Surprise Me! Planning a Mystery Destination Youth Choir Tour

Surprise Me! Planning a Mystery Destination Youth Choir Tour

Hi friends!

Today, I'm featuring a dear friend and church musician extraordinaire, Janis Maxwell. Janis is Director of Youth Music Ministry and Organist at Athens First United Methodist in Athens, GA (Go Dawgs!). When it comes to youth choir and youth ministry, she is a wealth of knowledge and creative ideas and I know you'll love what she has to share.

Have a topic you'd like her to write about in the future? Leave a comment at the end of this post! - Ashley

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We are pretty traditional in my current church setting, and we “do” youth choir pretty much the same way churches have “done” youth choir for the past thirty years. We rehearse on Sundays, sing in worship, sing in the community, and take a summer choir tour. Just typing this out makes me feel in need of a makeover!

This year we shook things up a bit with a Mystery Destination Choir Tour. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but I have several friends who have tried it and loved it, so this year it was my turn. The kids were not thrilled. Actually, they were really good sports about it, but I have discovered that they are not used to the idea of Surprise.

What to Teach When in Children's Choir: Older Elementary

What to Teach When in Children's Choir: Older Elementary

A few weeks ago, I shared a “What to Teach When” post for Younger Elementary (read it here, in case you missed it!)

Today, I’m sharing the same type of post for Older Elementary singers. 

Here is a general list of musical skills and concepts you can teach to children in 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade. Use this chart as a point of reference in your teaching, an outline of what to teach when, and a guide to what children at different ages may be capable of, developmentally and musically.

Like with Younger Elementary, remember that children are often capable of higher levels of learning and musicianship when surrounded by others who are a bit older and more experienced. If you have younger and older elementary children together in one group, you may be able to introduce things that are a level or two above the youngest members of your choir.

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An Inside Look at My Creative Process

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An Inside Look at My Creative Process

Creativity is one of those elusive things that’s hard to wrap your mind around sometimes. What is it? Does everyone have it? Can it be developed?

One of the big things I’ve learned about creativity over the past few years is that, more than anything else, creativity is a way of thinking. It’s a way of looking at the world, interacting with it, challenging it; studying things, testing things, and a relentless desire to explore new territory.

Some people naturally tend to think this way, but that doesn’t mean creativity is limited to certain individuals. Creative thinking is a strategy; it’s a skill that can be developed.

Let’s delve into theory for just a minute:

Creative thinking (in any context) has four main components: Flexibility, Fluency, Originality, and Elaboration (source).

5 Simple Ways to Communicate with Your Choir

5 Simple Ways to Communicate with Your Choir

Communication skills are such an important part of ministry: keeping people connected and engaged, and making them feel a part of the things that are going on, both in the music program and in the church as a whole. Clear, consistent communication is key to building and sustaining your music program and developing that core sense of community among all involved.

I’ve talked about building community before (see How to Build Community in Your Choir), but it’s worth saying again:

"I believe the heart of ministry is community - a sense of connectedness, fellowship, and unity; shared responsibility and ownership. If we aren't united in our mission and work together as a choir, what kind of ministry do we have?"

How do you unite everyone, in mission and work? You guessed it - communication.

It doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, the simpler the communication is, the easier and more effective it will be most times. The important thing is that you keep communication lines open, that you regularly share updates, encouragement, news, and other reminders in a consistent way, and that you do your best to keep people involved and connected to the work you’re doing. 

Here are five simple ways to communicate regularly with your choir throughout the year:

What to Teach When in Children's Choir: Younger Elementary

What to Teach When in Children's Choir: Younger Elementary

Have you ever wondered what’s developmentally appropriate for children in 1st grade versus 2nd grade, or what order you should teach things in? How soon should you start talking about things like steady beat or vowels or breath? When are children ready to sing in parts?

There aren’t hard-and-fast rules about this sort of thing in church choir settings, but I’ve put together a general list of musical skills and concepts for children in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade, a group often referred to as Younger Elementary.

Use this chart as a point of reference in your teaching, an outline of what to teach when, and a guide to what children at different ages may be capable of, developmentally and musically.

A note for those of you with a combined choir: I know it can be a challenge sometimes to know what to teach when. How do you challenge your older children while not planning activities that are over the younger ones’ heads and keep everyone engaged and participating the whole time? Do you aim for the median grade level?

