Vocal (singing) skills. The concept of “vocal skills” as a problem of music pedagogy and psychology

Application of vocal and performing skills when learning works with primary schoolchildren

Formation of vocal-choral and performing skills in the youth choir of Altai State University. Before proceeding to perform the works, each singer needs to sing. Singing exercises solve two problems: bringing the voice into the best working condition and instilling in the singer good performing skills. Warming up the vocal apparatus precedes vocal technical training.

Methodologically, this concept should not be confused, although practically both tasks can be performed simultaneously. For a beginning singer who does not yet have sufficient command of the correct sound, any singing is a technical part of the training. It is valuable to consciously combine vocal exercises with the goal of teaching musical notation. Musical scores help achieve this, making it possible to connect your auditory ideas with visual ones. An amateur performer sings a certain sequence of sounds and sees this sequence on the staff.

In case of intonation deficiencies, the leader points to the corresponding sound or melodic interval. This is how musically untrained singers quietly become acquainted with musical literacy. The need for singing before a lesson or performance is dictated by the law of gradually bringing the vocal organs into an active working state. Chanting is a connecting link between rest and singing activity, a bridge from one physiological state to another.

The entire singing process in an amateur choir must be adjusted by physiological capabilities and mental characteristics. Let's look at some typical shortcomings of the guys who came to the chapel. 1. Vocally unprepared guys breathe unevenly when singing; they seem to be choking on their breath, raising their shoulders. Such shallow, clavicular breathing has an adverse effect on both sound and the body. To eliminate this drawback, we sang exercises, evenly distributing breathing with our mouth closed and doing a half-yawn position. 2. Forced, intense sound.

It stands out for its excessively increased dynamics, sharpness, and roughness of execution. The strength of sound in this case is a false criterion for the artistic assessment of singing, and loudness is achieved not by using resonators, but by intensively pushing out the sound. As a result, pressure occurs on the ligaments. First of all, it is necessary to psychologically restructure the choir singers, explain to them that the beauty of the voice and full-fledged sound is achieved not by physical tension of the respiratory organs and the work of the larynx, but by the ability to use resonators in which the voice acquires the necessary strength and timbre.

Singing exercises with the mouth closed in a high position, singing on chain breathing into piano, mezzo-piano speakers, cantilena exercises, evenness of sound, and calm holding of the breath will help with this. 3. Flat, shallow white sound. Very often this sound in amateur choirs is identified with the folk style of performance.

Amateur choral groups that sing with such a sound, as a rule, have no idea about either folk or academic styles of singing; their vocal and choral technique is helpless. It is necessary, first of all, to remove the singing from the throat, transfer it to the diaphragm and be sure to develop in the singers the skill of yawning, sending a rounded sound to the point of the head resonator 32, p.56. All this should be done in a unified manner of sound formation; in this case, exercises on the covered vowels e, yu, u are useful, as well as singing a sustained sound on the syllables mi, me, ma, with rounding of all vowels. 4. Variegated sound.

It is characterized by the absence of a unified manner of formation of vowels, that is, open vowels sound light, open, and closed vowels sound more collected, darkened. This happens because singers do not know how to maintain a fixed position of the yawn in the back of the oral canal while singing. To eliminate this, singers need to learn to sing in a uniform manner, that is, to form all vowels using a rounding method. 5. Deep, suppressed sound.

May occur due to excessive blocking of sound when a yawn is made very deep, close to the larynx. Such singing always remains somewhat dull, distant, often with a guttural sound. First of all, you should ease the yawn, bring the sound closer, by practicing singing syllables with close vowels zi, mi, ni, bi, di, li, la, le, etc. Including in the repertoire of works a light, transparent sound, with using a light stoccato.

Singing exercises are primarily aimed at the vocal perception of the choir, the correct formation of sound, its timbre coloring, and purity of tone. The main concern is unison. A well-built unison ensures ensemble harmony and clarity of sound. But exercises of this kind can give even more. They will serve as a good aid in developing the acuity of musical hearing and will prepare singers to overcome the intonation difficulties that they will encounter when working on some compositions.

The basis of singing exercises are combinations in which, one way or another, halftones or whole tones are present. Teaching how to correctly perform a tone or semitone means guaranteeing the purity of singing. A choir that cannot sing is an untrained choir. For many reasons, the majority of singers easily detect approximate intonation. Unfortunately, this applies not only to amateur singers, but also to many professional singers.

Sloppy intonation is a consequence of insufficient listening culture. And the culture of hearing is cultivated and developed in the learning process. Apparently there are some flaws in this process. Sound and purity of intonation are inextricably linked and interdependent; the vocally correct tone being formed always sounds clear, and vice versa, the tone is never clear if the sound is formed incorrectly. Hence the struggle for the correct singing sound. It is best to eliminate deficiencies and instill correct singing skills through special exercises.

We use such exercises to develop singers' performance skills: 1. Development of singing breathing and attack of sound. The initial skill is the ability to take the right breath. Inhalation is taken through the nose, silently. In the first gymnastic exercises, the breath is full; in subsequent exercises performed on sound, the breath is taken sparingly and of varying fullness, depending on the duration of the musical phrase and its dynamics. In the first exercises, the exhalation is made through tightly clenched teeth, the sound s s. In this case, the chest is held in the inhalation position in memory of inhalation, and the diaphragm, due to the gradual relaxation of the abdominal muscles, smoothly moves back to its main position.

The active state and tension of the respiratory muscles should not be reflexively transmitted to the muscles of the larynx, neck and face. Silent exercises establish the first feeling of breathing support. 2. Exercises on one sound. In subsequent exercises, when breathing is combined with sound, these sensations need to be developed and strengthened.

To begin with, take a single sustained sound on the primary, i.e. the most comfortable tone, in the nuance mf, with your mouth closed. Following the muscle sensations familiar from previous exercises, the choir members listen to their sound, achieving purity, evenness, and stability. The evenness of inhalation combined with the evenness of sound ensures it and is checked by it. In this exercise, a sound attack is developed. As the choir masters breathing, increasingly stringent demands are made on the quality of all types of attack, and above all softness. 3. Gamma exercises.

The next cycle of exercises for the development of breathing and attack of sound is based on scale-like sequences, gradually starting from two sounds and ending with a scale within the decima octave. The breathing technique and feeling of support in these exercises becomes more complicated. There is an adaptation to the change of sounds, connected smoothly, with elastic breathing. The difference in the sensation of breathing when singing a sustained sound and a scale sequence is similar to the difference in the sensation of muscle elasticity of the legs when standing still and when walking.

In the second case, the support moves from one leg to the other, and the body moves smoothly, without feeling shocks. 4. Exercises in non Legato. It is advisable to begin the skills of correctly combining sounds with non Legato, as the easiest touch. An imperceptible caesura between sounds in the non Legato stroke is enough for the larynx and ligaments to have time to adjust to a different pitch. When combining sounds in non Legato, you must ensure that each subsequent sound occurs without shock. 5. Exercises in Legato.

The Legato stroke is the most common in singing and its mastery should be given special attention. The exercises work on all three types of Legato dry, simple and legattissimo. You need to start with a dry Legato, which is characterized by a smooth connection of sounds back to back, without the slightest caesura of break, but also without gliding. In Legato exercises, only soft or mixed attack of sound is used.

A solid attack articulates the sound even in the absence of caesura 10,c 64. In a simple Legato, the transition from sound to sound is accomplished by an imperceptible slide. To best perform this technique, you need, using the skill of dry Legato, to ensure that the sliding transition is made briefly, immediately before the appearance of the next sound, with an imperceptible prolongation of the sound of the previous one according to the given tempo rhythm. As for legattissimo, in singing it is only the most perfect execution of simple Legato.

When performing the Legato stroke, two breathing techniques can be used in accordance with the artistic task. The first is with a continuous and even exhalation, similar to playing Legato with one bow on string instruments. The second is a decrease, slowing down the exhalation before moving to the next sound, similar to the change of bow in strings when they perform the Legato stroke. 6. Exercises in Stacatto. Very useful for developing breathing and a solid attack when singing with the Staccato stroke.

You need to start by repeating one sound, and then gradually move on to scales, arpeggios, leaps, etc. Using all types of Staccato soft, hard, staccatticimo. When singing Staccato, in a caesura, a pause between sounds, the muscles do not relax, but are strictly fixed in the inhalation position. The alternation of the moment of exhalation of the sound and holding the breath during the caesura pause should be very rhythmic and not accompanied by crescendo and diminuendo on each sound. This technique is similar to playing Staccato on the violin without removing the bow from string 10, c. 67. When performing Staccato, inexperienced singers tend to try to breathe in pauses before each sound, which makes Staccato inaccurate and the exercise useless. Preparatory gymnastic exercise for singing Staccato, breathing is gradually gained in micro-doses, after each micro-inhalation the breath is held and fixed, the alternation of inhalations and caesuras must be strictly rhythmic; exhalation is also performed in micro-doses, alternating with stops-caesuras. 7. Arpeggiated exercises and leaps.

Singing arpeggiated exercises places new demands on breathing. The wider the intervals between sounds, the more difficult they are to connect when singing with the Legato stroke.

Moves at wide intervals sharply change the register conditions of sound from sound to sound and increase the flow of breath. Before moving upward for a long interval, the inhalation muscles are activated, an imitation of inhalation is used - a false inhalation by gently, freely and instantly pressing the diaphragm downwards; this is externally expressed in a soft jerking movement of the abdominal muscles forward, with complete immobility and free stability of the upper and middle parts of the chest.

The difficulty of this technique is that it is performed not on inhalation, but on exhalation. 8. Respiratory release technique. Sometimes there is blurring of the endings of phrases when changing breathing, especially at fast tempos with a crushed rhythm and the absence of pauses at the junctions of formations. In these cases, it is useful, turning attention to the end of phrases, to offer a technique for instantly changing breathing by dropping it at the end of the last sound of the phrase, i.e. think not about taking the next sound, but about removing the previous one.

In this case, the diaphragm is instantly pressed down, fixing itself in the inhalation position, and in this way, the removal of the last, sometimes very short, sound of the phrase is reflexively combined with the instantaneous intake of breath. When performing this exercise, the leader ensures that the caesura is instantaneous and that the sound preceding it is fully completed.

The breathing changes with each beat. It is not allowed to emphasize the ending of the sound when releasing the breath 10c.65. Skills in using resonators and articulatory apparatus. These skills are developed in combination, since the resonators and articulatory organs are functionally connected. In their natural form, resonators usually operate in isolation, each in its own section of the range. Training begins with the primary tones of the range, which naturally include the chest resonator.

