Haslett Internship - Vist 4

On March 19th, I noticed a few changes in the classroom since MSVMA Festival was getting closer. Particularly, Mr. Boyce's behavioral expectations seemed to have been pushed up a notch. Some things that Mr. Boyce would have probably let slide in the past were addressed more quickly, such as students having phones out when he wasn't working with them. He was very respectful whenever he asked for attention, he just did it more often than before. Sometimes he would walk by a student with their phone out and quietly but authoritatively say, "John, put it away." If there was excess talking, he was much quicker to use "sh" rhythm patterns to focus them back on task, be it warming up or sightreading. When they started rehearsing their festival pieces, if not everyone was singing, he wouldn't hesitate to stop and say something like, "Basses, I need all of you," or "Guys, everyone." The tenors, who tend to be the most attentive and the most extroverted about being excited about singing, were clearly getting annoyed with the young men who were being less than respectful.  After a few stop and starts from Mr. Boyce, though, most of the students began to really engage in the task at hand and Mr. Boyce had to use less and less time managing the class.

One of the tenors who was clearly upset at the students who were disrupting the class was the same young man who asked super musical questions on my first visit, and who I've began to be able to pick out in the tenor's sound as a leader in that section. Once Mr. Boyce was walking back to the podium while the introduction to a piece as playing, and this student stood right up, ready to sing, and then sort of looked around sheepishly when no one else stood up.  As he sat back down I realized that it had been a while this class period since the boys were asked to stand. I think it might have helped them all focus on really performing the piece if they had been standing, not only to refocus the group, but also because almost all of the students, even the engaged ones, don't sit with very good singing posture.

Another thing I noticed is how effective Mr. Boyce's modeling is. There is so much information in his singing, like phrasing, crisp consonants, and vowel shape. Sometimes the students don't exactly get everything that he has done, but there is usually a noticeable change in their sound. I also noticed that when Mr. Boyce sings first and explains what he's looking for before he has them try it, he gets a bigger change in the sound than when he explains and then sings, as if they have time to forget what he was looking for between the time he explains it, through the modeling, and then to their turn to sing. Often, he will pair movement with modeling, or afterwards if the change in sound wasn't enough. He doesn't often let the students get away with singing that is not up to his expectations, and his teaching is flexible enough that he can help his students get to those expectations in many different ways.