Private Lessons

Service Description

Learn to deliver chant with joy and confidence. Private chant instruction tailored to your individual interests, for musicians of all backgrounds. Expand your existing skill set, and deepen your experience of the underpinnings of Western music. This one-on-one option is ideal for honing best performance practices, conducting technique, and exploring ways to utilize chant within secular concert and parish liturgy alike. Choose from the following: Singing + Correct intonation, breathing and vocal technique. + Learn the neums, and understand Gregorian notation. + Sight reading tips. + Discover the relationship of chant lyrics to the melodies that adorn them. + Prepare a chant of your choice, and discover its musical interpretation. Directing (Old Solesmes Method) + Grasp the rules of counting (i.e. placing the ictus). + Draw the rhythm wave (i.e. arsis and thesis). + Integrate the rhythmic and dynamic elements into a fluid gesture (chironomy). + Acquire tips for working with a schola. Personal Enrichment + Study ancient neums and their relationship to traditional Gregorian square notes. + Techniques for your own musical Lectio Divina. + Examine different kinds of Gregorian chant, and the unique role each plays in the Liturgy. Parish Implementation + Confidentially discuss your parish's circumstances. + Explore practical next steps and resources for your parish and music program. + Rehearsal techniques for working with children's and adult choirs. And more.... One-hour sessions to be scheduled on select weekday afternoons and evenings. Minimum of five sessions for students brand new to the Chant Academy. $60 USD per session.