Teaching Choir During COVID-19 School Closures

Like many of us, I watched as the news came in from China about the Coronavirus and couldn’t fathom how it would make its way into my life. So much can change in such a short period of time! Last weekend I was in Rochester, New York at the ACDA Eastern Division Convention, and this weekend I’m considering making one single trek to the supermarket and spending the rest of the time hunkered down with my kids.

One concern that was on the minds of many of my choral friends as the news rolled in about closings is that teaching music classes online—especially choral classes—seems impossible. How does one take an art that relies on personal connections and collaboration and translate it into virtual isolation? What are we supposed to do? We can’t all be Eric Whitacre. #virtualchoir

I was scrolling through multiple Facebook posts about resources and ideas, and thought, well, let’s just get it all in one place. So, I opened a Google Doc, put on “Dora the Explorer” for my daughters, and compiled all the ideas I could find into the doc . I set the doc to public and made it shareable and editable, posted on my feed and few of my friends, as well as on the “I’m a Choir Director” page, and here we are.

As many of us are not sure if schools will close or stay open, and things could change drastically from one day to the next, my hope is that the doc will be available and helpful both for those teachers and directors who have ample time to prepare, and also for those that find themselves suddenly at a loss for next steps. There are headings for various kinds of resources and ideas. In just a little over 24 hours it became a crowd-sourced resource; directors have shared best practices, other links and virtual helplines and ideas which are great and helpful.

A few words of caution that I have thought of or pulled from other places as we start to go down this road together:

1. Don’t try to “reinvent the wheel.” There are lots of great ideas that already exist. Use them. Now is not the time for crazy innovations. For most of us, it’s just time to keep the lights on and keep kids engaged. I don’t think anyone is going to get an award for “Best Virtual Choir Website.” You know your ensemble. Do what works for them.

2. Use tools kids already know how to use. Don’t test drive a new resource they’ve never seen. If you do decide to use something new to you and them, include a tutorial video or help guide, and be prepared to answer a lot of questions. Some districts are mandating “office hours” online during the school day. Having designated times when students can reach you seems like a great practice.

3. You may consider sticking to one of the “Artistic Processes” found in the National Core Arts Standards. For example, maybe you decide to focus in the Responding area for a while. Let those standards guide you to ideas that are still meaningful, and not only compliance-driven.

4. Most kids will stop watching a video if it’s too long. Keep your video moments short.

5. Remember to follow all of your school’s policies around technology and sharing of student identifying information. If your district won’t allow students to utilize certain outside resources without school approval, seek that approval ahead of time or don’t do it.;

6. Remember that images, sound files, and other items found on these resources may be copyrighted. While one would hope that people would do their due diligence, with the speed of these things coming online and the quick sharing that’s happening, people may not be checking to make sure that intellectual property is clear for reuse.

7. For safety’s sake, put your modules/online lessons in a password protected, school resource learning management system. Nothing you post should be searchable.

8. As the doc is now crowdsourced and growing by the hour, I’m disclaiming responsibility for what’s in there. I’m otherwise occupied at my job during business hours and managing my two small humans at night, so I can’t vouch for every single resource. Hopefully people will study up and make decisions about what to use on their own.

One last thing. We got into this crazy profession at least in part because of the human aspect of it. We get to make music with students, and there’s a deep humanity to what we do. Be aware that both you and your students may be vulnerable and feeling anxious and other complicated emotions throughout this experience. For some kids, being home is worse than being at school. Within your abilities, allow for that and hold space for them. Be open and available.

We will learn more about choral online learning as we go. As I heard from an administrator yesterday, “We’re building the plane as we fly it.” Keep your kids engaged with you and with your ensemble however you can. And let’s help each other. What a great model we can be for our students if we demonstrate how we can work together and be collaborative!