Correct voice tuning involves singing with a close sound in a high position throughout the entire range. Taking these circumstances into account, the first exercises are given: singing single sustained primary sounds on the syllables si and mi, which help to turn on the head resonator in close and high sounds, as well as performing descending and ascending incremental sequences of several sounds on combinations of the syllables si-ya and mi-ya. In a male choir, the feeling of a high position can be achieved by performing descending sequences in pure falsetto starting from D of the first octave, transferring the falsetto sound to the lower sounds of the vocal range.

The combination of certain vowel and consonant sounds contributes to achieving a close and high sound. The combination b, d, z, l, m, p, s, t, c brings the sound closer to n, p, g, k - removes it. The vowels i, e, yu contribute to the high sound. It is convenient to connect the head and chest, achieving mixed sound formation on the syllables lu, li, du, di, mu, mi, zu, zi. It must be said that we perform most of the singing exercises in the neutral register zone, which is convenient for all singers.

They are performed in quiet nuances, but with great overall activity. And only 1-2 final exercises cover the full range of all voices and are sung in a full free tone. We begin each rehearsal with vocal exercises, preparing the vocal apparatus there for work on the repertoire. The repertoire, as a set of works performed by one or another choral group, forms the basis of all its activities, contributes to the development of the creative activity of the participants, and is in direct connection with various forms and stages of the choir’s work, be it a rehearsal or a creative concert, the beginning or the peak of the collective’s creative path.

The repertoire influences the entire educational process, on its basis musical and theoretical knowledge is accumulated, vocal and choral skills are developed, and the artistic and performing direction of the choir is formed. The skillfully selected repertoire determines the growth of the collective’s skill, the prospects for its development, and everything related to performing tasks, that is, how to sing. The formation of the worldview of performers and the expansion of their life experience occurs through comprehension of the repertoire, therefore the high ideological content of a particular work intended for choral performance is the first and fundamental principle in choosing the repertoire. The repertoire of amateur groups is as diverse in terms of the sources of its formation, in genres, style, theme, artistic performance, as the concept of amateur performance itself is multifaceted and heterogeneous. Both adults and children's academic choirs, even with competent and conscientious performance of the concert program, do not always rise to the feeling of that special state of mind, which should be the main goal of both performers and listeners.

This state can be defined as the life of the spirit. When this state takes possession of an artist, writer, painter, musician, a miracle happens! In this state, a person comprehends the soul of another person, lives someone else’s life in the most real feelings, mysteriously penetrates the past and sees the future, animates the inanimate.

And if such a life of the spirit appears on the stage, then a divine spark carries what is called education through art. For this education is an appeal to the human soul in order for it to open up and feel kinship with others like itself 34, p. 147. But how can we evoke this genuine life of spirit in choristers on stage? After all, what is required of them is what is called reincarnation, a transition to a different psychological state, intensified to the point of hallucinations! work of imagination and imagination! However, not everyone’s psyche is so malleable, or their imaginative thinking is so bright. In amateur choir performances there are many other obstacles to real stage creativity: physical fatigue after work or study, nervous overload, diet and rest that are in no way related to concerts, insufficiently learned works, etc. To find the life of the spirit on stage, a person must imagine and feel something he had not yet encountered at all in his own life.

And he is not always able to correctly evaluate the result of his creativity.

Only the conductor is his judge and teacher, leading him to the goal, cultivating artistic taste, intelligence, and moral attitude towards art and life with his assessment.

A conductor, an artist, a teacher has no right to be satisfied with a fake! And let all choristers have different intelligence, temperament, life experience, mood, condition, etc., even if it is very difficult to teach them to live on stage, however, there is an explanation for lack of spirituality in art, but there can be no justification.

At least two conclusions should be drawn from what has been said. First, a conductor-choirmaster, in order to also be a conductor-artist, must have a special potential of education, erudition, artistic taste, pedagogical skill and creative temperament.

Such a leader can attune many different people to common empathy, to creative upsurges of spirit, and to enrich the imagination and fantasy of adults or children with thoughts and feelings that are new to them. The second spirituality of choral singing is often hampered by ignorance or ignorance of the general principles of performing vocal-choral music, the observance of which serves as a technical support for artistry and contributes to the emergence of inspiration.

The most common problems 1. The relationship of musical metrics and textual logic 2. The use of dynamic contrasts 3. Tempo as the soul of the work 4. The influence of the psycho-emotional state on the quality of intonation 5. Timbre arrangement 6. Sound science as an indicator of imaginative thinking 7. Choral ensemble 8. Shaping 9. A super task in execution. The above does not exhaust the variety of tasks of choral performance. Musical metrics and text logic.

A big obstacle to the expressiveness of singing is the discrepancy between the logical stresses of words and the metrical accents in music. This discrepancy is especially observed in the verse form. The result is a strange feeling that the language is native, and the meaning is difficult to perceive. In the Russian folk song And I in the Meadow, some lines of the text when performed are noticeably highlighted by the discrepancy between logical and metric stresses, sometimes excessively violating the aesthetics of modern correct pronunciation - I danced with a mosquito - I crushed the joints - I screamed to my mother, etc. This is often the case when performing folk songs.

The reason for this phenomenon in Russian and not only folk songs is clear 1. These songs were not intended for the stage. 2. The circle of their creators and performers was initially limited to the boundaries of the village, village, region, and therefore the words of the songs were familiar from childhood. Many songs were performed in motion, in work, in dance, which predetermined the primacy of the musical meter.

Together, these and other conditions led to a certain style of performance, which, in principle, of course, should be preserved. However, the coincidence of stress in words and in music, as a rule, enhances the expressiveness of the word and image, and the discrepancy weakens and erases the impressions. Therefore, whenever this is possible, it is necessary to overcome the metrical discrepancy between words and music by performing means, more or less emphatically shifting the emphasis to the stress in the word. Another problem is related to extra accents. The rules are as follows: 1. There should not be more than one stress in a word. 2. A simple sentence should not have more than one stressed word. 3. In interrogative sentences, the main emphasis falls on the question word.

The next problem is moving the stress to the sustained sound. If there is an insensitive attitude towards the word and the image that this word expresses, such displacement happens quite often. It turns out there are two stresses in one word. This cannot be allowed.

Dynamic contrasts. According to G.P. Stulova, an important feature of hearing for understanding performance tasks is the relatively rapid depletion of the nervous energy of the auditory organ when receiving sound sensations that are uniform in strength and height. According to this, the aesthetic criteria for assessing the artistry of a performance, instrumental or vocal, is the variety and subtlety of nuance, the principle of dynamic contrast. The most vivid auditory impression is left by a performance rich in dynamic comparisons. The poverty of dynamics in vocal and choral performance is often associated with imperfect voice leading.

Everyone knows that it is more difficult to sing well quietly than to sing loudly, and thinning the sound of vocal crescendo and, especially, diminuendo is a difficult task even for professionals. This is one of the main reasons for performing the entire work, and sometimes the entire program, in approximately the same sonority, which is most convenient for the majority of choristers. Different and deeper! the reason lies in the inexpressive figurative interpretation of the work, in the poverty of the creative imagination of the performers, and first of all, the conductor.

Dynamics is the light and shadows in music. Different images require different lighting. Even with imperfect voice formation, the dynamic palette will be impressive if the performers enter into the image of each word and the entire work and strive to express it in singing. Therefore, the conductor’s main task is to evoke in the choristers that feeling that requires the nuance p or pp, mf or ff! At the same time, the conductor must, by the intensity of his gaze and gesture, demand from the choir the necessary sonority in order to help the singers, through dynamic sensations, enter the desired psychological state. If there is an understanding of the goal of making a lively dynamic picture of the performance, the result will definitely be reflected in the singing.

Here is one example of the nuances coming from the images of the text by D. Bortnyansky, lyrics. M. Kheraskova Kohl is glorious. This work perfectly develops the skills of mastering the dynamics mp How glorious is our Lord in Zion with love - He cannot express the language He is great in heaven on the throne solemnly - p In the blades of grass on earth there is great contrast great in the small mf - Everywhere, Lord, everywhere you are glorious glorification - In the days sp - In the night - the contrast between day and night - The radiance is equal to mf You illuminate mortals with the sun lightly and freely - p - You love us, O God, like children with quiet love - mf - You feed us freely with meals Crescendo And build us in Zion city. thanksgiving - sp - You, O God, visit sinners in peace - And you nourish them with your flesh pp - You, O God, visit sinners in prayer - And you nourish them with your flesh.

Developing a dynamic palette is especially challenging in verse form due to the repetition of the music.

A creative approach to the text is needed. The tempo is the soul of the work. The correct tempo is the result of accurately hitting the psychological essence of the artistic image. Even a slight deviation from the only correct tempo changes the character of the music. The wrong tempo can lead to musical caricature.

The reasons for an incorrect sense of tempo are stage performance and poor self-control, an unfelt or misunderstood artistic image, poor physical well-being on stage of the conductor or choristers, etc. In many cases, a precisely chosen tempo, including very fast and very slow, must be maintained throughout the entire work without changes. . It is difficult, but with perfect evenness of movement, an amazing feeling of harmony and beauty arises.

If, for example, when performing the Passing Song by M. Glinka or Melnik F. Schubert, the tempo is jagged, then the main thing in a musical artistic image, continuity of movement, will be lost! Accuracy and evenness are two sides of the problem of movement in music. The third side is variability of tempo. The music is not a metronome; very often the tempo breathes. In concert practice, more or less noticeable differences in tempo often arise between the choir and the accompanist. This happens when the conductor strives to emphasize the character of the images through small changes in tempo and agogic, but the accompanist did not notice or feel this.

The tempo is the soul of the work. In accordance with this definition by L. Beethoven, to feel the tempo means to understand the soul of the musical image! The main thing a conductor should concentrate on at the beginning of a performance is the feeling of tempo. The influence of psycho-emotional state on the quality of intonation. Clean intonation with choir is one of the main problems for a choirmaster. But the majority are concerned only with the intonation of pitch, while there is another, artistically no less significant and difficult problem, the intonation of a feeling, an artistic image! The intonation of a feeling is connected with timbre, with dynamics and directly affects the pitch. Intonation of a capella works often encounters such a problem: the choirmaster does not have an instrument on which he could show the sound required for a given chord in one port or another.

The tempered tuning of a piano, even with ideal tuning of the instrument, sometimes does not correspond to the artistic tasks of psychologically subtle intonation.

The voice is a living instrument that has no temperament. Vocal intonation is regulated not only by hearing, but also by feeling, which can greatly enhance auditory perceptions. It is no coincidence that real artistic experience in singing and playing non-tempered instruments (violin and cello) leads to more or less noticeable deviations from the main pitch, both in the direction of decreasing the interval and in the direction of increasing it. With this approach, building intonation for any tempered instrument does not give a highly artistic result, since it interferes with the free movement of feeling during intonation.

