1. Prelude to the
2017 FMEA
Professional
Development
Conference
Teaching
Through
Technology
A Recording Project for the
Student Trumpeter
Sing for Success
Choral Rehearsal Strategies for a
Rewarding First Reading

2. F
SING for
SUCCESSChoral Rehearsal Strategies for a
Rewarding First Reading
by Matthew Bumbach
First impressions are powerful and long
lasting. We have likely met a person
with whom we connected instantly or,
perhaps, someone who rubbed us the
wrong way. How often have singers
instantly fallen in love with a new piece
or, far too often, dismissed a beautiful
piece of music because the first reading
left them feeling defeated? First read-
ings are among the most difficult tasks
that choral conductors must perform, yet
they are among the most important.
There are a number of approaches to
first readings, and they are informed
by various philosophies of music educa-
tion. Some conductors choose to dive in
immediately, putting the incumbency on
the choir. This can work well for highly
advanced choirs with exceptional sight-
reading skills and years of experience.
Other conductors avoid the first reading
unconditionally, choosing to walk the
choir through the piece little by little.
Again, this is an excellent method for
some choirs or for some pieces of music.
Still, some readings go like this: The
conductor hands out a new piece. He or
she gives the first pitches, probably from
the piano. The choir stumbles through
the first section, often doing fairly well,
until something new comes along. A
massive train wreck occurs, and all but
the diehard sight readers stop singing.
The conductor tries to muscle the choir
through, but eventually there are no
singers left and everybody gives up.
This may not seem like such a big
deal. The singers walk away with a
general idea of how the piece begins
and are aware of the sections that will
need serious work. In those few minutes,
however, the singers have developed
significant bad habits that will require
time-consuming correction. Poor tone
has been rehearsed, wrong notes and
rhythms ingrained and negative opin-
ions formed. Imagine, instead, a first
reading that leaves the choir feeling suc-
cessful and inspired.
Before the Rehearsal
Significant conductor preparation should
precede any first reading. A number
of methods for score study exists. This
author favors the use of structural charts
and strategic score marking. Each con-
ductor should choose a method that she
or he finds practical and useful. Normal
practices for preparation should include
playing or singing through the piece
to familiarize oneself with the melod-
ic and harmonic content, investigating
the structure of the piece to identify
moments of importance or significant
change, anticipating difficult elements
within the work that may mislead the
ensemble and making broad musical
decisions. Additionally, the conductor
12 F l o r i d a M u s i c D i r e c t o r

3. may explore the history and background
of the work and the composer, and the
historical period from which they came.
These discoveries will inform and expo-
nentially improve the first reading of a
piece.
Method for First Reading
Use the warm-up time
Choose carefully
Rehearse first
“Peel away the layers of the onion”
Send them off singing
Use the Warm-Up Time
The warm-up time can be used for more
than just preparing the voice to sing. It
provides the conductor with the oppor-
tunity to build vocal technique, develop
the singers’ ears, build ensemble and
put elements from musical selections
into the ear of the choir. Often conduc-
tors rely on major scale warm-ups that
fall within one octave. Consider intro-
ducing the key or mode of a piece by
creating a warm-up in that key or mode.
Difficult rhythmic elements, challeng-
ing intervals or tricky ostinati can be
introduced through an originally cre-
ated warm-up. Continued on page 14
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 13

4. Consider Felix Mendelsohn’s There
Shall A Star From Jacob Come Forth. The
piece has two main contrasting themes,
one legato and the other marcato (Figures
1 and 2). The conductor can create warm-
ups from each of these main themes
and use them to teach the two different
articulations. The legato example (Figure
1) allows the conductor to teach not just
the legato articulation, but text stress.
There should be motion toward beat one
of the second measure, and again to the
penultimate note with a de-emphasis of
the last note. The marcato example (Figure
2) also allows the conductor to teach text
stress, with the height of the phrase on
the first syllable of pieces. The final syllable
should be de-emphasized. In addition to
text stress, the marcato theme gives the
conductor the opportunity to teach the
proper weight of each beat. Finally, the
conductor has easily taught a difficult
tritone leap to the entire choir.
Choose Carefully
Though some choral pieces can be suc-
cessfully read from cover to cover the
first time, it is not necessary for singers to
tackle an entire work on the first reading.
With a little extra preparation, conductors
can choose a section of the work that can
be fairly well polished in one sitting. For
particularly challenging pieces, the con-
ductor may choose to introduce a single
phrase.
A first reading of Mendelssohn’s There
Shall a Star From Jacob Come Forth may
consist of only the main themes, leav-
ing out some of the more challenging
counter material. Or, perhaps, only the
concluding chorale will be introduced in
the first reading. The choice of material
will depend largely upon the skill level of
the choir. No matter the skill level of the
choir or how large a section of the piece
the group sings, the conductor should aim
to send the singers away with a sense of
accomplishment.
Rehearse First
This author is not an advocate of the cold
reading in most situations. Rather, con-
ductors can use a short three- to five-min-
ute rehearsal to introduce some melodic
material, main themes or difficult musi-
cal elements that would otherwise be
roadblocks to a successful first reading.
This short rehearsal may include singing
through key changes, rehearsing unex-
pected cadences or singing ad libitum
through challenging melodies or harmo-
nies.
If the conductor has already taught the
two main themes from There Shall a Star
From Jacob Come Forth during the warm-
up time, this is his or her chance to put
the themes in context. Ask the singers
to identify and even underline places in
the music where they are singing one of
the two main themes. Next, the choir can
read the first section singing only when
they have the main theme. This method
will lay the foundation for balance later
in the rehearsal process, and this quick
introduction will lay tracks in advance to
avoid a train wreck later.
“Peel Away the Layers of the
Onion”
My undergraduate conducting teach-
er, Dr. Duncan Couch, frequently used
the phrase, “peel away the layers of the
onion.” His intention was that choral
works, like onions, are made of different
layers with simple elements at the core
and difficult elements on the outside. The
innermost layers are rhythm, pitch and
harmony. Middle layers consist of text,
dynamics, tempo and articulations. The
outer layers are blend, balance and inter-
pretation. Conductors can peel away the
layers of the onion in rehearsal to expose
the core elements.
When a new piece of music is intro-
duced to the choir, the conductor should
remove as many layers as are neces-
sary to allow the choir to be successful.
Interpretive layers will almost always
be peeled away in the first reading.
Depending on the difficulty of the music
and the ability of the choir, many of the
middle layers should be peeled away as
well. Often a choir may need to start with
the core of the onion, the rhythm alone,
to be successful in the first reading.
Mendelssohn. m. 32-35.
Figure 2. Marcato theme from There Shall a Star From Jacob Come Forth
Felix Mendelssohn, There Shall a Star from Jacob Come Forth.
Edited by William Bartholomew. New York: G. Schirmer, 1900. m. 2-4.
Figure 1. Legato theme from There Shall a Star From Jacob Come Forth
Continued from page 13
14 F l o r i d a M u s i c D i r e c t o r

