Round and Rounds We Go in Concert!
Throughout the internet, choral directors are always searching for round and rounds. It's amazing how overlooked rounds can be as part
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-29T21:46:35-04:00 June 20th, 2022|Rounds|
Throughout the internet, choral directors are always searching for round and rounds. It's amazing how overlooked rounds can be as part
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-16T14:42:18-04:00 June 16th, 2022|Patriotic Music|
I see monthly posts in Facebook groups for "the best" Star Spangled Banner sheet music. Of course, "the best" depends
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-11T06:09:28-04:00 May 10th, 2022|Sight-Reading, Technology|
There's a new feature on Sight Reading Factory. It is a game-changer. I can't wait to share it with you.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-28T22:21:06-04:00 May 1st, 2022|Choral Caste System, Cultivating Choir Culture, Senioritis|
Our seniors are done. They have no reason to try. They have already been accepted into college. Many of their
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-03-26T23:16:09-04:00 March 26th, 2022|Matching Pitch|
Imagine if learning to matching pitch was treated like learning basic math: We certainly believe everyone can learn addition
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-16T11:54:38-04:00 March 14th, 2022|Self-Selected|
What is a self-selected choir? A self-selected choir is any choir where students of all ability levels participate together. A
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-20T21:07:23-04:00 March 6th, 2022|Ear Training, Matching Pitch|
I am convinced that 4-5% of the population, who are described to suffer from "amusia", are misunderstood. My strong belief
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-23T14:53:05-04:00 February 25th, 2022|The Healthy Teacher|
It's so easy to be so invested in our school community and the lives of our students. Unfortunately, as a
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-10T02:12:35-04:00 February 11th, 2022|Ideology of Intentional Inspiration, Rehearsal Techniques, Valentine's Day|
Nobody should feel alone on Valentine's Day, especially during our Valentine's Day rehearsal. We can spread love throughout our room and
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-30T11:18:19-05:00 January 29th, 2022|Cultivating Choir Culture, Ideology of Intentional Inspiration, Valentine's Day|
Valentine's Day may seem like a holiday that should be ignored in choir, but I think it could be a missed
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-26T23:22:17-05:00 January 26th, 2022|Matching Pitch|
From time to time, we get singers who struggle to match pitch. Some of them really love singing. While many
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-22T23:34:10-05:00 January 22nd, 2022|Ear Training, Matching Pitch|
There was a time where pianos were commonplace in homes and it was just "normal" to sing. Families would gather
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-23T05:49:02-05:00 January 17th, 2022|Assessment, Cultivating Choir Culture, Ideology of Intentional Inspiration, Rehearsal Techniques, Self-Assessment|
As we reach the middle of our academic year, students are likely taking exams to evaluate their progress, while teachers
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-03T19:22:07-05:00 January 2nd, 2022|New Year|
If you want your rehearsals to improve, now is a GREAT time to make the appropriate changes. https://www.choralclarity.com/4-reasons-to-make-major-rehearsal-changes-right-now/ Think
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-02T14:57:49-05:00 January 2nd, 2022|Cultivating Choir Culture, New Year|
Strike while the iron is hot. Now is a good time to make sweeping changes to your daily rehearsal. If
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-03-13T11:32:36-04:00 December 19th, 2021|Concert Season, Ice-breakers, Rounds|
The vacation is so clearly here and everyone has one foot out the door. We may have just held our
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-24T14:36:03-05:00 December 12th, 2021|Concert Season|
Your Singer MISSED The Concert....What do we do? - Use the 5 “E”s It can be quite frustrating when we
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-06T06:21:26-05:00 December 5th, 2021|Concert Season, Cultivating Choir Culture, Holiday & Caroling|
17 (Last Minute) Things to Avoid - to Ensure a Smooth Concert! We've just spent many months learning notes and
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-05T08:19:08-05:00 December 1st, 2021|Concert Season, Holiday & Caroling|
We have 11 traditional songs that we repeat year after year. Two songs have been traditions of the choir dating