The simplest experience of free artistic intonation of a free system associated with the psychological state of singing major and minor triads with different emotional shades. With a sensitive performance of the funeral minor, with light sadness, decisive, etc., along with the timbre, the height of the 1st and 5th steps will more or less change.

In a major triad, the pitch of the 3rd degree varies. It’s good when the choir intones freely, without fear of discrepancies with the piano, but, on the contrary, consciously moving into the field of sound psychology. This is a completely accessible result for both professionals and amateur singers of an appropriate performing approach and training, since in musical practice we encounter not an absolute point - the height of musical sounds, but a sound zone - a strip of sounds that are close to each other, having a certain width, and the intervals differ many intonation shades and variations. 17.p.54. An interesting illustration of this is the opera Oedipus Rex by G. Enescu, where the composer used special icons above the notes to indicate the requirement to intonate a quarter tone higher or lower than the indicated sound.

Intonation of works with accompaniment. In this case, the same artistic and psychological approach to intonation is not only possible, but also necessary.

The possibility of such intonation is allowed by the sound zone of intonation, as well as by the peculiarity of singing vibrato, which sometimes has significant deviations from the main pitch. Apparently this is another reason why singing with vibrato is more expressive than without vibrato. In vibrationless singing, the possibility of sensual-figurative intonation is narrowed, since against the background of instrumental accompaniment, the heightened intonation in the voice will sound false.

The modal sensation can take on the colors of a major major or a minor minor. The intonation surprisingly sensitively follows the functional coloring of the chord. The same sound, even a sustained one, with a functional and modal change in harmony in the accompaniment, subtly reacts with changes in timbre and pitch. This is psychological intonation, since modal and harmonic changes in music are associated with feeling, with the psychology of the artistic image.

It leaves its mark on both melodic and harmonic methods of intonation. Timbre arrangement. The timbre of the voice, together with the pitch, dynamics and strength of sound, is the main carrier of sensory content. The desire for timbre beauty in singing is one of the main paths to expressiveness. Vibrato determines the quality of timbre. The voice with vibrato is sensually meaningful. The appearance of vibrato is facilitated by musically expressive performance, the achievement of spiritual trepidation, vibrations of the strings of the soul. In academic choral and solo singing there is a strong tendency to sing for the sake of the sound, not the image, to give a voice so long as it sounds! This tendency makes the performance monotonous in terms of timbre.

Meanwhile, voice training is not an end in itself. Vocal art allows any sound: whisper, scream, solid and aspirated attack, vibrationless singing, flat sound, etc. if this is required to create an artistic image! Despite all the strictness of the criteria for academic vocal sound, it is the word that dictates the timbre colors.

Unfortunately, amateur choirs often suffer from monotony of timbre sound. The reasons are as follows: 1. Shortcomings in artistic and figurative work 2. Performance of a repertoire that does not correspond to the intellectual and artistic development of the choristers 3. Insufficient processing of voices 4. Vibrationless singing 5. Dependence on age Solving these problems in an amateur choir opens up endless possibilities. Sound science is an indicator of imaginative thinking.

Another reserve of expressiveness in singing is the use of various types of sound engineering. It will not be difficult for a conductor who thinks in artistic images to diversify and spiritualize the performance in this area. The more integral the work is in terms of its sound design, the more refreshing and decorative the appearance of a different touch will be. The interpretation of images and the use of appropriate sound techniques is a matter of taste and imagination of each artist conductor. The problem is to tune in to the poetic, artistically imaginative perception and expression of the word.

This is not an entirely simple task, because if dramatic actors who work with words are taught to sing competently, then choirmasters, who also work with words, are not taught artistic singing. And the conductor must not only be able to read poetry expressively, but also teach this to amateur singers, because singing is the same as artistic reading, only even more expressive thanks to the music! In the field of sound science, the choirmaster's arsenal is very rich.

Various types of accents: dynamic, rhythmic, timbre, different types of sound attack, soft, hard, aspirated Legato and non Legato Staccato, Marcato, all these touches in different combinations, made with different shades of softness and hardness, volume and speed, etc. - enliven, paint execution. Their use can be found in many songs of verse form, not to mention romances and choral miniatures, where the connection between words and music is artistically deeper and more vivid.

The examples are countless. In the Russian folk song in the field, a birch tree stood after three verses with Legato sound design, in the 4th verse in words and in the fourth balalaika it is very natural to switch to non Legato singing, as if imitating the percussive nature of playing this instrument. In the song by B. Dvarionas based on the verses of Salome Neris, Blue Sister Vilia, the pensive epic nature of the first two verses is replaced in the 3rd verse by a picture of a battle. Even without notes, it is clear that the nature of sound science here must change Legato p Flow, Vilnyale, to Viliya, Run with her along to the Neman, Say we love the Motherland Dearer than life to all, she is Legato mp - We will return with victory Let's go along the thorny path, mf - We will bind the wounds herbs, mp - Wash with clean dew.

Staccato - Legato f - Let the roadside stones tell the Earth about us Marcato - How we cut down our enemies How we drove them away, chasing Diminuendo - Legato mp - Hurry, sister Viliya Along the azure path to the Neman, p - Say, freedom to people we are Dearer than life to everyone, it is Diminuendo - pp. The composer sometimes indicates in the choral score the main character of sound design or its fundamental change.

But basically, the figurative interpretation of sound delivery is the result of the conductor’s creativity. Choral ensemble. The types of choral ensemble are diverse: metrhythmic, intonation, harmonic, timbre, dynamic, agogic, diction, orthoepic. The most destructive effect on the artistic performance of any choir is inconsistency in tempo-rhythm, primarily the non-simultaneity of entrances and exits.

This type of ensemble should be one of the first places in rehearsal work. It is known that a choir, distinguished by tempo-rhythmic coherence, absolute simultaneity of entrances and exits, flexibility of agogy, a unified sense of tempo and also the experience of rhythm, makes a favorable impression even with many shortcomings. Obviously, the reason is that the musical feeling is primarily a metro rhythmic feeling. Its precision gives a feeling of harmony, while discord is disharmonious and unpleasant.

Artistic interpretation of rhythm requires choristers to have a particularly subtle sense of the rhythmic ensemble. The performance of polyphony in a chapel often suffers from an unbalanced sound of individual parts in relation to the whole. Reasons 1. Unequal staffing of choir parties in terms of quantity and quality of voices. 2. Uncertain performance of the harmonic voice. Starting from the moment when the choir first sang in 2 voices, and further in 3-4 voices, the problem of fully embodying harmonic colors in the choral sound arises.

Harmony is an integral part of the psychology of a musical image. The flow and change of harmonic colors should be associated in the minds of the performers with the word, with the feeling. Most often, the soprano with the main melody dominates everything, because choristers are not accustomed to singing dynamic ensemble sounds, i.e. Don't listen to the whole choir! With unequal composition of choral parts, the role of managing the harmonic ensemble on the part of the conductor especially increases.

As the performance progresses, the conductor must hear gaps in the chords and, with a glance or gesture, help align them, highlight the more important voice, strengthen the weaker one, and create an artificial ensemble. Despite all the technical problems, a harmonic ensemble is much better where the performers feel the life of the harmony, and do not just sing chords. Shaping. A familiar and strange feeling, the choir sings well, you can admire the timbres, dynamics, and individual expressive moments of performance, but in general it is monotonous and boring. One of the main principles of shaping is maintaining interest in the sound throughout the performance of the work.

The performers' task is to combine the culmination of text and music. This goal will combine all the means of musical expressiveness: tempo, agogics, dynamic rises and falls, sound engineering, timbre colors, etc. In verse form, as a rule, each verse has its own climax. The conductor’s task is to find the most important thing and highlight it using musical means. The techniques are varied: fermata at the top of increasing sonority, dynamic accents sf and sp, slowing down or switching off choral parts, tutti after a solo, general pause, etc. The main thing is to have a sense of form, understand the task and strive to implement it.

A classic example of the alignment of architectonics in verse form is the performance of the song by M. Blanter. The sun disappeared behind the mountain. The main character of the image is created by tempo, the main means of shaping the dynamics. The performance begins with a drum roll in the orchestra in the ppp nuance. The chorus in the first verse begins pp. In the second verse, the choir increases in sonority from p to mf. Third verse from mf to f. Fourth - ff. When repeating the last two lines of this verse, the sonority begins to decline, the undertone and density of the orchestra's sound are removed.

The duration of the song is not enough for the gradual fading, but a way out is found in the fifth verse and the text of the second becomes. Nuance in reverse order from mf to p. The sixth verse is a repetition of the first with fading from pp to ppp. The creative solution of the performing form creates an almost visible picture of a formation of soldiers singing from afar, approaching as if passing nearby and then going off into the distance again.

Super task. In order to express the content of a work, you must first understand its main thoughts and be imbued with the feelings that brought this work to life. This main thing is the super task of the work! Its expression is the super task of execution.

In simple works, the main emotional content is often expressed unambiguously with love, sadness, tenderness. But even in these cases, defining the ultimate task is necessary. In complex works, the ultimate task has to be expressed in more detail, sometimes in philosophical concepts of good and evil, life and death, etc. In such works, the question of the main mood of the music is not always clear, since it often consists of contrasting images, creating, for example, light sadness with a tragic touch, as in the choir of M. Partskhaladze Candles are crying, or tenderness, love and the premonition of eternal separation V. Gavrilin, Mom, or prayer-confession, humility and repentance, suffering and healing of the soul G. Caccini, Ave Maria, etc. The supertask must be clearly recognized as the main, main, comprehensive goal that attracts Stanislavsky’s tasks to itself without exception. The score intended for concert performance, down to the last detail, is studied by the choirmaster at home. Along with identifying technical difficulties and choosing ways to overcome them, a figurative and performing analysis of the work is necessary.

In this regard, once again about the most important elements of performance that contribute to the emergence of a creative stage sense of the life of the spirit on stage? Understanding beyond the task of composition and performance? Expressive form of architectonics of execution? Ease and naturalness of voice formation? Purity and psychological imagery of intonation? The richness of timbre colors in the depiction of various artistic images? A wealth of dynamic shades? Precision and flexibility of tempos? Logic in the musical metric embodiment of words, priority of the text? Variety of strokes and imagery of sound design? Creative well-being and mood of the conductor and choir? Correspondence of the conductor's facial expressions and movements to the artistic image of the work? The balance between sonorous singing voices and accompanying instruments is in favor of the choir.