5. As the choir progresses, layers can be
added on. This author suggests removing
layers in the following order:
1. Personalization, meaning, interpreta-
tion, dynamics and articulations will
rarely appear in the first reading of
a piece.
2. Tempo. Slowing the piece down often
makes the first reading dramatically
easier. In the case of a dramatically
slow piece, speeding up the tempo
may make the first reading more suc-
cessful.
3. Text, especially foreign language text,
can be a huge barrier for singers.
Consider, instead, using neutral syl-
lables, count singing or solfège. When
count singing or using solfège, the
conductor should be consistent with
the system used at her or his institu-
tion.
4. Harmony/other parts. In some cases
singers need to isolate their individ-
ual parts to hear the melody or main
theme in a particular section.
5. Melody. When rhythmic material is
particularly difficult, it can be help-
ful for the choir to speak through the
text first or to sing the rhythms on a
neutral chord.
Send Them Off Singing
Conductors should plan rehearsals to end
on a successful sing-through. What better
way to end a rehearsal than with a suc-
cessful performance of a new piece or sec-
tion of music? In the case of Mendelssohn’s
There Shall a Star From Jacob Come Forth, the
piece ends with a beautiful chorale that
can be sight read by a medium advanced
choir. A less advanced choir may end the
rehearsal by all singing the melody of the
chorale while the pianist plays the under-
lying accompaniment.
If the final planned portion of rehearsal
does not go well, which happens to every
choir on occasion, the conductor may go
back to another piece or section that was
sung successful-
ly. Perhaps the
members of the
choir will recog-
nize this rather trans-
parent method of recov-
ery, but they will still appreciate
the chance to redeem themselves.
Send your singers off feeling
accomplished, and they will carry
their enthusiasm into the next rehearsal.
Conclusion
Introducing a new piece of music to a
choir is a difficult task, but it is one that
conductors must do frequently. Careful
score study and analysis will prepare the
conductor to plan the best possible first
rehearsal. A successful first rehearsal
should make good use of the warm-up
time, teaching concepts from the litera-
ture through warm-up exercises.
Conductors should carefully select sec-
tions of the music that can be successfully
sung in one rehearsal. Before the first
reading, the conductor can take three to
five minutes to rehearse challenging ele-
ments from the music. The first reading of
the piece should not include every ele-
ment on the page. “Peel away the layers of
the onion” to get to the elements that the
choir can sing successfully. Finally, plan
rehearsals to end on a sweet note. Singers
perform better and want to work harder
when they feel successful.
References
DeBoer,T.(January/February2015).Performance:
A Layered Approach to Rehearsal. Choral
Director, 12, no. 1, 14-15.
Lamb, G. (1974). Choral Techniques. Dubuque,
Iowa: W. C. Brown Co.
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, F. & Bartholomew,
W. (1900). Christus: An Unfinished Oratorio.
G. Schirmer’s Editions of Oratorios and
Cantatas.
Phillips, K. (2016). Directing the Choral Music
Program. Second Edition. Ed. Oxford. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Robinson, Ray. (1976). The Choral Experience:
Literature, materials, and methods. Ed. Allen
Winold. New York: Harper’s College Press.
Strand, Katherine. (2003). Teaching musical
interpretations through choral rehearsals:
Examining performance practices of the
past can put students on the road to becom-
ing independent musicians in the future.
Music Educators Journal, 90, no. 1, 43.
Matthew Bumbach is a doctoral candi-
date at the University of Miami Frost School of
Music. He is a graduate of Stetson University
and the University of South Florida and has
taught secondary and post-secondary choral
music in the state of Florida since 2004.
Figure 3. The
musical layers
of the onion
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 15