Youth Choir

[FHammond7]

Whats up Yall
I'm the choir director for the youth choir at our church and I also teach songs but sometimes it takes a while for us to learn them.

I guess we need disipline or guidelines to follow

Anyone out there got tips for me

Please Post
GOD BLESS

[chosenandcalled]

well hi!!!

 i am new to the youth choir director thing too, but i can give you some tips. When i first started a 1 year ago i made up just some simple rules for discipline sake i had a meeting with the pastor and the parents and youth themselves. Every one that does not want to participate does not have too. Because i found out that u can't make everybody do everything but u do have the authority over that department. u have to have a lot of patience because some of them might not be music literate, meaning that they might not have ability. but u do have that ability to teach them and to learn them over songs and exercises and tell them that its important to be an choir because its not just singing its a ministry. write me back my names rebecca

[vtguy84]

The first choir I directed was a youth choir. 

It is difficult to keep the focus of a youth choir, however here are some tips that you can use.

1)  Make sure that you have a tight lock on the parts in the song.  I get behind a keyboard and write down the notes of the soprano, alto, and tenor parts of the song so that when it comes for rehearsal, there's no figuring it out.  This will ease rehearsal and keep the kids focused.

2)  Have people help you out.  In my group, I have section leaders that teach the songs to their sections in a separate area.  That way less time is spent in rehearsal waiting and more time is spent on just hearing their note.

3)  Have choir parents.  Hopefully you have some parents staying during the rehearsal to make sure that order is being kept.  I know that many times parents like to use youth choir rehearsal as free baby-sitting, but make sure that there are parents who rotate to make sure that order is kept.

Hope this helps.

[LaylaMonroe]

Good stuff, VT. If I may add...

4. Song selection. Choose songs that the young people can learn fairly easily (e.g. a Hezekiah song). This will boost their confidence and build their excitement about learning new songs, plus it'll make things easier for you and help you to ascertain their skill level). After they've mastered a few easy songs, you can introduce other songs that are a little more challenging. Whatever you do, don't try to make them learn a song that is significantly beyond their current skill set just because the song is hot or everyone is singing it.

5. Praise openly and frequently, rebuke privately and infrequently. If they're  doing great, don't hesitate to tell them over and over again. In time, they'll look for that approval. Young people thrive on getting the approval of adults they respect. They'll strive to do whatever they gotta do just to see that pleased look on your face and hear you say "good job."

6. Let them take turns opening in prayer. This will give them a sense of ownership in the choir.

And I wanna REITERATE VT's #1. That is just sooooo important. It's worth repeating.