The specificity of choral performance lies primarily in the fact that the choirmaster always faces the difficult task of coordinating the individual artistic aspirations of the choir members and uniting their creative efforts into a single direction.

During the rehearsal period, the leader needs to convince the team of the appropriateness and truth of the interpretation of this work.

He is faced with the important task of inducing in each choir member a disposition to actively participate in the creative process. The main goal of an amateur choral group is not to work for the audience, not to engage in vigorous concert and performing activities, not to strive at all costs to get closer to professional choirs, or even surpass them, but to satisfy the cultural needs of its participants.

Therefore, in amateur performances, the teaching and educational side takes on paramount importance, associated primarily with the education of the group members themselves, of which concert activity is a limited component as a natural result of this process. Concert and performing activities are the most important part of the creative work of a choir.

It is the logical conclusion of all rehearsal and pedagogical processes. A public performance by a choir on a concert stage evokes in performers a special psychological state, defined by emotional elation and excitement. Amateur artists experience genuine joy from contact with the world of artistic images, of which they are interpreters.

Each concert performance must be carefully thought out. An unsuccessful choir performance brings deep emotions to its participants. The most difficult type of concert performance is an independent choir concert in one or two sections. Such concerts in the chapel are called reporting ones. The concert program should be varied. This is achieved by selecting diverse works that contrast in artistic imagery, the nature of the musical material, style of presentation, etc. The behavior of the conductor on stage, his artistry, and charm largely influence the success of the concert.

Concert and performing activities should be planned. The number of concert performances of the group is determined by its artistic and creative capabilities, level of performing skills, quality and quantity of the prepared repertoire. Too few concert performances are just as bad as too many. Each concert performance of the choir must be analyzed and discussed with the choir group.

It is necessary to note the positive aspects and pay attention to the shortcomings in order to eliminate them in further concert and performing activities.

End of work -

This topic belongs to the section:

Acquiring professional performing skills in an amateur choir

It has the ability to unite the feelings, thoughts, and will of people and, because of this, is of enormous importance as a means of cultural education of people. Participation in choral singing awakens a spirit of camaraderie and friendship in people. Currently, a significant part of the population has no interest in highly artistic values, classical...

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Software Requirements

Objectives The main requirement of the program is to teach the child

learning to sing expressively, sincerely perform simple, understandable, interesting songs.

The artistic and pedagogical significance of singing is to help children correctly understand the content of musical images, master the necessary skills, and express their feelings in relaxed, natural singing. For example, when singing a lullaby, emphasize caring, affection, tenderness, show

that the song calms you down and helps you sleep; therefore, it should be performed quietly, melodiously, at a slow tempo, with a uniform rhythm, gradually fading away. Marching requires cheerfulness, determination, and vigor. It should be sung loudly, clearly pronouncing the words, emphasizing the rhythm at a moderately fast tempo. The child understands the meaning of these requirements and their purpose.

The main tasks during the lessons are as follows:

to develop children's singing skills, skills that contribute to expressive performance;

teach children to perform songs with the help of a teacher and independently, accompanied and unaccompanied by an instrument, in and outside of class;

develop an ear for music, teaching you to distinguish between correct and incorrect singing, the pitch of sounds, their duration, the direction of movement of the melody, to hear yourself while singing, to notice and correct mistakes (auditory self-control);

help the manifestation of creative abilities, independent use of familiar songs in games, round dances, and playing children's musical instruments.

All subsequent singing activities of the child - in everyday life, at holidays, entertainment, which arose on his initiative or at the suggestion of adults in kindergarten and family - largely depend on the correct organization of teaching singing in the classroom.

To successfully solve problems, it is extremely important to train

Children's skills and abilities, which include

singing attitude, vocal and choral skills.

The singing attitude is the correct posture. While singing, children should sit straight, without raising their shoulders, without hunching, leaning slightly on the back of a chair, which should correspond to the child’s height. Place your hands on your knees.

Vocal skills are the interaction of sound production, breathing and diction. The inhalation should be fast, deep and silent, and the exhalation should be slow. The words are pronounced clearly and clearly. It is important to monitor the correct position of the tongue, lips, and free movements of the lower jaw.

Choral skills are the interaction of the ensemble and the formation. Ensemble translated from French means “unity”, i.e. the correct ratio of strength and height of choral sound, development of unison and timbre. Tuning is precise, pure singing intonation.

Teaching vocal and choral skills to preschool children has a number of features.

Sound production with correct voice production should be ringing and light. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the imperfection of the child’s voice and its rapid fatigue. Children cannot sing long and loudly. Kids sing with a tongue, they lack melodiousness. Older children can sing melodiously, but sometimes become loud and tense. Preschoolers' breathing is shallow and short; therefore, they often take a breath in the middle of a word or musical phrase, thereby disrupting the melody of the song.

Diction (clear pronunciation of words) is formed gradually. Many children have speech defects: burr, lisp, which take a long time to eliminate. The lack of clear and distinct diction makes singing sluggish and weak.

It is difficult for children to sing in an ensemble. Often they are ahead of the general sound or behind it, trying to outshout others. Toddlers, for example, only sing the last words of phrases.

It is even more difficult for children to master the skill of harmonious singing - pure intonation. Individual differences are especially noticeable. Only a few intonate easily and accurately, while the majority sing imprecisely, choosing intonation arbitrarily. You need to work on developing this skill.

Vocal exercises as a way to develop singing skills in young and middle-aged students

Kozlova Maria Borisovna, additional education teacher

The article belongs to the section: Music teaching

An outstanding figure in the field of vocal pedagogy, Doctor of Art History, Professor V.A. Bagadurov wrote: “The history of children's vocal pedagogy over the course of a number of centuries shows with absolute clarity that special theories for staging the children's voice have never existed. Some features of working with children’s voices, determined by age and the child’s psyche, the specifics of children’s perception, of course, must be taken into account, but this does not relate to the principles of voice education, but to pedagogical teaching methods.”

The basic principles of vocal education are the same both in professional singing training and in the system of music education at school; both for adult singers and for children. There is a difference only in the specifics of raising a child’s voice, due to psychological characteristics and physiological capabilities at a particular age. When working with children, especially during the mutation period, it is mandatory to use voice-saving technologies. In addition, vocal education of children is carried out using slightly different musical material.

One of the most important tasks of singing is not only preparing the vocal apparatus for work, but also developing basic singing skills in students. We can include among them:

singing installation;

singing breathing and sound support;

high vocal position;

precise intonation;

evenness of sound throughout the entire vocal range;

use of various types of sound science;

diction: articulatory and orthoepic skills.

All vocal skills are closely interconnected, so work on them is carried out in parallel. Naturally, each vocal exercise has the goal of developing some specific skills, but when performing it it is impossible to ignore the others. This is the main difficulty for a little singer - to learn that in order to achieve a sustainable result, it is necessary to use absolutely all the knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in classes.

At the initial stage, it is necessary to cultivate these skills in their elementary form, without achieving the subtleties of this or that technique. In the future, there is a constant consolidation, development and improvement of singing skills, in-depth work on the culture and correctness of sound, the beauty of timbre, subtle and varied nuances on more complex musical material.

An example of the universality of techniques is the “concentric” method of M. I. Glinka. Being the foundation of the Russian vocal school, it can also be the basis of children’s singing education. The requirements formulated by M. I. Glinka are effective in working with children and adults, with poorly trained singers and with professional singers. Data from modern research confirm the correctness of all Glinka’s basic provisions. Of course, they are gradually supplemented based on the identified patterns of voice development.

The “concentric” method includes stable exercises that were developed by M. I. Glinka for systematic use from year to year. They present elements found in vocal and choral works in various versions. The essence of the method is as follows:

The volume, range of the voice, within which you can basically work, for weak, poorly developed singing voices (as well as sick ones) - just a few tones, for healthy singers - an octave. In both cases there should be no tension.

You need to work gradually, without haste.

Under no circumstances should forced sound be allowed.

You should sing at a moderate sound (neither loud nor quiet).

The greatest attention should be paid to sound quality and freedom when singing.

It is of great importance to work on the evenness of sound strength (on one, on different sounds, on a whole phrase). It is advisable to carry out this work in an even more limited range.

It is necessary to equalize all sounds in terms of sound quality.

I would like to note that absolutely all the recommendations of M.I. Glinka meets modern health requirements. After all, it seems to me that the main task of a vocal teacher is to teach how to use the voice in all the diversity of its nuances, to reveal the beauty of timbre, and to develop the endurance of the vocal cords. Our students do not always become professional performers, but the skill of correct use of the vocal apparatus will help them not only in professional activities associated with a large vocal load, but also in communicating with people, will help them make their speech intonationally diverse and literate.

Systematic development of vocal techniques using special exercises leads to a valuable skill - “automatism” of their use. This principle consists of repeatedly performing the simplest operations, during which the vocal apparatus, as a self-regulating system, automatically finds the optimum, while simultaneously training the corresponding muscular systems. Skillful use of a differentiated age range, selection of repertoire in a convenient tessitura, and exclusion of forced sound ensure natural sound, harmonious development of voice-forming organs, and identification of the individual timbre of students.

The influence of singing load on children's health.

It is extremely important to know the effect of singing load on the health of students. The teacher’s knowledge of the age-related features of the development of a child’s voice (especially during the mutation period) contributes to the correct formation of vocal skills, but failure to comply with them leads to impairment and even diseases of the vocal apparatus. Singing is a complex psychophysical process in which all vital systems of the body are involved. In addition to the singing organs, the cardiovascular and neuroendocrine systems also respond to singing load, responding to singing by changing pulse, blood pressure, and body temperature. With the correct singing load, these changes are insignificant and not dangerous to the body. Moreover: systematic singing lessons with the constant supervision of a teacher can play a healing role, in particular, breathing and blood circulation improve, intracranial pressure decreases, the consequences of logoneurosis are mitigated, etc. Also, studies by otolaryngologists show that the treatment of tonsillitis, exacerbations of catarrh of the nasopharynx and upper respiratory tract is facilitated in children who sing in the European academic mixed-covered manner. It is also impossible to exclude the importance of mastering the skill of singing breathing on a support to relieve bronchospasm, which is important for the treatment of children suffering from bronchial asthma.

Thus, we can conclude that a certain level of development of vocal skills is necessary for absolutely everyone - those with bright vocal abilities, those who can correctly intonate within fifths, those who dream of the opera stage, and those who dream of becoming an engineer. Proper singing development contributes not only to the formation of personal qualities, but also to a more harmonious physical development of the child. Based on all that has been said, we come to the conclusion that the main form of voice protection is proper singing education.

