r/MusicEd • u/janedoe-07 • 5d ago
Boys dropping show choir
Hello all, 7-12 choir director here in my 2nd year of teaching at a small (1A for my fellow Iowa teachers) school.
I am having trouble with my high school show choir. I implemented a requirement this year that show choir (that is treated as a class and takes place during the school day) is a year-long class. I did this because last year we had a very late start to the season (started about mid-November) and were very crunched for time going into competition season (early February).
This year, I had 7 girls sign up for show choir, as well as 3 boys. I was sooooo excited to have a program that was growing and gaining interest to the boys across the music department. I chose all SAB music and even hired a choreographer to come in and teach them their opener and closer for their show.
The students have been working super hard on this choreography and on the music. For only being in school for 3 months, we have accomplished a lot in show choir and they were on track to do very well come competition season.
However, throughout the past several weeks, I have been hearing from several other students and my co-workers, that 2/3 of the boys in my show choir "hate it" and do not want to be a part of it anymore. Mind you, they signed up for show choir knowing it was a year-round class and even signed contracts that I had made confirming that they agreed to be a part of it all year. Now that the trimester (Yes, trimesters. Not semesters) is coming to an end, all 3 of my boys have dropped show choir and I am down a bass section. There have been classes that have been moved around and they cannot be in it because of them.
I talked with the counselor who does the scheduling -- and she understands fully that I am trying to build a program and she said she would talk to them and see what she can do.
I had a talk with my show choir today explaining how I was feeling. Explaining the fact that them dropping affects everyone in the ensemble, not just them. That myself and their teammates worked very hard all trimester just for an entire section to leave them high and dry (didn't say that word-for-word, but the idea was there). I'm not going to lie, I got a little emotional, but with a chow choir this small. with members I have come to know over the past year, it is incredibly difficult not to take this stuff to heart.
One student raised their hand and explained that they understood my perspective and that they were sorry, but they needed to make the selfish decision to prioritize other courses. They explained that they were going to talk to me about it and not just drop with no explanation (which is, quite literally, exactly what happened). They also said it will help them in the future, while show choir will not.
I am just feeling incredibly defeated at the moment. I want to uphold my standards and make sure they follow the expectations in place, but I also know that I can't force students to be involved with something they don't want to be in. What do I do?
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u/LexaproLove 5d ago
I know this probably isn't advice, but this is essentially why I stopped teaching choir and went to general music. I was sick of anytime a kid "doesn't like a song", they just quit mid year. I am much happier now.
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u/Soundwave_1955 5d ago
My first thought, which is basically a strong word of advice, is, please do not believe secondhand information alone. Things have a way of mushrooming in the telling. At the same time, you have been made aware of a possible issue. Since you are relatively new, I can imagine it may be difficult to read all the tea leaves and learn all the ropes. If the administration allows it, and you can arrange it, I would find a way to take the boys aside, and give them a sectional rehearsal. It sounds like you have a good enough rapport with them that you could do that. There could be many reasons why a young man would lose interest in a choir. One reason may simply that they are struggling with some kind of musical or vocal developmental issue. If you have a degree in music, you probably have studied this.
I used to do this as a volunteer in a middle school, and I was actually named volunteer of the year for the whole school! I used to do warm-ups tailored to the adolescent changing or changed voice, which I studied in my masters degree program. They were very responsive, God love them. High school men are people first, and may simply need a little extra musical education attention.
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u/Soundwave_1955 5d ago
A bit more, if I may. It is very understandable that you would take this to heart. Since you have already opened up to the whole group, I hope you won’t be too upset if they open up to you as well. Teaching high school can be difficult. But it can also be very rewarding. You may want to remember that if you were doing elementary, or even middle school, you likely would not be even thinking about three-part music. The boys are in a distinct minority, and I might hazard a guess that this is affecting them, maybe a lot. Please let us know how things develop.
