Choir Ninja, with Ryan Guth

Latest Episodes:

So Awkward! The Clean Getaway: End Your Concert Right, with Ryan Guth (3 of 4) Apr 18, 2017

Show notes

You’ve given the final cut off, you’ve taken the last bow, but the show’s not really over until Elvis has most definitely left the building. In today’s episode you’ll find tips for talking to members of the audience, releasing your choir after a job well done, and celebrating afterwards. End your concert in a way that’s satisfying for your singers, your audience, and yourself. Listen: Click and Highlight to Tweet: Kids tend to think self-deprecation is a form of humility. It’s not. Show Notes: After the show

Remain “ON” until you get in the car.
Leave “briskly” to enhance “mystery”
- draw the curtain
- dismount the risers
- exit the hall
Get back to the green room
- Address your choir
- Dismiss them to greet their people
Greet your people ASAP
- Shake hands
- Take photos with the choir members if asked
- Kiss a baby
- If you feel awkward because no one is walking up to you, then walk up to them and say “Thank you for coming!’
- This is not a time for parent/teacher conferences. Dismiss everything irrelevant by saying “I’d be happy to discuss this with you at another time. Email me your question?”
Learn to accept a compliment
- “Thank you. I’m really glad you enjoyed it”
- Self-deprecation is NOT humility
Learn how to respond to a criticism
- “Thank you. I’m really glad you enjoyed it”
- Keep it positive - “I see where you’re coming from.”
- Redirect: “What DID you enjoy?”
- Don’t engage negativity.
Learn to reflect later
- With yourself
- With peers in the choir
Recruit help to break down the performing area/reset the room
- This should not be the director’s job by themself
Celebrate with people who support you.
- It feels good.
- It may be up to you to schedule this ahead of time

3 Key Takeaways:

Leave like you mean it, not like you are unsure of what to do next
Two main groups need your attention immediately after the concert: your singers and your audience.
After the concert, it’s time to celebrate. Hold off on any critical analysis until the next day.

Resources/links Mentioned:

It’s time for a contest! BIG PRIZE for the winner...personal concert planning consultation session with Ryan Guth and Stevie Berryman, PLUS, we’ll design a print ready program for you. Hit the ground running this fall!
Check out the amazing voice work of Tim Paige! He’s the voice of the Choir Ninja intro.
Briskly

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!) Also Sponsored by: My Music Folders (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for THE BEST price)

The Big Reveal, with Someone Apr 14, 2017

Show notes

It’s possibly the most important podcast Ryan has ever recorded! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll learn all about the awesome new changes at Choir Ninja! Listen: Click to download episode! Show Notes: There are so many awesome things discussed in this podcast, but we’d prefer you listen to it than read about them. Otherwise, it ruins the surprise! Quote to Tweet: I deal with ninjas all the time. 3 Key Takeaways:

Choir Ninja is awesome, and getting awesomer
You are awesome. Yes, you, Little Ninja!
Become a Patron of the show, because, damn. It’s just that awesome.

Resources/links Mentioned:

Additional Things That Are Awesome:

This song
Unicorn cookies that poop rainbow sprinkles
This piano:

This Choir Ninja
This trailer
Ryan Gosling memes:

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!)

So Awkward! Think Like a Museum Curator for Foolproof Audience Engagement, with Ryan Guth (2 of 4) Apr 11, 2017

Show notes

Your concert can be more than a curriculum review. Capture and maintain your audience’s attention throughout the duration of your concert by minding your flow, mimicking an art museum, and telling them everything. Tweet This: Give your concert “French portions”: small servings, intense flavors. Click to download episode! Show Notes:

Do everything “briskly”
- all movement must be rehearsed so it goes quickly
- Rehearse ALL logistics
No dead air
- Connect everything together
  - with music
    - feature soloists
  - with speaking
Make sure your flow is intentional
- Do you start with the youngest group just because they’re the youngest?
- Beware of arbitrary programming
- account for choir members in multiple groups
  - uniform changes
  - who needs to be where and when
  - sometimes you’ll have to rework the physical layout of the concert and rehearse the logistics more
Make every piece important to your audience
- Think of walking an art museum
  - YOU are the curator of your own musical museum
    - Every piece has a reason for being
    - share that with the audience
    - make it easy for them to follow
- Make sure programs contain ALL texts/translations
  - Even English
  - Even Popular Music
  - No budget for printing a million pages?
    - Make an e-program available
    - project texts on the wall
- Introduce your pieces
  - Put the piece in context
    - historically
    - politically
    - what was the story?
    - what was the composer’s/poet’s “why”?
    - why did YOU program this piece?
Assure that there’s balance within the program
- tempos
- texts (heavy/light-hearted)
- length of individual selections
Your concert should pack a punch
- French portions (rich flavor - small portions)
- Keep it under 75 minutes
  - if it’s more than that, you have two concerts
Send em home humming!