Let's move on to the vocal exercises that I use in every lesson to prepare the vocal apparatus for work and develop basic singing skills. One of the most important features is the formation of the skill of “automatism” in performing exercises, so all of them are always sung in a certain sequence, in a certain range based on the child’s primary zone. After some time, even while singing a capella, the children themselves begin to sing from familiar notes, which, of course, indicates that their auditory sensations are well formed.

When working with children aged 7-9 years, I widely use Russian folk songs, which helps to arouse interest in children and instill a love for national melodies. In addition, they are usually concise in their musical ideas, often having a gradual structure that helps young children not focus on the complexity of intonation.

1. Our very first chant is a teaser song. Active articulation and support breathing are formed, which prevents the intonation from slipping from the given note.

2. An exercise that helps you master the wide intonation of the major second and the firm, confident singing of the tonic. You can draw a parallel in the sound of large, medium bells and very small bells. When moving to the second octave, children show a movement with their hand that imitates shaking a small bell. This slight muscle movement is transmitted to the ligaments, and the sound of voices becomes lighter and more intonationally accurate.

3. One of my children's favorite exercises. Before performing it, I ask them to imagine that they have a small bunny sitting on their palm (it can be interesting to ask what kind of bunny each person has - there are gray ones with green eyes, and red ones with blue ones!). While performing the quarter note on the syllable “po,” we show how we stroke it, and on the subsequent eighth notes we make light movements with our hands, depicting how the bunny runs away. It’s so easy, in the game children become familiar with legato and staccato strokes.

4. The following exercise is extremely useful for developing articulation skills and singing skills of a major tetrachord. If there is lethargy in the performance of the top sound, I ask the children to imitate with their hands the movement up and down the ladder, but I ask them to step on the top step from above, and not “crawl” onto it. Usually such a proposal causes smiles and laughter, and, subsequently, the correct execution of the task.

5. The next exercise consists of 5 sounds. Thus, in each exercise we add one sound. When you first bring this to the attention of children, they usually accept this pattern with delight. And, subsequently, they like to tell you how many sounds there are in a particular exercise.

6. We complete the standard chanting with an exercise that combines the need for correct intonation and clarity in the execution of strokes.

This set of chants is mandatory for every lesson. I repeat that the exercises always follow in this order and begin in the given keys. But to develop other skills, or to diversify the chanting process, the following exercises can be used after it.

10. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, despite the obvious benefits of this exercise, its melody and the love of children, in recent years I have been able to use it less and less in group work. Unfortunately, more and more children are being raised without mothers, so before you start learning it, you need to find out whether everything is fine in the families of the students. Usually this exercise is performed with a chant of the word “mama” in the last two measures. But in my practice I don’t use it, since, as a rule, a progressive downward movement with chanting at a young age leads to detonation.

At age 10, children move on to other exercises. You can trace the continuity in the melodic turns, but they are sung mainly in syllables classical for vocal performance, which increases the importance and significance of this stage of the lesson in the eyes of the child, helping him to feel his “adulthood”.

1. Exercise when moving up, we sing actively emphasizing each note, and when moving down using a legato stroke.

2. Formation of a high position of sound, roundness of a vowel, sharp intonation of a third tone, support breathing - only three notes, but how rich the singing of this exercise can be made if you pay attention to all the details! Naturally, at the initial stage of training we focus on any specific point, but then we gradually add other tasks.

3. Variation of the previous exercise.

4. Separate, precise sound of each note and vowel; when moving to the upper register, it is advisable to sing this exercise on the words “forest in spring.” Or you can suggest (not often, as an exception, to overcome the routine of the chanting process) to sing the word “vacuum cleaner” - and it is useful for the formation of the vowel “s”, and makes children smile and joy, but isn’t that what, by and large, is for? we teach them to sing!

5. Conscious phrasing, mastery of support breathing.

6. In this exercise you need to alternate staccato in the first bar and legato in the second bar.

7. A more complicated version of the previous exercise.

8. Staccato stroke, high position of sound, precise intonation, vowel formation, expansion of range.

9. A more complicated version of the previous exercise, requiring wider breathing and evenness of sound throughout the entire range.

10. Overcoming tightness of the larynx, sound evenness throughout the entire range, smoothing registers, using resonators.

This chant ends the set of mandatory exercises. The following exercises are used for children with higher learning abilities.

11. In chants in bars 5 and 6, you need to focus on the execution of the second sound. I usually ask them to slow them down a little and feel how wide and free the seconds sound without “falling over”.

12. An exercise that helps develop lightness and mobility of the voice.

13. Emphasis on the top note and staccato.

14. High sound position, articulation activity.

14. To master a complex diction exercise performed at a fast pace, I use the visual arrangement of syllables in space, marked by hand with a gradual increase in tempo. Graphically it looks like this:

LA-li → LE-li ← LE-li.

In conclusion, it should be noted that only those exercises will be useful for children, the appropriateness of which is clear to the teacher. There are many vocal exercises, but for work we must select only those that, in our opinion, best meet the needs of our students. If the teacher himself does not succeed in an exercise he likes, or if he does not understand what skills it develops, it is better to abandon it altogether, no matter how much he likes it. Let me give you an example from personal practice. Many of my colleagues use the following vocal exercise:

When I performed it, especially at a fast tempo, I felt that the top note was flat, with a “slope” on the larynx. But, as soon as I sang it on two adjacent notes, it turned into an excellent exercise, not only developing diction skills, but also allowing me to lift my palate without much effort and put the top note in a high position.

This methodological work is intended for beginning leaders of children's choirs, especially younger ones. The issues discussed in this methodological work can be proposed to music teachers, vocal teachers, singers for teaching themselves and children.

The problems of choral and vocal work in a children's choir have not yet been studied and resolved. After all, one of the most difficult tasks facing a vocal teacher or choirmaster is to teach children to sing, all of them without exception. And this can only be done by a specialist who knows the specifics of a child’s voice, thoughtfully and competently monitors the operation of the vocal apparatus, without violating its natural essence. Not every child has excellent hearing abilities and a naturally beautiful voice. Leaders of children's choirs in schools and vocal and choral studios at cultural palaces are faced with problems - how to recruit children into the choir, how to start working with them, what repertoire to choose, how to organize a choir lesson in order to make maximum and effective use of training time.

The question is: is it possible to recruit all children into the choir? For this, there is a second stage in the work of a choirmaster - the development of the child’s hearing and voice, using various techniques: A.V. Sveshnikova, K.K. Pigrova, G.A. Dmitrevsky, phonopedic method of working with children's voice V.V. Emelyanova. The inability to correctly apply certain techniques in practice not only does not help, but also interferes, i.e., harms the work. Ultimately, everything depends on the teacher, his talent and education. The choirmaster must have sufficient voice and artistic talent to reveal the content of the choral work, so that in the end such creativity becomes the property of the listeners.

Choral singing is one of the most active types of musical and practical activity of students, and in the aesthetic education of children it always has a positive beginning. This was noted by prominent figures of culture and philosophy of all times and countries.

In Russia, the idea of ​​primacy, i.e. The fundamental role of choral singing lies in the distinctive structure of Russian musical culture, predominantly vocal. Maintaining the best domestic traditions of vocal and choral performance is always determined by school education.

In the context of musical education and upbringing, choral singing performs several functions:

Firstly, by learning and performing works of the choral repertoire, students become acquainted with diverse works, gain an understanding of musical genres, development techniques, the relationship between music and words in vocal works, and master some features of folklore and the musical language of the works of professional composers.

Choral singing broadens the horizons of students, forms a positive attitude towards the art of music, and stimulates the development of interest in musical studies.

Secondly, choral singing solves the problems of developing students’ hearing and voice, forms a certain amount of singing skills, skills necessary for expressive, emotional and meaningful performance.

Thirdly, being one of the most accessible types of performing activities for children, choral singing develops general educational skills and abilities necessary for successful learning in general: memory, speech, hearing, emotional response to various phenomena of life, analytical skills, abilities and skills of collective activity and etc.

Fourthly, the content of the singing repertoire is aimed at developing a child’s positive attitude towards the world around him through his comprehension of the emotional and moral meaning of each piece of music, through the formation of a personal assessment of the music performed.

During their studies, students master vocal and choral skills, master the choral repertoire of various styles and eras, learn to concentrate on the quality of the singing sound, and gain experience in choral singing and concert performances.

In a children's choir, combinations of individual and collective forms of work, the use of common chants and individual preparation of little singers for rehearsals, and the practice of working in small ensembles (choir group) are important. Therefore, although the main form in the choir is group, the possibility of introducing “solo singing” classes is of great importance, which makes it possible to monitor the development of the voice of each singer in the choir, age-related changes, and quickly learn with the child what he could not cope with during group classes.

The collective nature of choral music-making corrects the singers’ vocal technique and predetermines the use of specific singing techniques and voice education by the method of directed influence of choral sonority on individual vocal development, which lays the foundations for the following vocal-theoretical skills:

1. Correct singing attitude,

2. High singing position.

3. Singing breathing and sound support.

4. Types of sound attacks in singing.

5. Singing articulation and diction.

6. Methods of sound production (legato, staccato).

What will young musicians become when they grow up? You can guarantee one thing: they will become good people. That's what's expensive. P.I. talks about this too. Tchaikovsky said, instructing his nephew: “Whoever you want to be, first of all, become a good person.” The music with which the child’s soul has become close, from which it has been brought up, will not allow doing bad, evil, or unkind things.

1. Mastering the skills of singing while sitting and standing.

2. Mastering breathing when singing.

3. Work on a natural, free sound without forcing.

5. Development of a cappella skills.

6. Preparing the team for concert performances and professional shows (open lessons, methodological messages, etc.)

Vocal skills

1. Singing installation.

Correct position of the body, head, shoulders, arms and legs when singing sitting and standing. Each singer has a permanent singing place.

2. Work on breathing. Correct breathing when singing.

Calm, silent inhalation, correct expenditure of breath on a musical phrase (gradual exhalation), change of breath between phrases, holding the breath, supported sound, simultaneous inhalation before starting to sing, singing longer phrases without changing the breath, quick change of breath between phrases at a moving tempo.

Different breathing patterns before the start of singing depending on the nature of the piece being performed: slow, fast. Change of breathing during singing (short and active in fast pieces, calmer, but also active in slow ones).

Caesuras. Introducing the skills of “chain breathing” (singing a sustained sound at the end of a piece. Performing long musical phrases).

3. Work on sound.

Moderately open growth, natural sound formation, singing without tension, correct formation and rounding of vowels. Solid attack. smooth sound production The length of individual sounds, singing with a closed mouth, achieving clean, beautiful, expressive singing. Work on a natural, free sound without forcing. Mainly soft attack of sound, rounding of vowels.

