Nobody should feel alone on Valentine’s Day, especially during our Valentine’s Day rehearsal. We can spread love throughout our room and make everyone feel special. Love is infectious and can infiltrate each and every member of our ensemble. It is our job to spread the love, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to make it our focus.

While it may be super last minute, these ideas can make this holiday of love become a rehearsal filled with positive energy. As a result, your choir will benefit well beyond this one rehearsal!


Valentine’s Day Round (4 parts) – download and teach TODAY!


Here are 9 Last Minute, “on the fly” Ideas for Creating Choir Valentine’s Day:

1. Greet students as they enter and/or exit our room and hand out something that symbolizes love

By personally giving each student a love symbol, (Hershey’s kiss, little candy hearts, etc, cut-out heart, etc), we are making a special connection with each child. This is something that choir officers can do in our place. The goal is for each choir member to feel a one-on-one, warm interaction as they enter and leave our rehearsal. As a result, this feeling could last well beyond our one period.


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2. Have a “Valentine’s Day” message written on the board as they enter the room

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Choir! You Are All Loved!” is a wonderful message for students to see as they enter our room and find their seats. A thoughtful message goes a long way.  We never know who needs to hear that. We can also say this to our choir. Telling the choir we love them and care about them isn’t limited to Valentine’s Day. But, this national day of love certainly provides the impetus for sharing this sentiment. 


Valentine’s Day Rehearsal Assignment – free resource for Valentine’s Day


3. Enhance the room with additional decor – do something that is reflective of love

Keep it simple. Maybe the smart board/chalkboard can have something “love-themed”. Use a few beautiful quotes about love, possibly taken from their current music repertoire. As a result, this could really set the tone of the rehearsal.


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4. Make love a universal theme

Love doesn’t need to be about a couple. It can be about loving oneself, loving mankind or being passionate about what we do in our life. Draw attention to all that love can be. Love is such a powerful emotion. It brings joy, sadness, compassion, pain, grief, frustration, and many other emotions. The mood of love is surrounding our students throughout the day (for better or for worse). As a result, let’s connect this emotion directly to their singing.

5. Discuss the specific themes of love within our music

Focus on the songs that share this theme. Sometimes it is love of nature, love of life, or love of another being. For our “Valentine’s Day” rehearsal, “love” can be the entry point into our music; as we connect the applicable theme of “Valentine’s Day” back into our chosen song selections, some students may be able to connect deeper to their music. As a result of offering a different entry point into our music, (focusing on dynamics, articulation, vowels, meaning, etc), we can reach our students in a new and profound way.


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6. Learn and sing a Valentine’s Day Round

Any holiday or event is a good excuse to do something different. I wrote a round for Valentine’s Day that has several intentions. It is designed to reinforce consonants that are frequently mispronounced or omitted as well as ones that frequently sound the same, even though they are distinctly different. Rounds, in general, are great for group sight-singing, and for teaching beginning singers how to hold their part. This round is a great tool for singers of all ages.


Valentine’s Day Round


7. Provide an in-class Valentine’s Day rehearsal assignment that draws upon the love and emotion in choir

It is important to give students the opportunity to productively express themselves. I have created a free assignment for Valentine’s Day that allows students to positively self-reflect upon their choral experience, using the theme of love (and human connection).

1) What aspect of choir do you love the most, and why?

2) Which choir piece that we have learned this year do you love to sing the most, and why?

3) Which piece do you feel most connected to the entire choir when we are singing? Is there any specific text/line in the song where this connection feels the strongest?

4) Name one specific lyric from any piece of music we have sung that has personally touched you, and why?

 

And if we use this Valentine’s Day rehearsal assignment……



8. Have students share their response to the Valentine’s Day assignment with the class

An effective way to do this would be to first form in pairs or small groups. Have each student in the group share their response with each student. When returning back as a full ensemble, ask students to share their responses with the entire choir.

9. Lead a discussion on how music and singing both play a role in connecting with love throughout our society

Group discussions are a useful way to bring students together and connect toward a common goal. One of their role, as singers, is to spread and transmit love. This is a powerful message to explore. Additionally, the power of music, especially live music, is so unique. What happens when we perform at an assisted living facility, at a wedding, at a funeral, sing happy birthday in harmony, etc? What is our role as singers?

With this in mind, we have the ability to make a “special” Valentine’s Day rehearsal for our choir members!


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  – the best classroom sight-singing tool on the market!!

 

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