Choral techniques for children's choirs: a qualitative approach

English: Children's choirs gained recognition during the twentieth century as an acclaimed category in Western choral music. This choral category's subsequent dynamic evolvement has brought to the fore the need to broaden the knowledge of specialised rehearsal and conducting techniques, especially in view of its internationally competitive nature. As part of the growing body of knowledge in the field, conductors have contributed to the development of the instrument through the design of didactic methods generating specific artistic results. The evidence of studies on the topic, and in particular, the lack of qualitative data, highlighted the need to systematically investigate and document all music-technical foundations of children’s choral singing as practised by leading conductors in the field. It is the aim of this study to explore a range of theoretical, practical and didactic issues by way of a qualitative investigation. In order to contribute to the body of knowledge on the development of the vocal instrument of children, and to provide a substantive framework for conducting methods generating specific artistic results, this study documents the responses of a number of world-renowned conductors of children’s choirs. The study is introduced by a brief overview of the historical background to the evolvement of the children’s choir. In this regard it has been found that the remarkable development of this choral category during the course of the last century was stimulated in particular by various inputs from the educational and compositional field, from which a unique choral pedagogy for children that included both voice skills and voice health training was realised during the 1980s. It also became clear that conductors contributed considerably to the evolvement of this choral category by means of their active engagement with the field, and by disseminating experience and knowledge through publications, symposia and workshops. A literature study first examined general aspects of choral directing, which were then particularised in terms of the children’s choir. A qualitative study followed that documented the views of various renowned conductors, which amplified the preceding literature findings on certain techniques the conductor should apply to build the child’s voice expertly as an instrument of musical excellence. The data chapter not only reiterated the important role of the conductor, but confirmed that the conductor's role extends beyond the musical director's function to that of nurturer and educationalist, which also includes a strong psychological dimension. It was made clear that the role of the conductor is vital already during the auditioning and repertoire selection processes, where the potential success of the choir originates. The musical ability of children carries more weight than the quality of an individual voice, and therefore has to be assessed in a variety of effective ways. It was also stressed that the repertoire for this choral category has to be suitable for children, taking into account aspects such as level of performance, language and cultural background, as well as musical variety. The findings showed a strong correlation between the literature and the qualitative data, although the latter provided a rich individualistic account. It was clear that choral techniques for this instrument should be holistic in approach, starting with the body posture and working towards the creation of a desired homogeneous choral sound through touching on numerous physical and psychological aspects. As part of this process, the conductor needs to focus on elements of choral sound such as relaxation, breathing, registers, vowels, phrasing, legato singing, pronunciation, articulation and agility, resonance, pitching and intonation. Finally the study offered recommendations for present and future conductors of children’s choirs to enhance this art form, and extend the excellence of this type of choral singing at national and international level.