Patrick Freer

Success for Adolescent Singers

Many young adolescents simply stop singing after middle school.  Middle school teachers need to ensure that these students are motivated to continue choral singing for a lifetime. These videos outline a philosophy, grounded in research, which embraces the challenges of adolescence and matches them with solutions.  These ideas, along with the accompanying methods and strategies, will enable you to promote success for your singers and provide greater fulfillment for yourself.

Conductor, teacher, and researcher Dr. Patrick K. Freer (Georgia State University) explores practical solutions to common problems while focusing on an impromptu ensemble of everyday kids. These three fast-paced DVDs demonstrate familiar challenges and Freer’s sensitive, real-time solutions to them. You will see the process unfold as it actually happened and how Dr. Freer incorporates research on adolescent learning into the process of teaching choral music. When working with these young adolescents, Dr. Freer clearly demonstrates how challenges associated with male and female changing voices can be handled successfully. Interviews with the students present a valuable perspective on being an adolescent singer, and a special segment on DVD 3 is designed to be shown to students in classrooms and choirs. The manual contains additional materials, including printed instructions for the exercises demonstrated throughout.