Choralosophy in Choral Methods Class
In the interest of protecting the identity of these students, their names and school have been omitted. These are the listener observations of Methods students at a college in the American South.
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Below, you will find excerpts of observations from 4 Choral Methods students after listening to assigned episodes from the catalogue.
Student #1
To preface, I'd like to mention how enlightening and beneficial the podcast episode responses have been. Performing and working in a collegiate level choir alters an individual's expectations when they're with a younger, lesser-experienced ensemble. The hardest part about transitioning between a collegiate choir and a younger choir is being able to translate "fancy" or technical terminology to something students can understand and execute. The Choralosphy podcast does a fabulous job of elaborating upon the concept of teaching difficult concepts in comprehensible ways and shows countless methods to creating a thriving program.
Not only do I admire Chris Munce's dedication to his craft and program, but I appreciate his frankness and sincerity behind each podcast episode. If there is one thing that I've learned from current educators is that they do not have an easy job. One thing that Chris highlights is that being a choir director is not as easy as it may seem (the simple fact that there are over 250 episodes on advice for directors proves this point even further). Episodes where viewers get a *music stand" perspective of an actual functioning choir classroom are my favorite because you get to see both the "happies and crappies" of a rehearsal. I love how he can go from being inquisitive trying to find the source of an issue to being apologetic for a mistake he made.
Besides the acceptance of a difficult job, Chris does a fine job of critiquing possible problem areas in a program. The constructive criticism given on the podcast is always generalized to apply to a large variety of ensembles (applying to all levels of education).
As much as I support the presence of an open conversation about politics I originally struggled to understand the purpose of this discussion in a choral-related podcast. I listened to episode 158 with Melissa Dunphy talking about the relation between art and politics. After this episode, I fully support the idea that music can be used to evoke emotions and challenge oppressive dialogue.
Student #2
Being a choral educator can be difficult. Oftentimes, we can be the only choral educator in the building, and in many cases, the only music educator in the school. We have very different support structures compared to the likes of Language Arts teachers or math teachers. They have a team of teachers they can talk to, have strategy meetings to plan, or generally commiserate with. Music teachers are different. We have to find our own communities to find support from. We have to seek out our own ways to improve wherever we can. Chris Munce’s Choralosophy podcast is one of these opportunities for choral educators.
Through the episodes of the Choralosophy podcast that I have listened to, I have learned many things. His dedication to his students is unlike many other teachers that I have worked with. More than just his dedication to students, he has an incredible dedication to facilitating student learning. I think that wording is important: facilitating student learning, not simply teaching. Someone can say they are teaching and are simply telling students the answer. Yes, the students may have learned the subject; however, they will never have the tools to learn and figure things out for themselves. This is a large point in Chris Munce’s discussions.
One particular point that Chris always harps on in his podcasts is that the teacher is not the keeper of knowledge. The teacher is not god. The teacher is the person who helps students learn and inspires students with intrinsic motivation to learn.
Student #3
Chris Munce’s philosophy of music education is best defined as “firmly grounded in music literacy.” He’s said before that he believes music literacy is a toolbox that opens up pathways for students, and this is something very apparent in the way he leads rehearsals. Literacy in any language gives kids tools to make their lives better.
Teaching music literacy to every child is giving all students the same opportunity to succeed musically, because they all want to be there and be successful. Scholarships, job opportunities, leadership opportunities, elite opportunities of all kinds are made available to musicians who are literate. Music literacy allows kids who are less likely to have a good music education or access to private lessons the same opportunities as their more privileged peers.
Chris also taught me that music literacy allows for building “sound files,” instead of teaching by rote and creating a reliance on the piano & director’s help during every rehearsal.
His students seem comfortable trying new things, challenging their knowledge, making mistakes, and giving everything their best try. They’re encouraged to individually grow and learn while valuing the choir experience and sound as a whole...
Student #4
I have greatly enjoyed listening to the podcasts and car talks of Chris Munce! I had not previously listened to a choral teaching podcast, or a music podcast for that matter, and I feel like this is a great one to begin with. Chris has discussed a multitude of topics such as Literacy, Learned Helplessness, Reading vs. Rote, Talent, and Excellence. These are a few of my key takeaways from listening to these assigned podcast episodes. I have enjoyed thinking about these topics more in depth, and plan on retaining these thoughts for my future choir classroom.
He mentions almost every video that "all kids want to do well. If they are not doing well, it is because they don’t know how." He continues to remind us that these children seek success more than anything, which is a very important thing to remember when teaching during tough times. It is important to give your kids all the tools necessary in order to succeed. Another phrase he continues to repeat is "I want the students to not need me." He expresses many times how good literacy skill that he provides to his choir enables them to pick up and truly understand a piece without his help. This drives them forward, being excited and having their self-knowledge affirmed.
Literacy is a very important thing to Chris, with him frequently saying "Literacy is Equity." I agree with this, applying it to not only music, but any language in general. Receiving the tools necessary to properly read a language will unlock a wide range of information that once was incomprehensible.
Before Chris, I had never heard the music learning/literacy teaching method phrased in this way before. Chris gives a detailed analysis of his simple method of teaching students to not be afraid of reason or sight-singing. Since the concept of just making a sound can be scary for beginning singers, he encourages his choir to be a judgment-free zone.
His main method of teaching music is to not give the class very much time to think about what they are doing. He will go back to fix things that are incorrect, but the process of having a short time to make decisions is crucial to sight reading and life in general.