Singing with different strokes: legato, staccato, non legato. Studying various nuances, gradually expanding the overall range within the limits: up to the first octave - F, G of the second octave.

4. Work on diction.

Lip activity without tension in the facial muscles, basic articulation techniques. Clear pronunciation of consonants based on vowels, assignment of consonants to the next syllable, short pronunciation of consonants at the end of a word, separate pronunciation of identical vowels occurring at the end of one and at the beginning of another word. Perfect pronunciation of the text, highlighting logical stress. Diction exercises.

5. Vocal exercises.

Singing simple vocal exercises that help strengthen children's voices, improve sound production, expand the range and at the same time, better assimilate the repertoire. For example:

Descending three- to five-step constructions, starting from the middle of the register, the same in a descending movement, starting with the lower sounds of the register.

Changing vowels on a repeating sound;

Gamma in a descending and ascending movement (after mastering its small segments);

Triad in straight and broken lines down and up;

Small melodic turns (excerpts of songs, subconscious assimilation of intonation of tones and semitones, the transition of unstable sounds into stable melodies).

The listed exercises and others (at the discretion of the choirmaster) must be sung both within the key and by changing the key, in chromatic order.

6. Exercises to develop the sense of harmony.

Singing individual steps, intervals, triads, scales and scales.

Melodic and harmonic sequences from intervals.

Conscious assimilation of intonation of tones and semitones, the transition of unstable sounds into stable ones.

Of great importance for successful work with little choristers is the analysis of a musical work. This is a general characteristic of the content of the work. Analysis of text and music in a form accessible to students: comparison of musical phrases according to the direction of the melody and its structure. Analysis of means of expression: tempo, size, characteristic rhythm, dynamic shades.

When selecting children for the choir, the director needs to pay special attention to the physiological characteristics of the voices, fix the register characteristics, i.e., the sound of the voices in different ranges. At the first rehearsal, the choirmaster must resolve all organizational issues, introduce the children to the study conditions, rules of behavior at rehearsals, chants and the choir repertoire at this stage of work.

An equally important issue in the work of a choirmaster is the selection of repertoire. The leader faces the main task of teaching children to sing, and for this he must find means that are feasible for implementation, useful for the development of voice and hearing, and also conducive to the education and development of musical taste.

The correct selection of repertoire is an important condition for the success of the choir. The repertoire must be artistically valuable, varied and interesting, useful in pedagogical terms, i.e., contributing to the artistic growth of the choir, developing and enriching the world of children's musical performances. The repertoire of a children's choir must maintain a balance between the number of simple and complex works. When selecting the repertoire, the choirmaster must remember that classical works must be combined with songs by modern domestic composers and folk songs. Since the 90s of the 20th century, a new layer of choral music has entered our performance - Russian choral music of everyday life and the church holidays of Christmas and Easter, now widely celebrated. Gradually, with the accumulation of experience in choral performance and mastery of vocal and choral skills, the repertoire becomes more complex. Students become familiar with polyphonic forms. Canons as a natural path to polyphony are recommended to be introduced from the 1st grade.

In the practice of school choral singing, one encounters a peculiar form of amusia: amusical children - “godoshniks”. Important reasons for poor “amusical singing” are, firstly, damage to the vocal apparatus, secondly, deficiencies in musical hearing, thirdly, a lack of ability to perceive, differentiate and analyze the pitch of sound, and, finally, fourthly, an inability to intonate correctly the first sound of the motive. One of the leading causes of amusia of this kind is the lack of coordination between musical ear and singing voice. Children who intonate acceptable but imprecisely can improve the quality of their singing as they learn. Over the course of a number of years, they develop their hearing so much that they acquire the ability to sing, relying on the correct singing of other members of the class choir. However, they still intone inaccurately, and their attempts to sing solo in the vast majority of cases are unsuccessful. Although in practice there were several examples when, thanks to a strong will and desire to sing, such students achieved quite satisfactory singing results. The main thing is that there are many children who, despite hearing and voice deficiencies, show a great desire to sing in the school choir, and we, music teachers, are called upon to help them with this.

Based on many years of experience working with junior choirs, I can confidently say that junior choir students must master three important vocal and choral skills: singing breathing, diction and intonation. This chain is the main link in working with the choir at the initial stage. Now let’s look at each substance in this chain.

At the first stage of working with a choir, breathing exercises are often performed outside of singing. There are different points of view on the advisability of using these exercises. Most teachers still consider them necessary. For this purpose, various breathing exercises are used.

Exercise one.

A short inhale through the nose along the conductor’s hand and a long, slow exhale with a count. With each repetition of the exercise, the exhalation lengthens due to an increase in the number of numbers and a gradual slowdown in the pace.

Exercise two.

Inhale briefly through the nose while moving the abdominal wall forward, activating the back muscles in the waist area and slightly spreading the lower ribs, fixing the attention of the choristers on this. Each student controls their movements by placing the palms of their hands on the oblique abdominal muscles. Exhale as long and evenly as possible with a count. As you repeat the exercise, the exhalation lengthens.

Exercise three.

Inhale briefly through the nose, hold the breath and exhale slowly while counting, but now for the first time students are asked to maintain the inhalation position throughout the exhalation. To do this, you need to learn to rest your diaphragm from the inside against the walls of your body along its entire circumference, as if trying to become thicker in the waist area.

Exercise four.

Take a short and deep breath through the nose while moving the abdominal wall forward, hold your breath, and use the conductor’s hand to gently reproduce with your closed mouth a sound of a given height in the middle of the range and pull it out in an even and moderately strong voice. The playing time then gradually increases. In this case, constant self-monitoring of students to maintain the inhalation position while singing is necessary.

Particular attention should be paid to correct inhalation. When inhaling, you should not intentionally draw in air. You should start with a full exhalation. Then, after pausing, you need to wait for the moment when you want to inhale. Only in this case will the inhalation be limited: deep enough and optimal in volume.

To quickly develop a strong skill in correct breathing movements, exercises should be performed regularly. Correct singing breathing skills are reinforced in the process of singing and are tested by the nature of the sound. The type of breathing affects the quality of the sound, and the sound, in turn, affects the quality of the singing breath. This circuit operates on the feedback principle. And indeed, if the singer sings in a quiet or loud voice, calmly, softly or excitedly, firmly, draws out for a long time or sings abruptly, then the nature of inhalation and phonation exhalation will change accordingly. Doing the exercise. Built on a descending scale-like scale, with a voice of equal strength, it trains the smoothness and gradualness of exhalation, and this is an indispensable condition for developing the skill of good singing breathing.

A condition for developing correct breathing movements should be compliance with the singing attitude. During rehearsals, children often cannot maintain the necessary smartness for long. In this case, it is advisable to take a deep breath, raising your arms up, then. After holding your breath for a few seconds, exhale slowly, lowering your arms. During classes with children, it is necessary to alternate singing while sitting and standing. A funny joke and praise also relieve fatigue, lift children's spirits, and increase their performance.

Young choristers should be familiar with the rules of chain breathing, which makes it possible to perform musical phrases of any length and even entire works.

Do not inhale at the same time as your neighbor sitting next to you.

Do not inhale at the junction of musical phrases, but, if possible, within long notes.

Take your breath imperceptibly and quickly.

To merge into the general sound of the choir without pushing, with a soft attack of sound, intonationally accurate, i.e. without “entrance”, and in accordance with the nuance of a given place in the score.

Listen sensitively to the singing of your neighbors and the general sound of the choir.

Only by following these rules can each singer achieve the expected effect: continuity and length of the overall sound of the choir.

To develop the skill of chain breathing, you first need to learn how to quickly and imperceptibly change your breathing within long notes. For this purpose, we can recommend singing an exercise built on a descending or ascending scale with long durations, without pauses or caesuras.

According to the fair remark of A. M. Pazovsky, “good diction in singing, especially in choral singing, is not only a means of expressively revealing the thought contained in the word, but at the same time a cutter of musical rhythm.” In order to work on a diction ensemble, the choirmaster must It’s good to know the rules of singing pronunciation.

The synthesis of music and words is an undoubted advantage of the choral genre. But this same synthesis also creates additional difficulties for choral performers, since it requires them to master two texts - musical and poetic. The text must be pronounced by the performers not just legibly, but meaningfully and logically correct, because the components of both literary and vocal-choral speech are not only diction, but also orthoepy (correct pronunciation of the text).

Choral diction has its own specific characteristics.

Firstly, it is singing, vocal, which distinguishes it from speech. Secondly, it is collective. It is necessary not only to teach them to clearly pronounce consonants, but also to correctly form and pronounce vowels (in particular, teach them the technique of reducing vowels). Reduction - weakening of sound articulation; reduced vowel - weakened, unclearly pronounced.

The specificity of the pronunciation of vowels in singing lies in their uniform, rounded manner of formation. This is necessary to ensure the timbre evenness of the choir and achieve good unison.

There are ten vowels in the Russian language, six of them are simple - i. e. a, o, u, s, four complex ones - я, ё, yu, e (iotated) When singing complex vowels, the first sound - й is pronounced very briefly, the following simple vowel lasts a long time.

Pronunciation of sounds:

Yo - rounded, with the addition of O.

A – rounded, with the addition of O.

And - like the French U.

E - like E, collected.

O - not narrow, rounded, wide, U - flying.

We sing A - we think about O, and vice versa.

We sing I - we think about Yu, U, and vice versa.

We sing E - we think about E, and vice versa.

We sing E - we think about O, and vice versa

“I’m lying in the sun and looking at the sun.” The vowel “I”, turning into “e”, justifies itself with a short pronunciation and fast singing. Vowels are pronounced purely mainly in the stressed position and on long sounds. Vowels are the sounds that reveal the singing capabilities of the voice.

If in a word or at the junction of words two vowels stand next to each other, then in singing they cannot be merged - the second vowel must be sung on a new attack, as if pronounced again, for example: but remained; no fire; come across one.

“Y” refers to consonants and is combined with them. For example: “Yes-le-ki-imo-ydru-gtvo-ira-do-stny-isvet.”

Unlike vowels, which are sung as long as possible, consonants must be pronounced at the very last moment. A consonant that ends a syllable is added to the next syllable, and a consonant that ends a word in a close junction of words is added to the next word. This rule applies primarily to works performed legato; With staccato, consonants are not carried over.