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-11-28T20:42:31-05:00 November 27th, 2021|Concert Season, Distance Learning, Holiday & Caroling|
Sometimes we need a last minute holiday piece to fill out or balance our program. We may have chosen a
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-03-13T12:00:36-04:00 November 6th, 2021|Cultivating Choir Culture, Homework, The Soloist/Solo Singing|
When I took over the entire high school choral program more than two decades ago, the previous choir director had
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-11-01T06:00:56-04:00 October 30th, 2021|Cultivating Choir Culture, The Soloist/Solo Singing|
Should choir members be forced to sing solo? The simple answer is: no student should ever be forced to
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-25T21:51:42-05:00 October 12th, 2021|Assessment, Rubrics, Self-Assessment|
The two main components of any successful rehearsal are the planning/execution of the director and the planning/execution of the students.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-09T05:01:50-04:00 October 5th, 2021|Self-Assessment|
Giving self-assessment assignments, for many choral directors, seems like a ridiculous waste of time. Usually, these directors shun the idea
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-11T08:04:34-04:00 September 20th, 2021|Assessment, Homework, Sight-Reading|
Sight-singing is a core element in my choral program. The development of sight-singing comes after several other individual skills have
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-29T11:38:16-04:00 September 13th, 2021|Rounds|
Rounds are an excellent learning tool and performance vehicle for choirs of all levels. Even refined high school choirs can
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-11T08:04:54-04:00 August 22nd, 2021|New teacher, New Year|
We had one year end abruptly followed by another year of complete turmoil. What will this school year bring us?
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-10T06:37:43-05:00 May 28th, 2021|Choral Sheet Music|
Between the brick and mortar publishing companies, the online publishing companies, and the online self-publishers, there is more music to
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-05-19T21:38:53-04:00 May 16th, 2021|End of Year|
If your concert season is over and you still have weeks of rehearsals left, you have a great opportunity; there's
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-11T08:05:31-04:00 May 15th, 2021|End of Year|
Closing out the school year is always tough, especially this year. What do we do after our concert season is
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-11T08:06:11-04:00 April 21st, 2021|Choral Rehearsal Tracks|
Head to Head: Choral Tracks vs Kinnision Choral Co. If your choir is interested in finding a permanent solution to
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-04-05T10:49:26-04:00 April 5th, 2021|Choral Rehearsal Tracks|
Why is Choral Clarity choosing to partner with Kinnison Choral Co. and how can you benefit? Over the past
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-28T22:19:41-04:00 March 24th, 2021|Choral Rehearsal Tracks|
Choral rehearsal tracks, for many of us, have been indispensable throughout the pandemic. With that said, I believe they will
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-02-04T09:47:48-05:00 March 18th, 2021|Choral Rehearsal Tracks|
Is using choral rehearsal tracks cheating? The better question may be: Are you cheating your singers by giving
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-26T15:39:59-04:00 March 3rd, 2021|Ear Training, Matching Pitch|
Anybody can be taught to match pitch, almost instantly, in 5 simple steps. This entire process takes a maximum of
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-02-25T22:14:46-05:00 February 25th, 2021|Black History Month, Cultivating Choir Culture|
(photo credit to my esteemed choral colleague, Maria A. Ellis, who designed and sells this shirt on her website)
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-09T02:13:08-04:00 February 17th, 2021|Black History Month, Cultivating Choir Culture|
In more than two decades of teaching at the same high school, I've had less than a dozen African American
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-03T04:43:53-05:00 January 18th, 2021|Distance Learning, Sight-Reading|
Do you have 2 minutes a day to devote to sight-singing? If so this approach could work well for you,
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-01-07T07:26:34-05:00 January 4th, 2021|Distance Learning, Ear Training, Sight-Reading, The Soloist/Solo Singing|
For more than a decade, my rehearsal approach for the month of January can be described as a choral break!
