Teaching ensemble music is a unique case in keeping students in the growth zone, where the most effective learning happens.
I’ve been spending some time daily on Duolingo for the six weeks or so (learning Italian for an upcoming trip!) and I’m impressed by how effectively they keep you in the growth zone. Each lesson has just a few small new ideas or words. You start by saying, “I don’t know what that means” but enough is clear from context and previous lessons that you can infer the meaning; over fifteen or so sentences, you begin to master it. You circle back to those concepts multiple times over subsequent lessons, until they become solid, even as more new ideas have been introduced.
In choral music, we can’t be quite so incremental. A new piece might introduce many new concepts and challenges; rather than taking a discreet step towards the next floor with each lesson, it’s more like we have to ask students to take the elevator to the next floor, then repeatedly jump back down to missed steps. It’s not always easy. Additionally, an ensemble is always made up of singers with different mastered concepts.
Even so, this less incremental method has benefits – it enables us to expose our students to music worthy of holding their interest and it helps them progress on their musical journey. And we are always able to keep our students in the growth zone – even if concepts in one area (articulation, say) are solid, we can address growth concepts in vocal technique, performance practice, ensemble interaction, etc.
Choral music is uniquely situated, then, to both spur students to big growth and keep them constantly in the growth zone that is where the most effective learning happens.