Advertise on podcast: The Choir Director Corner Podcast

After several days off due to snow and dangerous wind chills, I knew it was going to be a challenge to get my singers back into our routine.  As they started coming into the room, I thought to myself: "I'm going to have to go all Ted Lasso on these guys today!" And it got me thinking--there are lots of lessons that we as choir directors can learn from Ted Lasso.  In Episode 97 of the podcast, I discuss seven of the lessons that we can take from Ted to build community and move our choir programs forward! Ted Lasso is just one of the "roles" that we can play when it comes to motivating our singers, as well as dealing with conflict resolution.  In one of this month's video workshops, I discuss ten roles/strategies that you could use to turn around your unmotivated singers.  Sound like something that would be helpful to you? Then join us in the Choir Director Corner Community Membership, over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership and get access to online courses, our Monthly Missions video workshops, a library of PDF/Google Doc classroom resources, our NEW Choir Director Corner Searchie Hub, and more!

The social post said, in so many words--"My Choir is SO Unmotivated!"  And this is obviously a widespread problem, because the responses were flying fast and furious, all from choir directors with the same problem!  But most of the responses never dealt with the real question, which is WHY our singers are so unmotivated. Pinpointing the root cause is the first step to coming up with potential solutions to combat the issue. This is an issue that I have dealt with myself as well, and in Episode 96 of the podcast, I'm sharing with you the questions that I ask to help myself analyze the situation, get to the root of the problem, and get my singers back to the attentive, engaged, motivated choir that they normally are!  Plus, get an exclusive sneak peek at our Choir Director Corner Community Membership's upcoming video training that shares with you a multitude of options for responding to this issue! Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

Diving into a choral score is a big process, but also one that is critical in bringing the music we have before us to life.  Once we have tackled our score study, a new challenge emerges–how does the work we’ve done in preparing the score show up in our rehearsal process? In Episode 95 of the podcast, I’m sharing with you some tips for how choir directors can connect the dots between the in-depth analysis of a choral score and the practical, and creative, aspects of rehearsal planning, ensuring every rehearsal is not only productive and purposeful, but also engaging! Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

There’s been a lot in the news about AI recently, and more specifically, with ChatGPT.  I myself have used ChatGPT for a number of things, for a number of purposes–usually as an assistant to bounce ideas off of, and to brainstorm ideas when my brain is fried.  It certainly can be helpful in saving me time.  But there are still a lot of issues with it--the information often isn't accurate, you don't know where the information is coming from, and it doesn't always apply directly to everything we do as choir directors. But I have good news!  In Episode 94 of the podcast, I’m sharing with you an AI resource made SPECIFICALLY for choir directors, which solves all of the challenges with other typical AI tools! With this tool, you will save hours and hours of time searching; you will get detailed, in-depth answers to your questions, and you will know EXACTLY who/where the information is coming from.  I'm super excited to share this resource with you, as I believe it will be a game-changer for choir directors, and it's only going to get better! For a video tutorial, head on over to: choirdirectorcorner.com/hubtutorial Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get instant access to the resource discussed in today's episode! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

As choir directors, we always have to be one step ahead.  Which means that even though it's fall outside, it's time to start planning for those much-anticipated winter choral concerts! In Episode 93 of the podcast, I share with you five hand-picked winter themed choir pieces, all of which would be great additions to your winter concert. Get set to introduce new repertoire to your choir, irrespective of whether it's an upper elementary, middle school, high school or an adult community choir! And if after listening you are still looking for more winter repertoire ideas, our recent Monthly Mission inside of the Choir Director Corner Community Membership was all about searching for Winter and Holiday repertoire!  In this training I share over 60 winter and holiday-themed pieces of choral rep, organized by voicing and experience levels! To become a member and get access to all of our Monthly Missions, as well as Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, head on over to: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you!

One of the questions I most often get from choir directors is, "My singers are so chatty--how do I get them to stop talking?"  Granted, I'm not someone that expects total silence in my rehearsal.  But at the same time, in order for there to be as few distractions as possible, and have rehearsal be as productive as possible, it's a good idea to limit any unnecessary chatting by our singers.  So in Episode 92 of the podcast, I'm sharing 11 proven strategies that will not only reduce unnecessary chatting and distractions, but also instill a sense of personal responsibility in your singers. From setting clear expectations to the nitty-gritty of best practices, you'll learn how to turn those "Chatty Cathies" into focused and engaged choir members! Resources discussed in this episode: Blog Post: How to Run a Silent Rehearsal with Your Choir Blog Post: 12 Strategies for Using Audiation with Your Choir FREE Training: 10 Rehearsal Strategies to Engage and Empower Your Singers Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

