[musictlk] Choir-directing

[Cindy Ray]

How did it go the last time? We have a tiny choir in our church and we 
really have no director. We just have to do our own counting. I would say 
that you don't want to try something out on them like the hand things if you 
haven't done hem because you could end up confusing them more. Did you face 
them before or did you just stay in the line or whatever formation they use?

Linda probably will have bett3er things to say than I. I had to do this once 
for a final in a class; the teacher was kind, but I did a horrible job of 
it. I felt it was like exercise, it needed way more practice for me to have 
good form that I had the time for.

Cindy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jessie Kirchner" <jckirch at umich.edu>
To: <musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 7:07 AM
Subject: [musictlk] Choir-directing


Hi list,

Has anyone ever led a small choir before?  I've been asked to direct my 
church choir this weekend while the director is away.  We usually range from 
five to ten members.  I did lead once before, but it consisted only in 
giving pitches, designating the correct musical settings for the day, and 
singing loudly enough to keep the tempo.  I'm totally blind and haven't 
studied conducting motions in any great depth yet.  It didn't seem to be a 
problem last time but i'm wondering if any of you have found them important. 
If I'm not conducting, should I still stand facing everyone in case my 
pitching carries better?  There are a couple times when the director points 
out someone to chant alone, but I figured I could assign those ahead of time 
or have the assistant director point at people during the service.  I was 
also thinking of emailing the choir this week to see if they have any 
suggestions about what they'd like me to do, but since this is pretty new to 
them, they probably won't
  be much help.
The director has no qualms whatsoever about my leading, which is very 
refreshing, but I'm a little nervous myself.  Any tips or reassurances would 
be greatly appreciated.  I do know a very talented blind choir director who 
hasn't needed to conduct much, but I think it's always good to learn from as 
many people in this situation as I can.

Thanks,
Jessie
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