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Date Posted: 11:59:16 02/18/05 Fri
Author: Cynthia Holcomb
Subject: Free time
What impact do you think it has on a choir when they spend several weeks without rehearsal, but use choir time as a study hall or chat time while the director works with a small ensemble?
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Re: Free time -- Rosemary, 12:52:45 02/20/05 Sun [1]
I think it is very detrimental for choirs to sit out for long periods of time without rehearsing. If possible, the director should work with small ensembles outside of regular rehearsal, or include the rest of the choir (teach them to give positive feedback, develop their listening skills, evaluate performances). If choirs sit out for too long, they will lose their muscle memory and focus.
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Re: Free time -- Heather Gosche, 15:24:51 02/20/05 Sun [1]
I agree with Rosemary. We have very little time to include rehearsing AND teaching into our day. Therefore, by letting students have chat time and/or study hall during the choir period is a waste of your time with everyone, as well as a waste of their time. It is best to have the students in this select ensemble rehearse during THEIR study hall or after school if it fits into your schedule. I also see a similar situation in the school I am teaching in. In the fourth grade class, my cooperating teacher will take a small group of students to work on a particular song on the recorder, and allows the rest of the students to "whisper quietly" until it is time to go. At this age especially, it is so important to make use of every minute while you have all of the students together.
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Re: Free time -- Dr. O., 06:58:20 02/21/05 Mon [1]
As I have done observations in various schools, I have seen this happen quite often. Whenever I see or hear about it, I wonder if the teacher has given any consideration to the message they are sending to their students. It seems clear to me that using this teaching technique (if you can call it that!) is saying two things to the students: 1) instructional time in music isn't really very important; and 2) THE STUDENT's time and effort aren't important. Both of these seem to be troubling concepts to me. What do others think?
Dr. O.
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Re: Free time -- Lindsay, 21:26:02 03/02/05 Wed [1]
To me, it's familiar. My high school choir used to take lots of days off, just because it was the day after our concert and we watched the video and some people chatted, or it was between our last concert of the year and the end of school where we had "nothing to do," so it basically turned into a study hall.
At the time, I didn't mind, but I look back now and wish that we had spent the time productively, even if it was just singing for fun. Practice sight-reading, work on aural skills, listen to recordings, anything, just don't let precious time go to waste. And I think I agree with Dr. O, it contributed to the sense that choir wasn't as important. It was fun, sure, but it definitely wasn't an academic class to us.
And I think that allowing most of a class to do nothing while working with a small group is probably the worst thing one can do in a classroom. It gives the message that the small group is more important than the rest of the class, and that the teacher has nothing to teach them so they do nothing. I would say try to include all students in some manner, whether it's asking them to listen to the small group as they work on whatever it is and give constructive feedback, or to follow along in their own parts and finger the notes silently or sing their notes in their head, or something. Don't allow them to be passive when they're not involved directly.
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Re: Free time -- Erika, 19:25:34 01/23/06 Mon [1]
Along with Lindsay I had many days in my high school choir that we just sat around having a study hall. My director just didn't have time for us or at least it seemed that way. Sure, it was nice having an extra study hall to finish homework and talk with friends but it was supposed to be choir and we were supposed to be learning and singing. At the end of the year we had prepared only two songs for our big concert. We should have been able to have had many more songs prepared. Also, during my high school experience there were times in full choir practice that my director would only work with the small show choir. This rehearsal helped the small ensmeble but the large group lost some much needed practice time.
I believe that all scheduled practice time is very important. When a director gives a class a study hall instead of practicing they are wasting the ensemble's time. Also, small ensemble practice should take place at a certain time other than during a full ensemble rehearsal.
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Re: Free time -- Laura, 20:03:51 03/19/06 Sun [1]
There were a lot of times in my high school band and even in the one year I was in choir that we had study hall instead of rehearsal. It was nice to have a free period, but all we did was sit around and talk. I don't feel like we really got anything done, thereforever we lost an entire hour which could have been rehearsal time. It's not a bad thing to cancel a rehearsal every now and then but to do it all the time really hurts the group and doesn't allow the group to reach their full potential. As the instructor, you should make sure that your group is using their time wisely.
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Re: Free time -- Molly, 18:36:53 03/20/06 Mon [1]
I can't agree more. Time with an ensemble can be worked in elsewhere- after school, or during a lunch period, but the whole group doesn't need to be left out. I'm very familiar with an "off-day" where the choir/band has a "study hall"- that usually turns into a giant social session. Sometimes the excuse for a social time wasn't even music related, but "educator-in-a-bad-mood-or-with-a-hangover" related.
I know in my high school, we were occasionally afraid of the music program being cut. It didn't go over well when the principal or superintendent walked in to see the choir students sitting on the carpet, chatting, rather than rehearsing. All that money to keep the music department alive so the kids who like to sing can have a social hour.....