What I Purchased This Summer: New Piano and Organ Books

What I Purchased This Summer: New Piano and Organ Books

What will I play on Sunday?

As all church musicians know, it can be a struggle to find interesting but accessible arrangements that are well-written to play in worship week after week. 

A few years ago, I wrote these posts about some of my favorite organ and piano books:

10 Practical Collections for the Church Organist
Tried-and-True Favorite Collections for the Church Pianist

These collections are still great, but I’ve since updated my own library a bit and come across some new books I thought I’d recommend. So, in case you’re looking for some fresh new music for this year, here are my newest organ and piano books:

A to Z: Must-Haves for Your Choir Room and Rehearsals

A to Z: Must-Haves for Your Choir Room and Rehearsals

It’s back-to-school season, which means it’s time for all things Fall, new school supplies, and the start of a new choir year. 

If you’re a planner, like me, and you like things to be organized, you probably spent some time this summer cleaning out choir folders and boxes, straightening up counters and rearranging chairs, getting the piano tuned, and planning music for the Fall and Christmas. You may have even spruced up your choir room a bit, with a new bulletin board, fresh whiteboard markers, and a blank calendar.

What’s missing?

Well, whether you’re working with an adult choir, a youth choir, or a children’s choir, there are a few things every choir room (and rehearsal) should have. Here’s my must-have list, from A to Z:

40 Call and Response Songs and Games for Children's Choir

40 Call and Response Songs and Games for Children's Choir

Call and response is a musical form based on dialogue - someone sings or plays a phrase of music and someone else (or a group of people) respond in the subsequent phrase. Call and response stems from a variety of musical traditions, including African, Cuban, folk, and even church music (think cantor and congregation). (source)

Call and response can be a useful teaching tool, as it gives young children an opportunity to listen, imitate, explore the voice, and gain confidence in their singing.

Use a short call and response song at the beginning of your rehearsal (a “hello” or other greeting song), in the middle as a change-of-pace activity or game (see singing game ideas below), or at the end of your rehearsal (a “goodbye” song).

If you’ve never taught a call and response song to children before, here are a few pointers:

New! Online Keyboard Skills Class for Church Musicians

New! Online Keyboard Skills Class for Church Musicians

Music school is great, but if you want to be a church musician in the 21st century, there are lots of things you're left to figure out on your own - things that simply aren't taught in most schools or private studios.

This includes:

  • playing and singing or playing and conducting at the same time
  • accompanying and supporting choral and congregational singing
  • harmonizing melodies (with and without chord symbols)
  • finding cadence points and vamping in the moment
  • creating modulations and transposing at sight
  • improvising transitions and creating musical underscores
  • playing 5-finger patterns in all 24 keys (12 major, 12 minor)

And the list goes on. Where do you start? How do you learn and develop these skills?

If you can relate to any of this, then this course is for you.

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Non-Salesy Ways to Recruit and Sustain Your Music Ministry

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Non-Salesy Ways to Recruit and Sustain Your Music Ministry

Growing a church music program is an important part of what we do as directors and leaders. In building a program, we’re building a place where people of all ages and walks of life can come and learn and grow. We’re creating a safe environment for them to explore and discover and feel loved and supported and encouraged.

Most of you likely inherited your church’s choir program and are building year to year on that foundation. Others of you might be starting from scratch—building a program from the ground up.

Either way, we’re always building, right? Trying new things, finding new things to offer, creating new opportunities for people to come and grow in their faith and knowledge of God, learn about music and develop musical skills, and find new ways to connect to worship.

Some of our biggest challenges as church musicians are recruiting people to be part of the ministry work we do and sustaining that ministry for years to come.

Sound familiar? If so, this post is for you!

Today, I’m sharing five effective tips and strategies for recruiting for your church ministry and outlining several things you can do to help sustain your ministry, now and in the future.

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

Let’s be honest, this month (year?!) has been hard. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: As an independent, self-employed musician and small business owner, you’re resilient. You don’t give up when s
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The October Musician & Co. Book Club pick is… 📘 Hidden Genius: The Secret Ways of Thinking That Power the World’s Most Successful People This book is a collection of stories, insights, and lessons learned from top performers, entr