We all know language is important. We usually think about being aware of what we say, but I believe that how we say something can send a message that is at least as important if not more. Check in on these 5 things to see if you might be sending mixed signals in your rehearsals without even knowing it.
1. Polarizing vs. Inclusive
These are the terms I use to differentiate between language built on “we” (inclusive) and language build on “I” and “you” (polarizing). Why does this matter? Well, have you ever been in a choir rehearsal and felt like you were singing for an egomaniac? The conductor is constantly saying thing like “I want that louder” or “tenors I showed it but you didn’t sing it” or my personal favorite, “sing that again for me.” How did that conductor make you feel? Did you feel like you got to take an active part in the music making? Did you feel like your presence and participation as an individual was valued? Or maybe you felt like you were never good enough, like you were singing for a person rather than for the joy of exploring music and community, like you could be switched out for any other singer in the world and it wouldn’t matter. But what if we change our verbiage to “we need to be louder” or “tenors, let’s make sure we’re on the same page there” or “let’s take that again.” Different?
The signals sent by our pronoun choices may seem small, but we use these words so much in a rehearsal that they add up quickly. Don’t believe me? Try an experiment: Use only polarizing language for a whole rehearsal and pay attention to the energy of your choir. Then at the next rehearsal, use only inclusive language and see if the energy changes. I believe the effect is cumulative, meaning that a day is good, but a week is better, and a year will make a phenomenal change in the way both you and your choir see your roles in the rehearsal.
2. Asking Permission
While I believe it’s important to not put up a wall between ourselves and the singers by using polarizing language, it’s also important to make sure you still hold the authority of being the “leader” or “expert” in the room. At the end of the day, you get to make the decision of how best to serve the music. One way we sabotage this authority is by asking permission with our words and with the tone of our voice. Notice the difference between the following phrasings:
“Can we start at measure 14?” vs. “Let’s start at measure 14.”
“Altos, can we have more crescendo?” vs. “Altos, more crescendo.”
We may think we’re being polite by asking instead of saying, but over time the subtext becomes one of a lack of confidence. Now read the following:
“Altos, more crescendo.” vs. “Altos, more crescendo?”
Even that change of inflection, going up at the end rather than down, changes the perception of our confidence in our decisions as a leader. Check in to see if you might be giving away your authority in the classroom accidentally.
3. Explaining when we could show with our gesture or model with our voice
This one is kind of self-explanatory, but worth remembering. I first encountered the “silent rehearsal” when I was teaching high school and completely lost my voice. We were close to a concert, so I had to teach. I communicated everything via gesture, and BOY did those kids watch me! In my DMA at Colorado, my mentor had us try silent rehearsal, but we could say certain things like measure numbers, and sometimes we could sing to model. Try it sometime, even if just for the first ten minutes of rehearsal. Watch how much more intentional you are, how much more focused your choir is, and how much more efficient everything becomes!
4. Automatic words
The late, great Steve Zegree got on me HARD about this when I worked with him during a summer camp. I had the habit of saying “good” every time the ensemble stopped. He pointed out that not only did this waste time in rehearsal, but through its automatic repetition, it lost meaning. What probably started as an attempt to raise morale in the choir actually ultimately served to undermine any sincere praise I would give them, because the word “good” had no meaning in my rehearsals. When we do stop to address the choir, we need to be honest, specific, clear, and efficient.
5. Verbalizing our entire thought process
I’ve worked with proponents of the “say it in seven words or less” school, and while I don’t think this is a rule to never be broken, I do think the idea behind it is good. People come to choir because they want to sing. If they wanted to listen to someone talk about music, they would go to a music lecture. That being said, a certain amount of talking is necessary to get some points across. The keys to getting this right are flexible planning and reading the choir.
By flexible planning, I mean anticipating that you will have some explaining to do in a rehearsal, and planning multiple ways to deliver your mass of verbiage to accommodate the ensemble. Can parts of the explanation be broken up with some singing? Are there multiple places in the rehearsal where you could do the explaining? Are there steps to the explanation that they don’t need to hear? Know your variables, and then trust your read of the room to make sure you use your words when they will be most effective.
What we really need to watch out for, though, is getting in the habit of talking through the whole process of every decision every time we make one. I’ve learned that I can stop myself from giving a mini musicology lesson in rehearsal by saying something like “We’re going to sing this forte the first time and piano the second time, and if you want to know why I think Bach would be ok with that, please come find me after rehearsal.” This lets the singers know that you have a reason for your decision, and that you’re comfortable talking to people who want to learn more. As that trust builds, you get to streamline your rehearsal further by just giving the instruction, because they’ve learned that they can ask you if they have questions and that you’re happy to discuss your reasons with them.
I hope this helps you think about what you say (and don’t say) and how you say it in a way that makes language a more fine-tuned tool in your rehearsals. Please comment below if you have ideas you want to share about language in rehearsal.
Paul H. Thompson 
Regarding Point 2, I think this is important even in a respectful environment of mutual trust amongst adults, or respectful teacher-student relationships. The bottom line is that the conductor is present to guide the group, unify them, and to do something! It’s fine if the ideas are sourced from the choir, but it’s ultimately up to the conductor to choose an option and go for it, limiting confusion or perhaps worse, no expressive figures at all.
I think it’s ultimately about putting people at ease. If you have the privilege of standing in front of a choir for a rehearsal, it’s best to do so fully. Don’t put the pressure on the group to make you feel like you belong there. That’s not their job at all. If you hold “the container” of the rehearsal (setting the space, placing expectations, holding the group to a respectful code of conduct toward each other, keeping the rehearsal moving at a good pace, etc.) you can free up the singers to be expressive and focused. Otherwise they’ll just be pulling their hair out waiting for rehearsal to be over.
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