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Go and Shine! Part 2: Eight Strategies for Cultivating a Positive Rehearsal Space

Strategy #6: Listen In I used to ask students to share what they did during va-
Active listening is at the heart of being a good musician, cation. Now, I invite students to think of something “that
ensemble, audience member, and communicator. Think of brings you joy, gratitude, comfort, or something you are
the game Telephone. Participants need to pay close atten- looking forward to.” My shift in teaching with an inten-
11
tion if the last person is to receive the original message. tional focus on joy, gratitude, and positivity has deepened my
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To practice this skill, we do an activity I call Listen In. connection to students and is creating a calmer and happier
This is a great way to start the year to help students get to community of musicians. This does not mean that we will
know one another or any time you want to practice listen- always be happy. But if we choose to focus on finding things
ing skills. It can be integrated into your music curriculum to be happy about, it will improve the quality of our lives and
by focusing on music concepts. those around us.
Everyone has a partner and is given the same question. It
can be as simple as sharing a favorite song or might require As we prepare for a new school year, I wish you and your
a more thoughtful response, such as what kindness looks students joy and many magical moments. I hope these ideas
or feels like. You might also play a piece of music and ask inspire you and your students to “Go and Shine!”
students to think about what the time signature is and why.
The speaker has a set amount of time to respond, usu-
ally twenty to thirty seconds. The listener does not talk even NOTES
if it seems as if the speaker is finished. This can be chal-
lenging, even for adults, but is important, as it gives the 1 Inspired by Dr. Arau’s “principle of value” and Positive Bumper
speaker time to think and the listener time to practice not Cars. Matthew Arau, Upbeat! Mindset, Mindfulness, and Leadership
responding or reacting too quickly. Students switch roles in Music Education and Beyond (Chicago: GIA Publications,
and then share their partner’s response with the whole 2021), 314-317.
class. As students share, ask the class to discuss what went 2 Ibid., 64.
well and where there is room for improvement. 3 Ibid., 79.
4 Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in
Strategy #7: Choose Happy Everyday Life (New York: Bantam Books, 1991), 23.
5 Matthew Arau, Upbeat!, 80.
As choral educators, we are fortunate. For many of our
students, singing is often what gets them moving, and may 6 Ibid.
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even be the best part of their day. I have had parents tell 8 Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step, 33.
me that their child is typically not a morning person, but on Thich Naht Hanh, “Telephone Meditation,” Buddhism Now,
choir days they jump out of bed. Yes! May 3, 2014. https://buddhismnow.com/2014/05/03/
When a student seems stuck in that “I’m tired” or “I telephone-meditation-by-thich-nhat-hanh/,
don’t want to do this” frame of mind, I encourage them 9 Matthew Arau, Upbeat!, 306-308. Inspired by Dr. Arau’s
to think of something that they are grateful for or look- 10 description of Tim Lautzenheiser’s Communication Circles.
ing forward to. Research shows focusing on this for at least Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks, Ask and It Is Given: Learning to
seventeen seconds will positively impact their day and ulti- Manifest Your Desires (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2004),
10
mately, the climate of the music room. I have the number 11 109.
seventeen posted in my room as a reminder to focus on Matthew Arau, Upbeat!, 76.
happy thoughts and gratitude.

Strategy #8: Looking Forward with Joy
Returning to school after a long break is an opportunity
for all of us to begin again. This is a part of a mindfulness
practice. When we realize we are distracted, we reset and
begin again.

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 4 18 Summer 2023