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Re: Free time -- Benjamin Lupo, 19:38:34 03/20/06 Mon [1]
Amen my colleagues! I was privellaged to see for myself what an ensemble of 20 high school guys could accomplish after having only 30 minute rehearsals. The sound that they produced was on a level far beyond any high school sound I had ever heard before. And again, their rehearsals were 30 minutes long (during lunch) and I do not believe that they were daily. Those 10 or 15 minutes of free time at the end of a rehearsal or occasional "free day" the day after a concert could be much better spent making music.
As music educators, every moment we have with our students is loaded with opportunity. Any moment with a student during rehearsal that is not used to make music is a waste of your time and that of your students'. Worse than that, it is depriving your students of something: the ability to allow music to change their lives. We have a potentially life-altering responsibility to those we have chosen to share our love of music with...
Ok, I'm done... whew!
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Re: Free time -- Kimberly, 15:53:52 03/24/06 Fri [1]
I definitely agree with the general consensus of comments so far. I, too, was part of a chorus in highschool where much time was used to focus on smaller ensembles within the choir. At the time, I wasn't concerned about it, but looking back now, I realize how it was very unproductive to the choir as a whole. Our choir was not the most talented group, and I realize now how we could have improved so much by spending rehearsals practicing as a full choir. Also, I think rehearsing with only a select ensemble during the full choir time gives the students who are not a part of that particular ensemble a negative impression that they are not valuable enough to be a part of rehearsal.
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Re: Free time -- Derek, 18:21:29 04/05/06 Wed [1]
Oooo... that's an interesting situation.
I would try and avoid this type of scheduling concept at all costs. It not only gives the wrong message to students, but to parents, falculty, and the administration as well.
If nothing else, I'd at least try and let the choir learn the music with the ensemble --- actually, I'd reverse that: I'd have the ensemble learn what the choir is singing so we'd continue to have rehearsals... :)
However, the best idea (I think) would be to have a rehearsal with the choir (warm-ups and everything) and then set aside about 5 - 10 minutes before class is over to rehearse the ensemble.
After all, shouldn't the mere fact that it's an ensemble suggest that everyone practices on their own? (Teachers are more like guides anyhow - with pom-poms and batons)
Let me know what you think...
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Re: Free time -- patrick clinage, 09:26:45 04/11/06 Tue [1]
i believe that it would cause unexpected occurences of absence of mind
....
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Re: Free time -- Honoree Pouly, 08:05:22 04/18/06 Tue [1]
I think that if this happens it show that the conductor does not care about the ensemble. I think it is very important that the whole time that the ensemble is together should be used effectively. It is the conductor’s responsibility to have already planned out their lesson to use the full allotted time. If there are smaller ensembles that need practice time they should find a time to get together outside of the time for the larger group. It is not fair to those not involved in the smaller ensemble. Sometimes only ten minutes can make a huge difference.
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Re: Free time -- Rita, 10:25:45 05/07/06 Sun [1]
I observed a lot of this during my block this year, and I hated every minute of it. There were days where it almost seemed like a deal... If they sang through thier pieces so many times and sang it right, then they would get this time free. And the reason why he deicded to do this was because they were general music classes and the kids didn't want to be there and he would get frustrated with them. While that makes sense in all, allowing them to have free time in place of it didn't. And then if you do let it happen to much, the kids expect it, something that my cooperative teacher found out quickly. And so did I. During the week of thier school musical, kids were coming down in the mornings to work with my co-op teacher in a practice room while I worked with the classroom on thier stuff. (My co-op teacher could see me at all times and hear everything going on so it wasn't a problem) but it was really hard for me to get the students to work because all they wanted was free time and didn't see any need for improvment...
Okay long story short, there is always something that you can fill time with. If your 45 minute lesson, only turned into 20, have a back-up plan. A "rainy day" file... Something that you can resort to in a moment of need. Wither it be a game of some sort (name that tune, conductor, etc) or sight reading exercises, something can always be done so that the students aren't sitting there twiddiling thier thumbs so to speak.
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Re: Free time -- Hayley Pletcher, 19:59:33 04/10/07 Tue [1]
I believe that it is a big set back for the choir to have a study hall when they could be having sectionals or using the time to practice on their own and go through the problems that they themselves are having. However, if at all possible, the director should meet with small ensembles outside of class time so that the class period is used for the best of the choir
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Re: Free time -- Jessalyn, 20:11:28 04/15/07 Sun [1]
I remember during my choir time at school when musical came around we were usually exhausted and my choir teacher let us have days off. I think in the long run it def. didnt help us. We could have been more prepared for our spring concert had we not had days off.
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