đ€ Fun Ways to Polish a Choir Performance
Picture it- Your concert is in one week. Youâve learned all the notes. Youâve tackled the tricky rhythms. But your choir looks boring! With the concert right around the corner, itâs time for the fun part: polishing the performance!
The final rehearsals before a concert are all about making your choir not only sound great, but LOOK great! I always tell my students that the audience listens with their eyes. Meaning, you can SOUND amazing, but if you look bored, the audience will be bored, too.
Letâs talk about fun ways to memorize, work on stage presence and focus on building FUN into your last few rehearsals.
Here are some of my favorite ways to polish your choirâs performance while keeping the energy high and the students focused on the end result.
đ 1. Perform It LikeâŠ
This one always gets laughs! Have students sing through a song (or a part of the song), but assign a random âemotionâ each time. List several emotions on the board like happy, excited, sad, mad, bored, confused, etc. Then, try these variations.
The Director points to different emotions while singing through the song. The choir must sing with that emotion. Change emotions often.
A student points to an emotion and the director has to guess which emotion based on the studentâs performance. (Or vice versa with a student guessing and the director choosing the emotion.)
Ask students to add physical movements when portraying the emotions. (These would be moves that you would NEVER perform in a concert setting. They are just for fun and engagement.)
This activity helps loosen up the stage nerves and gets students thinking about their facial expression and body language in performance.
đ 2. Distraction, Distraction!!
This game might be my all time favorite just before a concert! Choose one or two students to serve as âdistracting audience membersâ. These students have permission to walk about the room while the choir is singing and create âdistractionsâ. The singing students are not to react and should only watch the conductor, as if it was a real performance on stage. (Examples of appropriate âdistractionsâ included loud talking, noise making, etc.)
*Note: I would only ever choose trusted students who will be appropriate and can âdistractâ within reason. It is a good idea to set ground rules like âno touching students or their personal belongingsâ, etc.
This is a great exercise in watching the conductor and having a little fun, too.
đ¶ 3. Dynamic Hierarchy
I use this exercise to get the students up and moving, but also focused on memorizing the dynamic levels.
Choose a passage of music that incorporates a variety of dynamic levels. On the board I write the following:
ff: standing on tiptoes
f: standing
mf: squatting
mp: sitting tall
p: slouching in chair
pp: crouching on floor
Instruct students to go to these positions while singing the song. I tell them that these movements should be fluid and to be sure to incorporate crescendos and descrescendos with their bodies.
đȘ 4. Mirror Me
Pair students up and have them âmirrorâ each other while singing a short section of a song.
One person leads with facial expression and movement, and the other copies exactly what they do. Switch leaders halfway through.
Tell the students to be goofy as long as they are singing the correct notes, etc.
This exercise helps students exaggerate their performance in a fun and silly way.
đŠ 5. Spotlight Leaders
My college choir director always said, âThe singer is on the wrong side of the choir.â Meaning they rarely get to experience the full performance of the choir. So this exercise allows the students a turn in watching the performance.
I like to choose one person per section and allow them to stand at the front of the room and serve as an audience member. They do not sing, only listen and watch.
Variations:
Students get to watch but not comment.
Students are asked to choose 2-3 students who had the best facial expressions in their section or in the choir overall.
Students will raise their hands when they cannot understand the words. The choir must restart the passage if this happens.
Students will give constructive feedback to the choir. (Careful when setting this one up. Make sure students know we donât focus on individuals, but the choir at large.)
Students will give positive feedback as if they were a judge. What did they think the choir did well? What was their favorite part?
This activity not only builds focus but also helps your choir practice being supportive and attentive audience members.
đȘ 6. Director Switch-Up
Let a student âguest conductâ the choir for one piece in rehearsal! Theyâll instantly see how hard it is to cue entrances, dynamics, and cutoffs and the choir learns to be more responsive to your gestures.
âš I know the days leading up to a concert can be stressful! Sometimes we are cramming notes, dealing with widespread illness amongst the choir, etc. But donât forget that adding a little fun can go a long way! By mixing in games, movement and laughter, youâll help your students feel confident, connected and performance ready!
Happy Concert Prep! đ¶ Melanie