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-12-24T07:44:59-05:00 November 28th, 2020|Concert Season, Holiday & Caroling|
It is super disappointing when our concert season is cancelled. Each scenario across the country may be different, but
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-11-18T23:06:19-05:00 November 18th, 2020|Distance Learning, Rubrics, Self-Assessment|
It can be quite difficult to engage our remote learners, especially since most of us have less than six months
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-11-11T22:33:09-05:00 November 11th, 2020|Distance Learning, Rehearsal Techniques, Technology|
If you have students who are hybrid or remote, it is likely that Google Classroom has become your new classroom.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-22T08:35:09-04:00 October 17th, 2020|Assessment, Sight-Reading|
Dear Smartmusic, After 10 years, you have worn me out and I'm leaving you. Sincerely, Former Smartmusic Advocate & Cheerleader
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-02-25T22:16:36-05:00 March 29th, 2020|Distance Learning|
Most of us had absolutely no opinion on "the value of VIRTUAL CHOIRS" until two weeks ago; since then, we
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-03-23T06:32:54-04:00 March 22nd, 2020|Distance Learning, Homework, The Healthy Teacher|
This is a time like no other. Most of our schools are closed indefinitely as we are grieving the loss
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-03-22T21:39:29-04:00 March 11th, 2020|Distance Learning, Homework, Sight-Reading|
Sight Reading Factory is a fantastic resource to use at home, especially during a potential period of online learning. My
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-03-31T06:52:45-04:00 March 6th, 2020|Cultivating Choir Culture, First Rehearsals|
I came across a post in a very prominent choral director's Facebook group that asks: “What are your simple, short
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-24T15:21:04-05:00 February 22nd, 2020|Cultivating Choir Culture, Ice-breakers|
WWeIce-breakers are a great means to help a choir to bond; many can be fun, productive, and have positive results
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-01-29T21:27:09-05:00 January 29th, 2020|A-Cappella, Cultivating Choir Culture|
February is a very busy month for my high school choral program and yet we have no choral concerts scheduled
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2020-01-29T21:27:50-05:00 January 14th, 2020|Sight-Reading|
Let's face it, sight-singing can get boring and/or stale in choir rehearsals. The more we do it, the more they
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-30T13:57:06-05:00 December 30th, 2019|A-Cappella, New Year, The Healthy Teacher, The Soloist/Solo Singing|
The end of the year is the time where virtually every online publisher and podcaster releases a "Best of 2019"
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-17T21:28:59-05:00 December 15th, 2019|Concert Season, Holiday & Caroling|
Caroling Day is my choir's favorite day of the year. We carol every year, the day before the Winter Break.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-04T15:43:14-05:00 December 14th, 2019|Concert Season, Cultivating Choir Culture, Holiday & Caroling|
The most fun day of the entire year for my high school choir is Caroling Day. On this special day, we
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-11T05:58:34-05:00 December 10th, 2019|Concert Season|
When it comes to rehearsals immediately following a concert, there are two things that irritate me beyond belief: When teachers
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-10T21:12:51-05:00 December 7th, 2019|Concert Season, Cultivating Choir Culture, Holiday & Caroling, Religious Music|
I hope you are reading this blog after my previous BLOG about why we must retire the Hallelujah Chorus. Prefacing
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-12-25T22:29:32-05:00 December 5th, 2019|Concert Season|
\Believe it or not, most of what our audience members see and hear have nothing to do with how well
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-10T21:11:24-05:00 December 3rd, 2019|Concert Season|
I recently read a blog post entitled, "Calling All Adults: Grow UP." It was an interesting read about the disintegration
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-11-27T14:21:29-05:00 November 19th, 2019|Concert Season, Holiday & Caroling|
There's plenty of great choral music available for the holiday season. Large works such as Pinkham's "Christmas Cantata" or Britten's
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-12-06T21:06:45-05:00 November 17th, 2019|Concert Season, Cultivating Choir Culture, Holiday & Caroling, New teacher|
Don't get rid of the previous director's alumni piece, even if you hate it. Even if it's a disaster. At
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-11-04T05:21:33-05:00 November 3rd, 2019|Sight-Reading, Technology|
