Week 7: Haslett Middle School, 7th Grade

On Tuesday I had my seventh observation of Samara Valla's seventh grade choir. The choir received a new piece for their upcoming pops concert, and I had the opportunity to do a sectional with the sopranos! The students were learning "Hey, Soul Sister," the song made popular by Train, and I had to teach the chorus of the piece. I started out by trying break everything down and had the girls chant the rhythm on rhythm syllables, but I was WAY too verbal in my instructions, and ended up with just a bunch of confused stares. I paused and took a breath, and then realized that these girls probably already knew the tune so I just had them sing through the passage, and it worked! We went back through and added in dynamics and such, and everything went smoothly from there. We finished a little early, and the girls even asked if we could keep going! This was a really great experience for me - I've learned not to let my nerves get the best of me, and sometimes you just have to pause and change your course of action in the moment. It's scary, but also quite exciting! I look forward to having another chance to work with the students next week!