Consonants in singing are pronounced at the height of the vowels to which they adjoin. Failure to comply with this rule leads in choral practice to the so-called “entrances”, and sometimes to unclean intonation. In order to better convey a poetic text to listeners and achieve greater artistic expressiveness in singing, it is sometimes useful to use somewhat emphasized articulation of consonants. However, this technique is appropriate only in special cases (works of a dramatic nature, solemn hymns). When performing choral pieces at a fast tempo, you should pronounce words easily, “closely” and very actively, with minimal movements of the articulatory apparatus. For example. P.I. Tchaikovsky, lyrics by G. Ivashchenko “Neapolitan Song”. Appendix No. 2

Some rules of orthoepy

Consonants are divided into voiceless and voiced depending on the degree of participation of the voice in their formation.

They are so called because they can also stretch and are often used as vowels.

The basic rule of diction in singing is the rapid and clear formation of consonants and the maximum length of vowels. This is ensured primarily by the active work of the muscles of the articulatory apparatus, mainly the buccal and labial muscles, as well as the tip of the tongue. Like any muscle, they need to be trained.

To develop the articulatory apparatus, I propose to use the first and second cycles of the phonopedic method according to the V.V. system. Emelyanova. There are six cycles in total.

Cycle I – warm-up, facial massage, preparation of the singing apparatus for work in the choir.

a) – sitting, children should depict “the flight of a bird,” i.e., the stomach is tucked up, the chest is forward, this position resembles a bird in flight. The choirmaster must constantly remind the children of this provision.

b) - we carry out a facial massage by tapping the face with our fingers, starting from the roots of the hair, the frontal part, the cheeks, the chin so that the face “lights up”.

c) - biting the tip of the tongue until salivation occurs, after which we “chop” the tongue, pulling it forward, biting to the root part and also back. Be sure to ensure that the tongue moves smoothly to a relaxed state.

d) – “needle” exercise, making a sharp tongue and piercing the upper lip, then the lower and cheeks, like a needle. All this is done actively.

e) – “brush” exercise, we run our tongue between our lips and teeth, as if we were brushing our teeth.

e) – exercise “cross and zero”, stretching your lips forward with a tube, first draw a zero with your lips (four times in one direction and the other), then draw a cross, raising your lips up, down and to the sides. When performing it, you must ensure that children do not move their heads; only their lips should work.

g) - an offended and cheerful grimace is made. Offended - the lower lip is turned out so that the lower teeth are exposed. Cheerful - the upper lip rises to reveal the upper teeth. Then we perform both positions one by one.

h) – exercise “angry cat pose”. The main sensations of the muscular state of the face are the teeth are open, the nose is raised up, helping to open the upper teeth, large round eyes and the mouth is open so that three fingers placed vertically are placed between the teeth. It is advisable to work in front of a mirror.

i) – pronounce the text “I have a small mouth”, while the lips are tightly closed and extended forward. The lips should not move on the syllables “I have a mouth”, only the tongue works. At the word “small,” the mouth sharply opens into the “angry cat pose” and the word is actively pronounced so that the jaws intensify their work as much as possible. Draw out the syllable “A” with a loud resonance and briefly say the syllables “-lazy”. All consonants are pronounced harshly and actively.

The main task of the first cycle is to warm up the facial muscles for work and learn to open the mouth.

Cycle II includes intonation and phonetic exercises.

A) – pronunciation of voiceless consonants - Ш-С-Ф-К-Т-П. They are pronounced this way. To do this, you need to remember the position of your open mouth. This is the main starting position; pronouncing the consonant “sh”, we close our jaws and immediately sharply return to the starting position of the open mouth. It turns out to be a very short “sh”. We also pronounce the consonant “s”, with the tongue involved. When pronouncing the vowel “f,” the lips close. The pronunciation of the consonant “k” is important. The mouth in the angry cat pose, without closing or changing position, is pronounced with the root of the tongue, the jaws should not move - this is the main condition. It turns out like a “shot”. The consonant “p” is pronounced actively with the lips, and “t” by biting the tip of the tongue. The main requirement for pronouncing voiceless consonants is “the voiceless must be voiceless,” i.e. after the consonant no vowel should sound and when the mouth returns to its original position after the voiceless consonant there should be a feeling of inhalation.

B) – pronunciation of voiced consonants – F-W-C-G-D-B. In the same type of mouth position as when pronouncing voiceless consonants. The participation of the muscles of the tongue and lips corresponds “j-sh.” “z-s”, “v-f”, “g-k”, “d-t”, “b-p”. When pronouncing these consonants, the feeling should be as if starting from the consonants, pronouncing them four times each. There must be a feeling of active inhalation after each consonant. The options for performing these two exercises are different.

B) – exercise “scary tale”. In this exercise on pronunciation of vowels “U-O-A-E-Y.” The position of the mouth is “angry cat pose” i.e. the mouth is well open, all vowels are formed only with the lips, so that the sound is deep and voluminous. First we pronounce the vowel “u”, then add “o” to it, this way we get a drawn-out “ooh” and so each time repeating from the beginning, we add subsequent vowels. Compulsory

The condition for performing this exercise is to pronounce the vowels U-O-A-E-Y in one breath, without interrupting the chain of pronounced sounds. The exercise should resemble an intimidating, scary picture. Vowels can also be pronounced in reverse order. Be sure to follow

for the position of the mouth. The jaws should not change position and only the lips should be active in formation.

D) – the exercise is called “question and answer”. This exercise uses the same vowels as in the previous exercise. For example: take the vowel “u” as low as possible in the vocal range, i.e. in a rough, low voice and make a glissando upward to the highest, extreme sound of the range, as if sliding up the entire range of the voice and also quickly sliding back down from above . This exercise resembles up - question, down - answer. The structure of vowel usage is as follows:

Up. U-U, U-O, O-A, A-E, E-Y.

Down. Ooh. U-O, O-A, A-E. E-Y.

That is, up Ooh and down U-U; up U-O and down U-O. The mouth is open as much as possible when performing the exercise to avoid voice loss.

D) – the conditions for performing this exercise are the same as in the previous one. The voiceless and voiced consonants that were used in points A and B are added to the class ones. The structure is as follows:

Double-fold combinations - woo-shu, w-sho. u-sha, u-she, u-shy.

U-su, u-so, u-sa, u-se, u-sy.

U-fu, oo-fo, oo-fa, oo-fe. wow.

In the second warehouse we go up, and down we go down on the first vowel and pronounce the second syllable below.

Three-fold combinations - u-shu-zhu, u-sho-zho, u-sha-zha, ushe-zhe, u-shy-zhy.

U-su-zu, u-so-zo, u-sa-za, u-se-ze, u-sy-zy.

Oo-fu-woo, o-fo-woo. U-fa-va, u-fe-ve. wow.

Combinations can be used in different ways.

Expressive presentation of text depends not only on clear pronunciation of words. When reading the text and music of any musical work, you should always answer the question: how to perform a phrase or word - affectionately, joyfully, calmly, thoughtfully. Anxious, sad, angry, sorrowful, solemn, mocking, melancholy, scared, etc.

So, solving the problems of good diction in the choir, you need to work on legibility pronunciation while observing the rules of orthoepy; meaningfulness based on identifying logical vertices in phrases; expressive pronunciation of words based on the unity of the music and the content of the performed composition, its emotional content.

The problem of intonation in the choir, which is an instrument with an unfixed pitch of sounds, has always been one of the most acute and painful. Choral structure is impossible without pure unison, which arises due to the conscious intonation of musical sounds with the voice. The vocal apparatus and the ear are two inseparable parts of a single sound transmission system. Hearing is a sense organ that brings to the brain sound phenomena occurring in the environment surrounding the body. The vocal apparatus can only express what has entered the brain through hearing or what has arisen in the brain on the basis of these auditory impressions. Plays an important role in intonation attention child. With attention, any work is successful: movements are precise, neat, there is nothing superfluous in them, thoughts are clear, the brain analyzes well, everything is remembered well. “It’s better to sing attentively for twenty minutes than inattentively for two hours,” said the famous singer and teacher Polina Viardot. Another wonderful Russian teacher Ushinsky said that pedagogy is the science of interest. By making the lesson interesting, we thereby attract the student’s attention to it, and everything that we pay attention to is well absorbed.

In the literature on choral studies, choral structure is usually divided into two types: melodic and harmonic. At the initial stage of teaching children to sing, the choirmaster works on the medodic structure, which represents the totality of intonation of the degrees of the mode and melodic intervals. Briefly, they look like this.

In a major mode, the first degree is intonated steadily. The second degree in the ascending second movement should be intoned high. And in the downward direction it is low. The third degree is always intoned highly, regardless of the interval it forms with the previous sound, since it is the third of the tonic triad. The IV stage requires some increase when moving up, and a decrease when moving down. The V degree is intonated steadily, with a certain tendency to increase, since it is the fifth of the mode and the tonic triad. The VI degree in the ascending second movement (i.e. from the fifth degree) must be intoned highly. and in the descending one - (from the seventh step) - low. The VII degree, as an introductory tone, is intoned very high. The sixth degree of the harmonic major, being lowered in relation to the same degree of the natural major, should be intonated with a tendency to decrease

In a minor mode, the first degree, although it is the main sound of the tonic, should be intoned high. III stage – low. The fourth stage, when moving towards it from the bottom (from the third stage), is intonated high, and when moving from above (from the fifth stage), it is intonated low. The V degree, which is the third degree of the parallel major, must be intoned high. VI level of melodic – high. The seventh degree of the natural minor should be intonated low, and the same degree of the melodic and harmonic minor should be intonated high.

Any alteration that changes the height of one or another step of a natural mode (major or minor) brings to life the corresponding method of intonation: an alteration that increases the sound requires a sharpening of intonation, and an alteration that lowers the sound requires some decrease in it.

The basis of the harmonious singing of the choral part is the correct execution of intervals. It is known that interval is the distance (gap) between two sounds in height. Consecutive sounds form a melodic interval; taken simultaneously - a harmonic interval. The bottom sound of an interval is usually called its base, and the top sound is called its top.

In the tempered scale, all intervals of the same name are equal to each other. It's a different matter with singing and playing instruments without a fixed pitch. Here the interval value usually varies within zones depending on the modal value of the sounds included in the interval. Related to this are some features of intonation of various intervals that the choirmaster should know.