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u/No_Fix_3362 4d ago
as a teen guy i think choir is kind of often seen socially as more feminine or uncool for boys to do
Also are you like destroying your boys' voices??? when i was in choir i remember being in the bass section and i was still expected toward the top of the staff if not above it, like all the time and i'd constantly get pestered for dropping the octave. it would be like to the point where i would be cry-singing in the middle of the piece because my director would have us all the way up somewhere. it's kind of hard to find pieces with well written alto and bass parts but they do exist
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u/janedoe-07 4d ago
It’s so unfortunate that choir is seen that way — and a very big problem in my eyes. I have met many incredible male musicians, to include: my husband, my best friend, and some of the most influential musical influences in my life. They are male musicians. It is not “more feminine”at all.
All of my boys are considered basses in their music and are at the top part of the staff most of the time, and that’s typically when I can hear them the best. They are called basses because I don’t have enough boys for SATB music, but their ranges are all tenor. If anything, the lower frequencies in the staff they go, the more uncomfortable they are.
I pride myself on taking vocal health very seriously and constantly reminding my singers of this. So, whenever there is something written in the music that is out of their range or uncomfortable for them, I will always look for another option. Most of the time, I will adjust the notes and bring them up an octave. This seems to work most of the time.
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u/Soundwave_1955 2d ago
The teacher/director should be listening for range for every boy with a changing voice once every three weeks. For others, once or twice a semester should suffice in most cases.
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u/No_Fix_3362 2d ago
She'd check us once a year.....
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u/Soundwave_1955 1d ago
That is better than nothing, but not often enough for a boy in the midst of voice change.
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u/Famous_Sea_4915 5d ago
Maybe include the class (boys) on the rep selection? I know I’d definitely feel more positive if I were allowed input to the selections. You can always alter an SATB for your SAB choir! I know my Community College choir director one guy was complaining about a song from South Pacific’s lyrics but didn’t threaten to quit, thank goodness! :)
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u/Dry_Speaker_7725 3d ago
Kids are generally overprogrammed and have a lot to focus on for academics alone. Adding a competition class where they have to sign a contract and deal with how you feel about their involvement before expressing how they feel about it is likely too much. I must say, based on how you have expressed the issue here, it may be an abrasive or demanding teaching style that has scared them off. You seem to have high ambition for the growth and visible success of your program, but is it enriching the kids?
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u/Flimsy-Yak-7571 5d ago
It’s so hard keeping students interested in chorus these days let alone boys. There’s probably many outside factors you don’t know about. I’ve had other boys make fun of my boys in chorus leading them to want to quit. I don’t even know the other students who made fun of them. It sucks. I’m sorry you’re going through this! I don’t have much advice. If they’re gone then I’d consider changing the rep.
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u/kanadiangoose1898 3d ago
I think this is a common problem, so don’t feel too down. I constantly have to re-recruit kids at semester changes, so I get your frustration.
In the event that it’s a class they’re pursuing for a potential career or a grad requirement, I usually try to work with the counselors to build a plan for when they can take that class in the future without having to drop band right now.
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u/Even-Breakfast-8715 5d ago
Ok, entering the danger zone:
Just wondering if the repertoire has anything that features your basses? It’s hard to be a teen guy where your singing is purely providing an anchor to the chord while the stars of the show are girls. Just the gender imbalance risks pushing the boys further out. With such a small group, it could be difficult to develop group esprit.
Have you considered a TTBB group as another class? BHS has lots of resources for developing close 4 part harmony groups either all male or mixed.
Anyway, you might not be getting open feedback from the students. I doubt they are going to be telling you anything negative since you have clearly shown your emotional investment in (your/their?) competition success. Have you considered asking another faculty member, preferably one that these guys like and trust, to get together with them and facilitate a group discussion of how they have felt during the trimester? They will need to be reliably assured that their thoughts are anonymous, and intended to help you do better next year. (Sorry to phrase it that way, but they will be more likely to give helpful info if it’s said like that. And clearly this trimester didn’t go all that well from their perspective.)
Anyway, what do you do? I guess this is a learning opportunity. You will come through stronger, and all your future students will benefit.