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Engaging the
vocal world CHORAL ACTIVITIES

Repertoire & Resources
Reper toire & R esources
Come join our musical community, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
where we look back, around
and forward to craft our choral
conducting tool belts. Together,
we will make this an absorbing and
life-changing pedagogical library.

— Jason Max Ferdinand
Director of Choral Activities

If I Don’t Scat Sing, How Can I Teach It?
Strategies to Help Directors Demystify Vocal Improvisation in the Jazz Choir Setting

by Justin Binek

For many choir directors, the art of wordless vocal use with my own students is to think of improv like
improvisation, better known as scat singing, is one of breadmaking (I love bread). If you are setting out to
the scariest parts of teaching jazz and often serves as make a loaf of bread, you don’t just reach for random
a roadblock in doing so. This is compounded by the ingredients in the kitchen; you use specific ingredients
fact that very few music education programs prepare that can be combined in creative ways to produce dif-
choral educators in the area of jazz pedagogy, which ferent types of bread… But it’s still bread! So, let’s iden-
includes improvisation. And so, our default instruction tify some “ingredients” for our improvisational recipe.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to help students
Choral Conducting to students is often, “Well…just make something up.” become comfortable with the concept of wordless im-
Unfortunately, the prompt of “make something up”
Program doesn’t actually help our students, nor is it what pro- provisation is variation on the melody. Have them start
fessional jazz musicians do. Proficient jazz singers call
by singing the melody on scat syllables, using B and D
Graduate assistantships are upon a variety of patterns and melodic ideas gleaned as onset consonants with relaxed vowels: buh, bee, duh,
available for M.M. and D.M.A. through hours upon hours of practice. An analogy I dee, dn, doo, etc. (Figure 1). Once students are com-
students in choral conducting
for the fall of 2024.

UMD Choral Ensembles FOR MORE INFORMATION
music.umd.edu/apply
musicadmissions@umd.edu
UMD Chamber Singers Maryland Opera Chorus 301.405.8435
University Chorale UMD Concert Choir @TerpsMusic
UMD Treble Choir UMD Summer Chorus #HearTheTurtle
Tactus (Tenor & Bass Choir)
CHORAL JOURNAL October 2023 Volume 64 Number 3 65