Pure intervals are executed consistently. This applies to prima, fourth, fifth and octave. Large and increased intervals should be intoned with a tendency to unilateral or bilateral expansion, and small and decreased intervals should be intoned with a tendency to unilateral or bilateral narrowing. When performing a large upward interval, you should strive to intonate its top with a tendency to increase, and when performing a large downward interval, with a tendency to decrease. When performing a small upward interval, on the contrary, the top should be intoned as low as possible, and when performing the same interval downwards, it should be intoned higher. Increased intervals are intonated very widely: the lower sound is played low, and the upper sound is played high. Diminished sounds are tight: the lower sound is sung high, and the upper sound is sung low. A separate area in the intonation of intervals is the pure singing of large seconds up and small seconds down. U.O. Avranek said: “Teach the choir to sing purely a small second down and a major second up, and the choir will sing harmoniously.” In V. Gavrilin’s work “Winter” from the vocal cycle “Seasons” the melody mainly consists of large and small seconds. Appendix No. 3

Working on a song is not boring cramming or mechanical imitation of a teacher, it is an exciting process, reminiscent of a persistent and gradual ascent to heights. The teacher makes it clear to the children that every song, even the simplest one, requires a lot of work. In choir classes, it is necessary to introduce a rule: when the teacher demonstrates a performance example with his voice, the students must watch, listen and mentally sing along with him. Mental singing Teaches inner concentration, develops creative imagination, which is necessary for greater expressiveness. Thus, auditory attention is directed and then intonation becomes more accurate. Work on structure in a choir usually begins already at the first stage of singing (learning) a piece. At this time, you should not miss errors in intonation because unnoticed errors “sing in” during repetition and are subsequently difficult to correct.

Classes with the choir usually begin with chanting, which performs a dual function: 1) warming up and tuning the vocal apparatus of the singers in order to prepare them for work. 2) development of vocal and choral skills in order to achieve the beauty and expressiveness of the sound of singing voices in the process of performing choral works.

To operate the vocal apparatus in the non-falsetto register of the voice range, i.e., chest, I use songs from the fourth and sixth cycles of the phonopedic method according to the V.V. system. Emelyanova. The range of singing has its prohibitions: do not rise above E FLATT of the first octave and the lowest sound should be A FLATD of the small octave. The basis of the musical material is taken from the simplest scale-like chants of ascending and descending movements of three-step and five-step moves. We present the following exercises: using “lip vibration” and the vowel Y, as well as “stro-bass” and the vowels A, E. Y, O. U.

“Stro-bass” translated from German means “straw-like” rustling bass. When performing this element, the creaking of a door is figuratively imagined. When creaking, the vocal cords do not come into action immediately, but gradually. This exercise is performed in this way: the mouth is opened in the “angry cat” pose, the tongue is stuck out so that it lies relaxed on the lower lip, and the larynx should make a sound reminiscent of a squeak. In most cases, children hear “e” during creaking. You need to pay attention to this and remind each time that the creaking should be performed with the desire to pronounce the vowel “a”. In singing songs, during the creak there is no intonation and without a pause it is necessary to translate it into the vowel “A”. The tongue should be in its original motionless and relaxed position. When performing the exercise, you will notice how the neutral vowel “A” is formed. it is necessary to listen to how vowels sound without the tongue and how the threshold is formed during the transition from “stro-bass” to a vowel (a, o, u, e, s).

Exercises using “lip vibration” and the vowel И in the falsetto register, starting from A FLATT of the first octave and higher without any special restrictions, are performed in the same way as in the non-falsetto register. When transitioning from lip vibration to the vowel Y, the mouth should very quickly open into the angry cat pose. Transition without any stop or pause. This is very important to avoid strain on the child's vocal cords. Everything sounds in the head resonator.

When singing in a choir, the choirmaster uses numerous melodic chants using vowel syllables, phrases, and excerpts from song lyrics. Chants are performed on various musical strokes: legato, staccato, non legato (non-legato - not connected). The main type of sound science at the initial stage is the cantilena, that is, a smooth, coherent, continuous, freely flowing sound. Even when choosing a repertoire for a junior choir, you need to pay more attention to works of a cantilena nature in order to eliminate the speech manner of sound when children sing. Let me give you a few examples of melodic chants.

In the second half of the educational process and in the further development of harmonic hearing in children, harmonic chants can be gradually introduced. For example: children first sing one sound for the vowel “u” and subsequently build intervals from this sound. Before this, the choir should be divided into two groups.

The singing of canons is of great importance for the development of harmonic hearing at the initial stage. The word “canon” is translated from Greek as “rule, order” and has many meanings. A musical canon is a song created and performed in a specific way. All participants in the canon sing the same melody with the same text, entering one by one, as if late, with a lag. The beauty and originality of the canon is also its ending, since each of the singers, having completed the melody, again returns to its beginning, which forms a vicious circle. The idea of ​​an endless, circular movement of everything in the world is characteristic of many ancient cultures. It is this idea, the idea of ​​an endless return to the beginning, that organizes the form of the canon. Man’s idea of ​​a world in which everything is subject to the laws of circulation is reflected in beliefs, way of life, dances and songs. For example. “Sing baby.” In this canon, a small phrase is repeated four times in succession, at different heights. Therefore, it is not at all difficult to remember and sing it. This canon can be sung many times, returning again to the beginning of the melody. It is possible to perform the canonical melody with accompaniment (homophonically). Appendix No. 7

The text of the canon “Once upon a time there lived a grandfather in the world” (Moravian folk song) talks about a flute, but in the melody one can hear rather the intonations of a trumpet or a bugle. It’s not easy to sing such a canon. To begin with, you can build a canon between the singers and the instrument (for example, a piano), whose melody will sound an octave higher or lower. Such a performance will create new colors of contrapuntal music-making. The Russian translation of the song's lyrics is very funny. He puts forward additional tasks, namely: clarity of diction and activity of the language, something that is characteristic of a tongue twister.

1. V.A. Mozart “Spring”.

2. O. Fernhelst “Ave Maria”.

3. J. Haydn “We are friends with music.”

4. N. Rimsky-Korsakov “Farewell to winter.”

5. V. Kalinnikov “Crane”, “Bear”.

6. Ts. Cui “May Day”, Soap Bubbles.”

7. A. Grechaninov “About the calf.”

8. A. Arensky “Tell me, moth.”

9. A. Lyadov “Bunny”, “Lullaby”, “Funny”.

10. A. Lyadov “Bunny”, “Lullaby”, “Funny”.

11. Russian folk songs: “Like ours at the gate”, 2How your girlfriends went”, “There’s a path in a damp forest”, “A little girl walked”, “We walked in a round dance”.

12.F. Grubber “Silent Night”.

13. Folk song “Mother of God”.

14. M. Malevich Songs from collections about Christmas and Easter.

15. V. Vitlin “Rains”.

16. S. Dubinina “Little Goat”, “Bull”.

17. Yu. Chichkov “Autumn”.

18. S. Fadeev “Robin-Bobin”.

19. S. Smirnov “Samovar”.

20. S. Gavrilov “Green boots”.

21. E. Zaritskaya “Musician”.

22. N. Russu-Kozulina “Pie”, “Good Song”.

23. S. Banevich “Fly, my ship, fly.”

25. O. Khromushin “Masquerade”.

26. B. Snetkov “Champion”.

27. V. Basement. Riddle songs: “Owl”, “Squirrel”, “Woodpecker”, “Turtle”.

Based on the capabilities of young choristers, you should gradually try to introduce simple two-voices (at the discretion of the choirmaster) - chants, canons, as well as simple works.

1. M. Glinka “You, nightingale, be silent.”

2. A. Grechaninov “Poppies, poppies”

3. Yu. Litovko “Old watches”.

4. M. Roiterstein “Mother Spring”. “Parties.”

5. M. Shyvereva “Green Summer”.

6. E. Rushansky “Wonderful dress.”

7. N. Karsh “Song in crocodile language”, “Night story”, “Fish”.

1. M. Roiterstein “Choral fun”, “Oh, okay”, “Cockerel”.

2. Canons: “There was a birch tree in the field”, “There was a path in the damp forest”, “Brother Jacob”, English folk song “Come Follow”, German folk song “Commt und last”.

3. Czech folk song “White Dove” (canon)

5. Yu. Litovko “The Nightingale” and other canons.

6. Russian folk song “I walk with the vine” (arranged by Roganova).

Choral students at the beginning of their studies and in subsequent years should be familiar with commonly used terms and concepts such as: a cappella, S (soprano), A (alto), T (tenor). B (bass). Solo, agogics, accompaniment, ensemble, abstract, articulation, vibrato, diction, range, dynamics, conductor, conducting, dissonance, breathing, genre, interval, tuning fork, canon, cantilena, key, consonance, climax, modem tonality, mode, meter, rhythm, melody (voice, vocal guidance), facial expressions, polyphony, mutation, nuance, polyphony, choir singing, register, resonators, repertoire, rehearsal, sequence, syncopation, solfege, tuning, timbre, tessitura, tutti, unison, musical form, forcing sound, phrasing, choral parts and choral score (transcription and explanation), caesura, chain breathing, stroke.

The purpose of choir classes is to instill in children a love of music, choral singing, and to develop collective music-making skills. It is necessary to teach children how to sing correctly and introduce them to the wonderful world of vocal and choral classics, folk music, and modern composing.

Creating an atmosphere of creativity, mutual assistance, and everyone’s responsibility for the results of a common cause in the choir contributes to the formation of the child’s personality, helps him to believe in himself and promotes the development of creative potential.

Regarding information on the physiology of respiratory, vocal and auditory devices:

1) focus attention and will on mastering breathing, the need to use moments of rest and movement;

3) develop a singing technique before mutation, take into account the signs of mutation and maintain the hygiene of the child’s voice.

From a pedagogical and psychological point of view it is necessary:

1) explore the method and range of perception of musical tones, signs of musical ear, talent and musicality;

2) methodically develop singing abilities and choral singing skills, taking into account the characteristics of children's perception, developing the knowledge, feelings and will of children, as well as their mental properties.

3) analyze the signs of amusia, eliminate deficiencies in singing during training, apply the basics of didactics and pedagogy and technical means.

Regarding choral singing skills, you need to:

1) develop rhythm and intonation from early school age;

2) take into account the signs of musical talent and musicality, taking into account general talent;

3) systematically develop singing technique and musical imagination.

In general, adhere to the requirements of general didactics and the private didactic system, take into account the characteristics of children's choral singing, and achieve perfection of interpretation.

Used Books

1. Yu.B. Aliev. “Singing in music lessons. Lesson notes. Repertoire. Methodology.”

2. G.P. Stulova. “Theory and practice of working with a children's choir.”

3. N.B. Gontarenko. “Solo singing”. Secrets of vocal mastery.

4. I.E. Vendrova, I.V. Pigareva. “Education with music.”

5. V.A. Samarin. “Choral conduct and choral arrangement.”

6. V.V. Kryukova. “Musical pedagogy”.

7. K.F. Nikolskaya-Beregovskaya. “Russian vocal and choral school from antiquity to the 21st century.”

8. K. Pluzhnikov. “Mechanics of Singing.”