There was a time, not so long ago, when I swore that I would never work with a choir again. There's something in the psychology of getting a group of people together and asking them to sing which turns overwise rational, reasonable people into committee-wielding autocrats. Running a choir involves a smorgasbord of skills ranging from conductor, pianist, voice trainer, concert promoter, stage manager, diplomat, counsellor, and sometime taxi driver. A big part of any rehearsal technique, like it or not, is embedding musical literacy. And this is something I have to admit that I'm not very good at.
When Emily Crocker's Sound Patterns hit my music desk, I was excited: anything that takes the heavy lifting out of teaching sight-singing is a welcome addition. On delving in to the publication, a small bell began to ring in the back of my mind. Patterns of Sound by the same author has sat on my classroom shelf for years; occasionally being dusted down for extra support classes. Sound Patterns has a brand-new dynamic-image cover, complete with embossed font – but is this going to be a re-hash of the same ‘methodology chorals’ that used to haunt Friday afternoon support classes?
Crocker is the fairy godmother of classroom choral singing, having divided her career between the classroom, where she trained award-winning choirs, and running the Choral Department at Hal Leonard for almost 30 years. There's a no-nonsense, tried-and-tested practicality to Crocker's many instructional texts; an approach that is also the foundation to her impressive compositional library. I'm pleased to report that the familiar practical approach jumps from the pages of Sound Patterns. The introduction pitches the series at ‘beginners of any age’, and the clear, no frills text and methodical approach would appeal to an adult choir, as much as an elementary classroom.
Although aimed at sight-singing, this text runs the gamut of music theory. Chapter one starts with ‘Beats and Rhythms’, introducing standard notation, and utilising the familiar mix-up games. At this point in my own pedagogy, I would normally reach for the Kodály rhythm syllables – interestingly, these have not made it in to Sound Patterns.
Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of musical literacy (scales and pitch, rests, intervals, dominant chords, etc.) including at least one ‘game’ for the class. The chapter is then rounded out with a song to incorporate and embed the learning in each chapter. As one would expect from a Hal Leonard publication, the series comes with a range of online resources, including interactive worksheets and backing tracks for the non-keyboard players.
The pack comes complete with downloadable audio files, and student notation for projection onto a whiteboard (or, in these unusual times, a Zoom screen). A self-confessed old hand at accompanying while keeping my classroom withitness running, I must write that I was initially a bit sceptical of the benefits of having a ready-made accompaniment to hand. Armed with remote control, I conducted my first ever sight singing lesson whilst free to roam the classroom.
In all fairness, it takes some getting used to. But it was certainly revelatory. Being able to hear each student individually as I made my rounds was one obvious benefit. Those fine details of who struggles with which interval or rhythm became far more readily apparent. The more unexpected shift was the extent to which my proximity seemed to make my students try that little bit harder to be accurate, and be seen leading rather than following. I can only offer Ms Crocker my thanks for this welcome breakthrough.
Ultimately Sound Patterns is a useful and non-fussy update to 1990's Patterns of Sound reflecting not only the changes in our classrooms, but also a wider-reaching approach to musical literacy and the joys of sight singing. The resources are more flexible than its ever-reliable counterpart. A recommended investment for any institution.
