your stronger singers to each part.
A lot of the goofing off may be insecurity. Give them a leader and some encouragement. Let them know you're not looking for perfection at this point, just improvement. Even if all your strong singers are sopranos, it won't hurt them to sing part two for a while. It will even make them better musicians.
It helps if the choir knows the reason for warm-ups. Then they understand that they're doing it because it will help with resonance, breathing, range, etc., and not just because you told them to. Make warm-ups interesting, and don't be afraid to have them echo some of your vocalizations. You may feel a little silly at first, but sirens, falling leaves, and nice high ascending "whoop-whoops" all help with getting the feeling of head voice and chest voice.
Praise, praise, praise, praise, praise. Find something that someone is doing right. Tell them about it, even if it's just that they stood or sat straighter than the day before. Ringleaders can sometimes be swayed. Take them aside and tell them that you've noticed the other students follow their lead. Let them know that you could really use their help by cooperating and that you value their input. Sometimes music is the only class where they feel like they count.
You may choose to ignore small infractions, but please don't back down from those who back talk or refuse to participate. Handling it calmly but still enforcing the rules is highly effective. Whatever you do, don't raise your voice. For many of them, that's all they hear at home, and it instantly shuts down their capacity to take in what you're saying.
Bribery also works well. My kids will do anything for chocolate. On certain days, I'll pull a number out of hat (corresponding to the numbers next to their names in the attendance book). I won't tell them which number I pulled. Then at the end of class, I reveal the number (and which student is that number in the book) and give them the prize (usually a fun-size candy bar or dum-dums). Hey, it works.