3 Key Takeaways:

It’s all about the flow of the show, so make it intentional.
Make every piece important to your audience.
Put EVERYTHING in your program. Or on a screen. Or in a script. But by God, put it somewhere.

Resources/links Mentioned:

Support Choir Ninja on Patreon
My course on Teachers Pay Teachers: Design Gorgeous Programs using Canva

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!)

Uke, I Am Your Father, with Christopher Kurt Apr 07, 2017

Show notes

Christopher Kurt explains how you can become a Ukulele Ninja like him. Besides being quirky, fun, and astonishingly on trend at the moment, ukuleles have a lot of value to add to your choral or general music classroom. Listen: Show Notes: He’s from Iowa. Not from Colorado. And that’s important. Christopher teaches 6th-8th grade general music classes and directs 3 choirs. When he began his job at Aldo Leopold Middle School he found he had inherited ukulele lab, including 35 instruments that had been there for 20-30 years. Having access to the instruments inspired Christopher to teach himself to play. Ukulele makes a great classroom instrument because the 4 basic chords are easy to learn, the instruments are cheap, accessible, and provide an immediate win for students. Multitasking is hard for middle school students (and for Christopher, who falls up stairs). Singing and playing at same time lets them multitask successfully. A little less than half of his time with 8th grade students is spent on the ukulele unit. They start off by covering the ground rules; how to hold it; c maj chord; how to strum; strumming patterns. He follows the teaching/modeling pattern: I do, we do, you do. Music literacy concepts include: what’s a chord, a triad, learning individual (plucked) notes, note value/rhythms. Composition concepts include: writing lyrics, chords, creating strumming patterns. Choral applications include: use as accompanying instrument instead of piano, talent show, pops concert, encourages listening, self-accompany solo singing Ukulele playing allows students to make a song their own, molded according to their own creative vision. Students might not keep playing ukulele once the unit is finished, but the practice habits and work ethic they learn are widely applicable. Christopher has written classroom ukulele curriculum on edmodo; it’s a badge achievement system with leaderboard to encourage competition across classes. Contact Christopher in the Choir Nation Facebook group for more info about his curriculum (being used in a collegiate level class). 3 Key Takeaways

Ukulele is an affordable classroom addition that can teach a wide variety of music literacy concepts. Several concepts cross-apply to choral education: listening, recognizing chord changes, steady rhythm.
Ukulele offers a different path to success for some students who may not achieve elsewhere. Because it is fun and accessible, students can create their own music.
Even if students do not continue to study ukulele after the unit is over, the concepts of good practice habits and work ethics will apply to many future pursuits.

Resources/Links mentioned:

Explore further:

Free resources for classroom ukulele
Want to learn how to play on your own? Check out the app Yousician
All your ukulele questions answered

Title inspiration: Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!) Bio: Christopher Kurt is in his third year of teaching 6-8 General & Choral Music at Aldo Leopold Middle School in Burlington, IA. He graduated from Wartburg College in May 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a Vocal Emphasis. In his first two years of teaching, Christopher has been nominated twice for The Hawkeye’s “Teacher of The Year” Award. This past fall, he was a presenter at the Iowa Technology & Educators Connection Conference. Christopher is passionate about music, fantasy football, warm weather, human rights, froyo, and Netflix. He has watched the series “How I Met Your Mother” ten times through within the past three years and states his vast knowledge of the show is one of his greatest attributes. At school, he wears fun and unique socks each day that often match his brightly colored shirts and manbun hair-ties. Though he has never gotten past the first round, he has tried out for American Idol three times and The Voice once, but did see Ryan Seacrest at one of the auditions and screamed like a 12-year old at a Justin Bieber concert, so that counts for something, right? IG: @topherk44 Facebook: Christopher Kurt

So Awkward! What the dog whisperer taught me about starting every concert, with Ryan Guth (1 of 4) Apr 04, 2017

Show notes

The first installment of a fun four-part episode series for any choral director, So Awkward addresses all the ways we can prevent awkward concerts for us, for our choirs, and most importantly for our audiences. In this installment I talk about some little ways to start each concert off so that you are the epitome of awesome and achieve the “Wow” factor before your choir even sings a note. Many of these lesson I learned from watching The Dog Whisperer on Animal Planet. Listen:

Click to download episode!

