141 | Teaching Harmony Singing, Messy Learning, Digital Libraries, The Epiglottis
In episode 141, Nikki Loney shares teaching activities that build harmony singing skills. Shannon Coates is helping teachers understand the term messy learning and what progress can look like in voice lessons. Takenya Battle shares digital libraries for voice teachers. Heather Nelson talks about the epiglottis.
Teaching Harmony Skills with Nikki Loney (3:00)
Nikki has some great recommendations for harmony activities:
Hummy Hummingbirds by Donna Rhodenizer
Four Seasons Harmony Studies by Glyn Lehmann
Brenda Earle Stokes Crash Course in Solfège interview (38:00)
Four Snow Friends by Donna Rhodenzier
New Repertoire Spotlight: The Giraffe by Donna Rhodenizer (27:45)
“The Giraffe” is a short and very sweet song about the gentle giraffe. (The song is short, the giraffe is tall.) This simple melody also offers musical exploration and sight-reading exercises.
Ages: 8 and under
Range: C4 to C5
Themes: Giraffe, animals, animal sounds, sunny days
Pages: 5, full score, leadsheet, lyrics
Teaching Focus: diction, singing steps, small intervals, and staccato notes.
This song is available as a Song Download Package with PDF pages of the score and activities, and mp3 backing tracks. View it here.
Messy Learning with Dr. Shannon Coates (31:00)
Shannon shares how teachers can embrace the long and complex road to learning how to sing. Understanding messy learning can make us better teachers.
About Shannon:
Shannon Coates teaches undergraduate vocal pedagogy in several universities and runs a successful private teaching studio. She is most passionate about sharing all aspects of the voice and singing and cultivating the art of teaching with professional teachers.
Find and follow Shannon:
https://drshannoncoates.com/
Instagram @voiceped
Digital Libraries for Music Teachers with Takenya Battle (49:05)
Organizing your resources is fun and saves you time!
About Takenya:
Takenya Battle is a master musician, teacher, and entrepreneur who helps children and adults arrange, articulate, and amplify their inner musician with online voice and piano lessons. She teaches music educators how to keep time with today’s technologies while still leveraging their traditional musical knowledge.
Find and follow Takenya on the socials: @kenyaskeys
The Epiglottis with Dr. Heather Nelson (1:03:05)
About Dr. Heather Nelson
“I love all the things about vocal science and pedagogy, and my favorite thing is taking all that nerdy goodness and breaking into digestible chunks that are not only fun and fascinating but actually make a difference in how voice teachers teach.”
Find and follow Heather:
https://www.drheathernelson.com/
Instagram: @drheathernelson