I've run into numerous choir directors, just in the past couple of weeks,  all describing the same problem--singers that won't sing out!   The directors have tried everything, and are at their wits end.  What do you do??? This episode is a replay of Episode 62--I feel like I have a fresh perspective on the problem, and there are choir directors that continue to struggle in diagnosing the true root of the problem.  In this episode I discuss the five potential causes of this issue, and I provide practical solutions to tackle each one.  At the end of the original episode, I also jump back into the discussion with some new quick tips that you might try as a way to get started diagnosing the true cause and solving the issue for good.  By the end of this episode, you'll have a whole toolbox of strategies to encourage your singers to unlock their true vocal potential! Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

I've had choir directors ask about a "Beginning of the Year To-Do List", but our jobs as directors can differ greatly, just because of the particular school district or organization we work for.  However, I do believe there are some universal key elements that help us to give ourselves, and our singers, the best possible chance to be successful. In today's episode of the podcast, I'm focusing on 11 key elements to consider at the start of your choir year.  If you haven't incorporated any of these into your program, that's okay!  There's never a bad time to start making these elements an important part of your program.  By doing so, you will be setting your choir program up for a successful year! Here are a couple of the resources that I mention in this episode: Choir Stations PDF Handouts: choirdirectorcorner.com/stations Choir Director Bootcamp--Laying the Foundation: choirdirectorcorner.com/bootcamp Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

In order to market your choir program to prospective singers, you need to get the heart of what motivates singers to join your program, as well as the obstacles that prevent them from joining your program. When you talk to prospective singers about why they haven't yet joined your program, you'll hear a lot of different reasons--we call these objections.  Once you have a better understanding of what those objections might be, you can then go about addressing them, and helping prospective singers overcome them. One great way that you can address some of the objections that prospective singers might have is by constructing an "Objection-Conquering Article"! You can then use this Objection-Conquering Article to market your program to prospective singers in lots of different ways.  In this article you'll discuss all of the best aspects of your choir program, while at the same time addressing some of the challenges and obstacles that your prospective singers are facing.  I'm sharing all of it in Episode 89 of the podcast--the process I went through to construct my article, a quick and simple article outline, some of the benefits and challenges that I discussed in my article, and more!  Want it all done for you?  I'm sharing the template for my Objection-Conquering Article, as well as the template for my Choir Program Marketing Brochure, inside of the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and Group Zoom Calls where you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

While it's always a good time to recruit, the end of the year is the perfect time to recruit more singers to your program.  Students are making plans for the following year and finalizing their schedules, so now is a great time to get potential singers to consider joining your program. In this last month of school we are making a "recruiting push" for our program, and in Episode 88 of the podcast, I'm sharing with you three things that we are doing to bring more singers into our choir community.  Not only will you get some recruiting ideas from this episode, but there's also resources available that will do all of the organizational work for you! Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and Monthly Collaboration Calls where you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

Every year when warmer weather starts to roll in, there's one thing you can always count on at our house--multiple days of Spring Cleaning!  The dusting, the switching out all of the clothes in the closets, cleaning windows, getting out the patio furniture--you know what I'm talking about, right? As I was switching out the clothes in my closet recently, I thought about what a "Spring Cleaning" for a choir program would look like.  And no, I'm not talking about the piles of music that need to be filed (although, you should really do something about that) or the dustbunnies that have accumulated underneath your piano.  I'm talking about taking a few moments to reflect on the year, and really giving some thought to what's working in your choir program, what needs to be tweaked, what you might want to add to your program, and what needs to be shipped out, like that old pile of clothes you're shipping off to the local thrift store. In Episode 87 of the podcast, I'm sharing with you seven items on my Choir Program Spring Cleaning To-Do List.  I hope that my list might get your juices flowing, and help you brainstorm how you might give your own choir program a thorough Spring Cleaning! Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and Monthly Collaboration Calls where you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges. And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

One of the activities I started with my singers several years ago was creating a Choir March Madness Bracket of choir performances.  This activity gives my singers to listen to choral music from many different composers and musical styles, and also helps to build their "choral vocabulary"--they learn more about what high quality singing sounds like!  They also get to practice analyzing and discussing choral performances, using vocabulary and language that we talk about in rehearsals. Last year I shared my Choir March Madness Bracket, and this year, I'm doing it again!  If you're already on my mailing list, you should have gotten copies of my 2023 SATB March Madness Bracket, as well as the Google Slides presentation of all of the choir videos.  If you're not already on my mailing list, take a listen to this episode to find out where you can get your free copies.  CDC Community Membership members also get copies of my TTBB and SSAA brackets, my Google Doc Bracket Instructions template, AND a copy of the Google Form that I use as a student assessment!  If you want copies of everything, you can find out more about becoming a member right here: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership Hope you and your singers have fun navigating the Madness! :)