Show Notes:

Diagram your entire flow for the evening
- Who does what?
- Who goes where, and when?
- Duty assignments
- Focus on presence
  - Cell phones in a locked room
Call time for your choir
- Have your choir come earlier than you think
- “You do what I say. No questions asked.”
- Give a focused pep talk
  - Hard: Your parents will love you even if you suck
  - Soft: Vulnerability
- “Calm and Assertive” like Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer
Choir member duties
- Greeters
- Programs
- Ushers
- Floaters
What to do when the audience arrives
- Everyone gets eye contact with at least two people involved in the concert
- Make sure there are signs pointing them in the right direction
Seating
- Ushers guide everyone to their seats.
  - Front and center fills up first
  - Block off the “off-limits” areas in your venue
  - Suggested seating for “restless” babies
Projections
- Cell phone policy
- Announcements/upcoming concerts
- Link to e-program
- FAQ’s for parents if you’re in a school situation.
  - When’s the final exam?
  - When’s the deposit due for next year’s trip?
ALWAYS start with singing!
- Don’t say a word, unless it’s “Please rise for the singing of the National Anthem.”
- Be sure to plant clappers in the audience ;)

3 Key Takeaways:

The performance starts the moment anyone (choir members included) walks into the venue.
If you don’t direct the audience, they’ll direct themselves.
Always start with singing!

Resources/links Mentioned:

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!)

A crash course in classifying high school voices, with Ryan Guth Mar 31, 2017

Show notes

Some of us barely get to see our students individually for any real length of time, so today I’m going over my short process for classifying voices as soprano, alto, tenor, or baritone/bass using examples from my own high school choir. We will dig into what to listen for, ideal characteristics of each voice part, actual exercises to use during classification, and more. Listen: Click to download episode! Show Notes: Disclaimer: These are my opinions. Take what you want and leave what you don’t. :)

When to classify
1. upon entering the program
  1. Trust no one! Do it yourself.
2. beginning of the school year
3. mid-year
4. as needed on a student-by-student basis.
  1. Student comes to you and asks
  2. You feel the need
Pyramid of sound
1. Bottom heavy
2. ⅔ approach
3. 6 Basses, 4 Tenors, 9 Altos, 6 Sopranos
What does a quick and dirty high school voice classification sound like?
1. 2-3 exercises
  1. Descending: S, F, M, R, D - on [di]
  2. Legato: D, R, M, R, D - on [ja]
  3. Range extension/flexibility: S, D1, S, M, D - on [i a - - -]
2. Main things to listen for (ranked from most - least important)
  1. Tone color
  2. Range
  3. Break
  4. Ability to modify to modify vowels at range extremes
What is a high school ___________?
1. Gentlemen (range matters more)
  1. Baritone/Bass
    1. Strong F/G2 - D/E4
    2. Generally darker tone color
    3. Baritones (Bass 1’s) sing consistent high E4’s
    4. Basses (Bass 2’s) sing consistent low E2’s
  2. Tenor
    1. Strong D3 - G/A4
    2. Generally brighter tone color
    3. Tenor 1’s float
    4. Tenor 2’s bring core tenor sound
2. Ladies (color matters more)
  1. Alto
    1. Strong G3 - E5
    2. Generally darker tone color
    3. Alto 1’s need better musicianship
    4. Alto 2’s need “bring the beef”
  2. Soprano
    1. Strong C4 - B5/C6 (some coaching may be necessary)
    2. Generally brighter tone color
    3. Soprano 1’s float
    4. Soprano 2’s need better musicianship
Other items to consider
1. Musicianship: What do you do when you have a voice that can sing soprano or alto, but the struggle with aural skills?
  1. Put them where they’re needed most.
2. Odd qualities in female voices (folds don’t come together, due to overuse of chest dominant speaking/yelling)
  1. Raspy - alto
    1. Refer for checkup
  2. Breathy - soprano
    1. Could be a confidence issue
    2. Could be used to chest-heavy singing
3. Can girls sing tenor when needed?
  1. Sing healthy notes only. Don’t allow egos to mess with vocal health.

3 Key Takeaways:

Bottom-heavy choirs are great choirs
Classify on color with female voices
Classify on range with male voices

Resources/links Mentioned:

Support Choir Ninja on Patreon

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!)