I've seen many Facebook posts asking the question of whether Sight Reading Factory or Smart Music is preferred for sight-singing.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-03T05:48:08-04:00 October 13th, 2019|Rounds|
Rounds are an excellent learning tool and performance vehicle for choirs of all levels. Even refined high school choirs can
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-07T12:45:15-05:00 October 5th, 2019|Podcasts/Interviews, Self-Selected|
When did our culture stop singing, and what are we, the choir directors, doing to bring singing back into our
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-01-11T19:40:08-05:00 September 29th, 2019|Assessment, Aural Training, Ear Training, Matching Pitch, Sight-Reading|
There are 4 tangible steps that can be taken to develop EVERY singer's ear, and in turn, develop their singing
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-07-22T21:19:01-04:00 July 22nd, 2019|First Rehearsals, New teacher, New Year|
Why should we take the time to write a choir handbook? A handbook may seem like a tedious booklet
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-07-08T07:10:24-04:00 July 3rd, 2019|A-Cappella|
Creating a contemporary A-Cappella group can be the best thing that has ever happened to your traditional high school choral
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-01-23T13:14:37-05:00 January 20th, 2019|Rehearsal Techniques|
Our rehearsal time is finite, so finding ways to maximize rehearsal time can be extremely important. Many of us have
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-28T08:01:15-04:00 November 4th, 2018|Assessment, Aural Training, Ear Training, Matching Pitch, Rubrics, Self-Selected, Sight-Reading, Vocal Technique|
"Tone-Deaf" is an Excuse....not a Diagnosis.....and I blame the person who makes the diagnosis. Anyone can learn to sing. If
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2021-10-16T20:37:06-04:00 October 9th, 2018|Cultivating Choir Culture, Halloweeen, Rehearsal Techniques|
As we search for ways to unify our ensemble as well as opportunities to change-up the monotony of the daily rehearsal, alas,
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-09-30T06:26:26-04:00 October 2nd, 2018|Assessment, Aural Training, Ear Training, Rubrics, Self-Assessment, Sight-Reading|
A wise man once told me to never believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. Your
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-09-03T06:12:36-04:00 September 18th, 2018|Sight-Reading|
Turning Fear into Fun My 3-year-old daughter, Lyla, and I have the same natural disposition when it comes to starting
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-07-07T08:14:02-04:00 September 1st, 2018|Cultivating Choir Culture, First Rehearsals, New teacher, New Year|
Our Choir culture stems from both how we prepare AND how we instill the fabric of our desired ideals. When we prepare our Guidelines
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-05-16T02:15:16-04:00 November 19th, 2017|Assessment, Aural Training, Sight-Reading|
Before Testing Their Sight-Singing, Assess This.... Sight-singing is not an all or nothing skill, but when it comes to assessing
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-09-30T06:26:40-04:00 October 3rd, 2017|Aural Training, Ear Training, Ideology of Intentional Inspiration, Rehearsal Techniques, Sight-Reading, Technology|
If you've always wanted to have a choir filled with singers who can sight-sing, this blog post is for you!
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-29T22:25:54-04:00 September 26th, 2017|Aural Training, Ear Training, Rehearsal Techniques, Sight-Reading|
Kodaly & Me I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm not a Curwen hand signal user; I know it is
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-09-30T06:27:06-04:00 September 9th, 2017|Aural Training, Choral Caste System, Ear Training, Rehearsal Techniques, Sight-Reading|
6 Reasons Why Your Singers Can't Sight-Sing All students, regardless of talent or prior experience, can learn how to sight-sing.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-08-09T20:36:55-04:00 August 8th, 2016|Cultivating Choir Culture, First Rehearsals, New teacher, New Year, Rehearsal Techniques|
Prior to my first day of teaching high school, I was given advice from the person who had just hired
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2019-08-05T16:20:17-04:00 June 23rd, 2016|Choral Caste System, Self-Selected|
My previous post describes the traditional Choral Caste System which consists of “The Best” vs. “The Rest”. For those of
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-23T22:24:45-04:00 June 23rd, 2022|Sight-Reading|
The path to sight sing The ability to sight sing is the result of developing 6 individual skills: 1.
By Adam Paltrowitz| 2022-06-16T14:46:19-04:00 May 14th, 2022|Holiday & Caroling, Memorial Day|
If your choir is integral to your school and local community, there is a good chance it will be asked