Follow The Prophet

Why play "Follow the Leader", when you can play "Follow the Prophet"?!  Grab your kids, some paper and markers, a picture of the prophet, and get ready for FHE!  I started out by having my two oldest children (ages 5 and 4) write down some letters to help trigger their memory for certain words in the song "Follow the Prophet".  Letters in bold are what I had them write:

Adam was a prophet, 1st one that we know
In a place called Eden, He helped things to grow
Adam served the Lord by following his ways
We are his descendants, in the latter days.

While we sang through the verse, each child held up their letters during that part of the song.  Goals Achieved:
Practiced writing letters (perfect for my preschoolers!)
Gaining an understanding of phonics
Triggered keys words in the song
Pride in a job well done

For the verse of the song we played follow the leader.  Each child had several turns to hold a picture of the prophet (thus making her the prophet for the game), and led the rest of the family in actions.  All kids LOVE leading a group.  It builds confidence, creativity, and makes them feel in control and important.  This game also taught them how important and fun it is to follow the prophet.

Music for a Cause

This Saturday, there will be a benefit concert for the American Cancer Society.  ACS is an organization very close to my heart as I lost my dad to cancer.....

(As you can see, he and I had a lot of fun together.)

And I could have lost my daughter to the disease.

A good friend of mine (an accomplished violinist to say the least), will be playing at the concert.  So it is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  This is a great opportunity to expose your children to wonderful music and support a great cause at the same time.

Ward Choir Tips

I am not a conductor, by any stretch of the imagination.  While earning my degree at Utah State University, I was required to take a conducting class.  My final was conducting the university's orchestra, and I was TERRIFIED.  I was so uncoordinated, nervous, and overwhelmed with how many details I needed to not only remember, but remind the orchestra about as well.

It did not go well.

I failed.

Despite my inability to conduct, I always knew that someday I would be ward choir director.  At least I know how to sing and have sung in several choirs, right?  I have taken a really low key approach to choir, and have gotten some surprising results.  The choir sounds great!  So this post is to share some things I have found to be helpful, and will hopefully be helpful to other directors.


1.  UNITY
If half of your choir can sing something correctly, and the other half incorrectly... it will sound better to have EVERYONE sing it INCORRECTLY.  I promise.  Singing the same is most important.  This is most applicable to pronunciation and when to breath.  If most of the choir is breathing in a place where the conductor wants to carry over the sound, it will really sound like the few who are following directions are making a mistake.  Another example is the dreaded "er" sound, like in "ever".  Typically, a choir director will want to soften the "er" sound to more of an "uh" sound.  This usually leads to the women singing "uh" and the men singing "er".  (Sorry men, but it is what it is.)  Then the choir doesn't sound unified, leading the listener to think that the choir isn't very good.  The average listener will only hear really obvious mistakes, and certainly does not expect a ward choir to sustain phrases or avoid harsh consonants.  Those are musician standards.


2.  PITCH
Good pitch and correct notes are the #1 priority.  If everyone is singing the correct note, then the choir overall will sound just fine.  Learning notes can be daunting at first, especially if the arrangement is unfamiliar, or has a new part like a descant.  But anyone who is making time to sing in ward choir will have the ability to learn their part.  Ensure enough time in rehearsals to pound out parts, so that your choir members will feel confident.  And don't be afraid to try something new.  I am always throwing out unique and unfamiliar arrangements to my choir.  And they always pull it off and sound beautiful.


3.  DON"T WASTE TIME
When I was first called to lead the choir I had a heart to heart with the previous conductor.  I remember her saying something like "the hardest part about choir is they want us to have it, but don't have a time set aside for it."  So true!  With only about 25 minutes a week to learn your music, time is of the essence.  So if you have spent 5 minutes trying to perfect something and it still sounds exactly the same, just move on.  One measure will not make or break a performance.  Instead, spend 5 minutes warming up and/or teaching correct singing technique.  That will benefit your choir much more.

4.  DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
We really needed one more rehearsal before singing our Easter hymn two weeks ago, and I knew it.  We met before sacrament meeting to warm up and run through our song.  I could tell that many of my choir members were not feeling very confident.  I told them that if there was something they didn't know now, that they would still not know it in 45 minutes when we were scheduled to perform, and that's OK.  A small mistake here or there, is really not that big of a deal.  Chances are, no one will even hear it.  As a choir director, it's not worth making your choir feel unprepared or worry about their performance because all the little details aren't worked out.  Sometimes there isn't time to perfect breathing, dynamics, phrasing etc.  Remember, that is not the purpose of ward choir.  We have ward choirs to praise God through song, not to have a perfect performance.

5.  TESTIMONY
Most choir members will focus intently on singing the correct notes.  This is great, and obviously needed.  But they often need reminders about sharing their testimony of the doctrine in the song.  Take the time to share your own testimony of the lyrics, and encourage your singers to share their love of the Savior through the way they sing, and the way they look.  It is amazing to see the difference in someone's countenance, just by reminding them to share their testimony.  Their eyes will light up, and their testimony will compensate for any musical mishap.  The beauty of the music along with musical testimony is what will invite the spirit into the meeting and into the heart of the listener.  The most wonderfully prepared music will not invite the spirit if it does not have the feeling behind it.

In a nutshell, less is more!  Correct notes + testimony = a great choir!

Teaching songs to kids that can't read. :)

What do you remember most about Primary?  Most likely, your answer is the music.  Primary songs are the foundation of testimonies in children.  It is so much easier to remember a song than it is to remember a lesson, especially for children.  Music triggers the pleasure sensors in our brain (speaking does not), and children will tune into music much more than they will to speaking.  So the more songs they know, the more they will know about the gospel, and the stronger their testimonies will be.  It is crucial that parents and primary leaders understand the value of music, and have tools to teach music to young children... especially those children who cannot read yet.  Below are my top tips for teaching pre-readers, and should be used in primary, family home evening, and beyond!

1.  Let's MOVE!
For kids, singing and dancing are intrinsically connected.  It is unnatural to have one without the other.  Granted, we do need to teach children to sit still and be reverent, but if kids have choreographed movements or actions to go along with a song it will be easier for them to remember, not to mention more fun, too!  And the more fun they are having, the more they will pay attention.  Many primary songs have actions already, but it is always appropriate to come up with new actions or make up actions for songs that don't already have them.  For songs that are repetitive, I like to use sign language.  Not for every word.  That would be too much to learn.  But for key words.

Also, if the child is not speaking well enough to sing along, he/she can still feel good about doing the correct actions.  This builds confidence, and keeps everyone involved in spite of ability.

2. Visuals
The absolute worst way to teach a new song is to say the words and expect the children to remember them.  Having something to look at and cue the memory will help immensely.  Visual aids don't have to be for every word, or even be a picture of the word.  For example, if I were teaching the line:
I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away.
I would use the following visual aids.
The letter "I", a picture of someone getting baptized, a picture of a child doing something naughty, and a picture of soap.

3.  Chaining
Chaining is a learning method appropriate for any musician, but applies here as well.  The object is to link things together.  So once you have mastered a line of a song, go on and learn the second line, then make sure to go back and chain them together by singing the song through that far.  Before moving too far ahead you must go back and repeat what you have done.  This helps the child remember what has already been taught, and teaches the order of the song.  So you would be singing like this
1.  I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away.
2.  I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away.  And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.
3.  I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away.  And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.  I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
4.  I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away.  And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.  I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.  I want to be the best I can, and live with God again.

4.  Repetition
If a new song is taught at the beginning of primary, it should be sung again right before church is over.  It should also be sung the following week.  The typical child will need at least 3 rehearsals of a song to be able to perform it.

5.  Exposure
Children should be exposed to primary songs throughout the week.  Our ward distributes CD's each year with the songs the primary will focus on that year.  It is such a great idea!  We listen to our's in the car, while we are doing crafts, and while we are falling asleep.  During our last primary program, my middle child (who wasn't in primary yet), sang along to every song from our seats!

Success is key!  Singing time should be focused on making the child feel successful.  If they can't keep up or follow along, they will feel self concious, and shut down.  By implementing these simple tools, the child can quickly master the song and boost his/her self esteem.  A winning combination, for sure!