How to succeed at a national-level conference performance, with Daniel Gutierrez Mar 28, 2017

Show notes

Today, I deep dive into the practices of Daniel Gutierrez of Reed Academy Singers to find out what it takes to put together the type of performance that receives not one, but two standing ovations at the National ACDA conference. Click to download episode! Show Notes:

Stay the course (Don’t go crazy)
Be open to advice and criticism
Perform a lot
Raising the standard
Record everything
Hold students accountable
Demonstrate vulnerability
Trust each other

3 Key Takeaways:

Do more of what you do best. Don’t change what you do in your program just because you were accepted to a conference.
Your language matters. “That was good” after everything doesn’t raise the bar.
Vulnerability is key.

Resources/links Mentioned:

Danny’s first episode, Find Your Forte episode 057: Boop After Me: How to 25x your choral program, with Daniel Gutierrez
Link to purchase ACDA performance by Reed Academy Middle School

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!) Bio: Daniel Gutierrez, a native of Long Island, New York, is the choral director at Reed Academy as well as the artistic director for Boys Choir of Springfield, Missouri. Daniel is an active clinician and presenter throughout the country. He was named "Springfield Hometown Hero" by Springfield’s CBS station, was finalist for Springfield Public Schools "Teacher of the Year" in 2014 and 2015, and a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY National Music Education Award. The Reed Academy Choirs have won their division at the Worlds of Fun Festival of Choirs the past three years, been featured at music educator conferences and university performances, opened for world-renowned lecturers, and have been very active within their local community. In addition to being selected to perform at the National ACDA Conference, the program also had two choirs performing at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference this school year (representing both elementary and middle school).

End your year strong with these 10 “Re’s”, with Ryan Guth Mar 24, 2017

Show notes

It’s time for a little boost of self-confidence and reassurance from the Choir Ninja! If you’re feeling a little down about how the year has gone for you, here are some things to do to give you the boost you need to finish the year on a high note! Listen: Click to download episode! Show Notes:

Reject the notion that you’re not good enough! Success always comes with a little imposter syndrome.
Recognize that your choir is a reflection of your spirit. If you don’t like what you’ve seen or heard at any point this year, it’s time to look in the mirror and take responsibility. Chances are it was your own insecurity at play.
Remember that you’ll never make everyone happy, so don’t sweat it!
- Your choir, run by you, isn’t necessarily for everyone, and that’s okay!
- REsistance is natural in the lifecycle of making a difference. Read the War of Art, by Stephen Pressfield.
Renounce students that don’t want to be there and focus on those who share your values.
- You’ll attract choir members who love your style and over time you’ll end up with a choir of raving fans, not adversaries.
Recount the times this past year where your student(s) “got it”, and pat yourself on the back!
- What did you do?
- What made it so special?
Recall your highlights reel, and smile!
- Best rehearsal
- Most successful performance
- Most thoughtful parent email
Refresh, Refresh: To finish strong, do more of what worked!
Recycle a song or activity your choir loved.
Reinvest in yourself and your education by staying tuned to Choir Ninja, going to a conference, buying a book, or taking a class (in anything)!
- You can see me in Iowa at ICDA in July and Chorus America in June!
- Resolve to support those who help you along the way.
Rewind and listen again and write down the things I’ve asked you to recall. this episode with someone who needs encouragement.

3 Key Takeaways:

You choose your battles based on your values, so choose what it is you value and focus like a laser.
Reading is the cheapest way to reinvest in your education. You don’t need a master’s degree to feel successful!
Do more of what worked!

Resources/links Mentioned:

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson
The War of Art, by Stephen Pressfield
Support the show! My Patreon

Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!)

Starting a high school barbershop program, with Donny Rose and Antonio Lombardi Mar 20, 2017

Show notes

Music, men, and money...What more can a high school program need? Join Donny and Antonio of the Barbershop Harmony Society as we explore the potential success you can have with Barbershop as part of your school choral offerings. Listen: Click to download episode! Show Notes:

Why start a chapter
- Confidence
- Emotional growth and vulnerability
- Better singing and easier singing
- Growth of your choral program
- Enthusiasm for singing
Things you need to start a chapter
- Enthusiasm
  - Positivity
  - Communication skills
- Accessible music
- Young people who love to sing
- Administrative support
Want to learn more?

3 Key Takeaways:

Barbershop can attract additional music, men, and money to your already great choral program.
Barbershop Harmony Society offers tons of free resources for anyone interested in trying a song or two, or even starting a chapter.
There are free scholarships to Harmony University available specifically for music educators, so it’s likely you won’t have to pay a dime to attend.

Resources/links Mentioned: