In my earlier blog posts ‘How We Learn’ and ‘Teaching and Learning’ you will find lots of information about learning in a group which is grounded in self-directed learning. You may find it useful to read or re-read these blogs as they provide descriptions of the concept and the philosophy that underpins it.
Once a collaborative learning group is established, the momentum grows and the pace of learning and achievement accelerates. There is an exciting buzz that brings with it a desire to get even better. The responsibility to get to grips with your own learning becomes vital.
BeVox community choir is currently at that point. They are about to stage a very ambitious event and everyone wants to be the best they can be.
Here are some thoughts and ideas that may help sharpen personal learning techniques. They focus on learning music to sing in a choir, but they are transferable to other situations.
- Listening to a song over and over again may not help you to learn it as well as you might hope. It could potentially make it harder to really know it. It can become like the picture on the wall, you sense it is there but the familiarity means that your brain does not need to be very active and no new messages are transmitted.
- Singing along to the track can result in you being able to do just that, and no matter how many times you do it, that may be all that you can do. You could always be waiting for the voice on the track.
- Singing the music along with the training tracks whilst following the score will give you the tools to learn all aspects of a song that you need. If you continue to use the score, you will always be reading it which is very different from knowing it. When you use your score in a choir session or performance it prevents you from getting the best support available – the leadership and guidance given by your choir leader.
All the above techniques could be like continuing to throw mud at the wall in the hope that it will stick.
There are ways to make the process more effective. They involve you being actively aware of what is going on inside your head each time you sing.
There is a natural progression involved in going from not knowing how to do something to gaining mastery of it. The process includes:
- Familiarisation – which aspects and which sections of the song am I already familiar with or do I associate with easily?
- Having a go, experimenting with the notes, the lyrics etc., using the different tools available, gradually removing the props.
- Identifying each specific thing that is not being absorbed and finding the right tool to fix it.
- Assimilation – realising that I have internalised a particular aspect or section of a song.
- Owning the knowledge – letting go of the props and expressing yourself.
Fortunately, when you are learning something that really interests you and there are appropriate tools available, the learning flows naturally. Lots of practice will enable that process to occur. The vital key is for you to be aware of which things you know, which things are on the way to being known and which things you are finding tricky, each time you sing.
When you realise that you are fairly confident about a song, or part of it, take away a prop and do it again to confirm your knowledge and keep your brain working. It will also stop you from relying on that prop.
Some Props to Use and then Take Away
- Listen to the training track whilst following the written score – useful at the familiarisation stage. Notice what feels familiar and what is new to you.
- Join in with the track whilst following the score, make a mental note, or mark on your score, bits that you are not getting.
- Sing along with the track, glancing at the score then singing a small section without looking at it.
- Remove the score and sing with the track. Be ready to sing the next note, word or phrase before the track.
- Turn the volume down on your track whilst you sing louder.
- Turn the other voice parts up and yours down, if you have a device where this is possible.
- Sing with the Full Track Mix on the BeVox website.
Throughout these stages you could choose where to sit in a choir session:
- At the front or in the middle of your voice part section– here you get the most support from others in your voice part.
- At the back of your voice part section where you will get the least support from others. This would be a good test for you and would also help your colleagues.
- At the edge of your voice part section, where you will need to hold your own against another voice part.
It is great (and necessary) to sing through a song or series of songs. It is then really important that you identify the thing that you cannot yet do. It is time to stop and try to work out exactly what the stumbling block is. Make a mental note, or a written note on your score. You could listen to just that bit on the track and look carefully at the score for guidance. Concentrating on the specific thing causing the problem may lead you to find your own solution. If it does not, seek help.
Remember that each time you just repeat the same thing that you got wrong, you are learning how NOT to do it. It is harder to unlearn something than to learn it.
There are so many aspects of a song that you need to work on in order to sing in a choir. They include: the notes, the rhythms, the lyrics, the dynamics, when to breathe, the similarities and differences in phrases within a song, blending with fellow singers, holding your part alongside others and your own personal expression. Different sections of a song will present different levels of difficulty and different challenges. Most big tasks are more easily tackled when broken down into manageable chunks. So it is a good idea to plan what you will concentrate on each time you practice.
There are many tools provided to help you to learn a song, but there is no one way to do it, or order in which to do it. We are all different in so many ways, all of which affect how we learn. Initially it is trial and error as you find what works best for you. If you are constantly thinking about what is happening in your head as you practice, the smarter you will become at identifying the sticking points and finding your own solutions.
A learning community group is the place where your learning, and that of your fellow singers, is top priority. Your choir leader is there to provide the tools and support to enable every member of the choir to perform at the highest level possible at that time. In order to do that with the greatest amount of success he needs everyone to demonstrate where they are in their learning. The more specific you can be in identifying the parts that you are currently struggling with, the better he can help you. Before each choir session you could make a note of anything that you are unsure of in the songs that you know are being covered in that session, then you will be really alert to it when it is covered. Promise yourself that if you are still unsure, you will ask your choir leader.
A caring learning community group offers all the tools and support for tremendous growth. Commit to it and the rest will follow.
Why is it wow? 