Choral techniques for children's choirs: a qualitative approach

[摘要] English: Children's choirs gained recognition during the twentieth century as an acclaimedcategory in Western choral music. This choral category's subsequent dynamic evolvementhas brought to the fore the need to broaden the knowledge of specialised rehearsal andconducting techniques, especially in view of its internationally competitive nature.As part of the growing body of knowledge in the field, conductors have contributed tothe development of the instrument through the design of didactic methods generatingspecific artistic results. The evidence of studies on the topic, and in particular, the lack ofqualitative data, highlighted the need to systematically investigate and document allmusic-technical foundations of children's choral singing as practised by leadingconductors in the field.It is the aim of this study to explore a range of theoretical, practical and didactic issues byway of a qualitative investigation. In order to contribute to the body of knowledge on thedevelopment of the vocal instrument of children, and to provide a substantive frameworkfor conducting methods generating specific artistic results, this study documents theresponses of a number of world-renowned conductors of children's choirs.The study is introduced by a brief overview of the historical background to theevolvement of the children's choir. In this regard it has been found that the remarkabledevelopment of this choral category during the course of the last century was stimulatedin particular by various inputs from the educational and compositional field, from whicha unique choral pedagogy for children that included both voice skills and voice healthtraining was realised during the 1980s. It also became clear that conductors contributedconsiderably to the evolvement of this choral category by means of their activeengagement with the field, and by disseminating experience and knowledge throughpublications, symposia and workshops.A literature study first examined general aspects of choral directing, which were thenparticularised in terms of the children's choir. A qualitative study followed thatdocumented the views of various renowned conductors, which amplified the precedingliterature findings on certain techniques the conductor should apply to build the child'svoice expertly as an instrument of musical excellence.The data chapter not only reiterated the important role of the conductor, but confirmedthat the conductor's role extends beyond the musical director's function to that ofnurturer and educationalist, which also includes a strong psychological dimension. It wasmade clear that the role of the conductor is vital already during the auditioning andrepertoire selection processes, where the potential success of the choir originates. Themusical ability of children carries more weight than the quality of an individual voice,and therefore has to be assessed in a variety of effective ways. It was also stressed that therepertoire for this choral category has to be suitable for children, taking into accountaspects such as level of performance, language and cultural background, as well asmusical variety.The findings showed a strong correlation between the literature and the qualitative data,although the latter provided a rich individualistic account. It was clear that choraltechniques for this instrument should be holistic in approach, starting with the bodyposture and working towards the creation of a desired homogeneous choral soundthrough touching on numerous physical and psychological aspects. As part of thisprocess, the conductor needs to focus on elements of choral sound such as relaxation,breathing, registers, vowels, phrasing, legato singing, pronunciation, articulation andagility, resonance, pitching and intonation.Finally the study offered recommendations for present and future conductors ofchildren's choirs to enhance this art form, and extend the excellence of this type of choralsinging at national and international level.

[发布机构] University of the Free State