The 3 Considerations of Middle School Repertoire Selection

I’ve always believed that repertoire selection is perhaps the most important responsibility of music educators. After all, the music in your folder is not only your set list, it’s also your textbook, curriculum, lesson plans, talking points, exercises, assessments, motivational tools, inspiration, and so on. So what should you look for when choosing repertoire? For me, there are three important considerations—current skills , developmental goals , and artistic interests . If just one of these elements is evident within a selection, that’s good. When two are present, even better. But a piece that satisfies all three of these categories will undoubtedly prove most satisfying from the first rehearsal to the final performance.

Skills

At the middle school level especially, assessing and accepting some limitations of the developing voice is key. All voices change during adolescence, and during this shift, distinct challenges arise. Vocal ranges are limited, tone becomes thin, breathing capacity is in short supply, and concentration can be lacking. Don’t be afraid of these truths, simply know what they are and embrace them as stipulations for music selection. Keep track of any specific obstacles for your group, and seek out repertoire that falls naturally within their skill set. For instance, if your boys don’t have a full baritone range, go with 3-part mixed repertoire, which is built upon just six mid-range notes. If your singers have not yet mastered the independent lines found in canons and partner songs, then they are not quite ready for parallel harmonies. If your group seems to struggle with long lyrical lines, look for literature with more modest phrasing. Does this mean that you are not meant to lead your singers to the next level of excellence? Absolutely not. But balancing challenges with success is essential. Imagine a scale with “we-got-this” (current skills) on one side and “we-need-to-learn-this” (developmental goals) on the other. Avoid tipping the scale too far in either direction.

Goals

This brings us to those ever-so-important new skills that we want to develop. Your list might include specific musical benchmarks (like intervals and rhythms from your curriculum), choral standards (such as part-singing), technical advancements (maybe singing with fully-supported tone at a piano dynamic), or general musicianship (like understanding Italian musical terms). Without a doubt, the best way to introduce, practice, and assess these goals is through our repertoire. Looking to unify the vowels of your singers? Choose a short Latin text. Is the group ready to explore swing rhythms? Find a great jazz standard. Do you want to demonstrate that music is truly multicultural? Program an authentic world-music arrangement. All of the concepts you want to teach can (and probably should) be supported by your literature. And please don’t forget about the words. Lyrics shape the attitude and latitude of our choral ensembles. Latitude? That’s right. Texts can raise us up (or the opposite), so I call that “latitude.” Let’s make it a goal to choose texts that elevate us, all of us.

Interests

Now more than ever, we want students to remember their love of singing. Directors might need to put in some extra effort to motivate socially distancing singers, and find ways for them to connect through music. You might ask yourself, “What music will inspire my choir members?” “Can my students see themselves in our repertoire?” “Will singers (and you, the conductor) look forward to singing this song?” One of the best ways to captivate choir members is to select music that they know, or at least recognize. When carefully chosen, an arrangement from, say, Hamilton or a trending pop artist can be extremely appealing, and might even offer just the right message for our time. But popular music is not the only way to engage singers, and your own musical palette is not to be ignored. In fact, personal taste is easily factored into this equation because students often respond very positively to the music that inspires their conductor. After all, who better than the director who loves a cappella singing to garner that same appreciation from her choir members?

The truth is that all three of these elements greatly influence one another. If we don’t have the skills needed for success, we lose interest. If we have no interest in a piece, we lack desire. And without a desire, there is no motivation to reach toward those goals. But when repertoire provides a balance of interest, challenge, and achievability, singers become engaged; teaching and learning come easily; goals are achieved; skills are developed.