Week Two: Haslett Middle School, 7th Grade

This past week, I had my second observation of Mrs. Valla's seventh grade choir.  This rehearsal was chock full of activity and singing, and it was really enjoyable to watch!

Mrs. Valla began the rehearsal right off the bat by just sitting at the piano to play for the warm up. As soon as she began to play, the students immediately stood up and began to sing. The warm up included a wide variety of vocalizes, that covered the areas of breathing, voiced consonants, resonators and singing. It appears that the classroom is really well structured, and that the students are conditioned to be in the habit of showing up to work from the moment a note on the piano is played. Every so often throughout the warm up, Mrs. Valla would chime in with a reminder such as "I don't hear singing supported by the diaphragm!" or "When you get up on the top notes, I need more 'Minnie Mouse!'" These notes really improved the quality of singing, and kept the students focused on producing a good, supported sound. One of the main teaching techniques that Mrs. Valla uses in her classroom is modeling. She has really mastered the ability to model the sounds that the students should be creating at this level, and I look forward to observing this more, as I personally have difficulty simplifying my own vocal model for choral students.

The organization of the rehearsal was very fluid and the class moved swiftly from one activity to the next. Mrs. Valla does not do much talking, she just jumps right into the next activity and the kids follow right along. To me, this is a sign of rock-solid classroom management because everyone is on the same page the entire rehearsal. It's really impressive! Mrs. Valla also has a great rapport/relationship with the students - the class is able to talk and joke around with her, but they also know when it is time to work.

Overall, this was another great rehearsal! I am looking forward to observing the class more, and eventually having the opportunity to work with the kids a little bit!