The mission of Sweet Adelines is “elevating women singers worldwide through education, performance, and competition in barbershop harmony and a cappella music.” Teaching and coaching is what we do as directors to inspire, empower and elevate our singers. The education we directors provide leads to personal growth for the singers, and greater satisfaction for both singers and audiences.

This module provides information and guidance in teaching barbershop music to adults. It encompasses individual practice skills, rehearsal techniques, developing barbershop skills and working with coaches.

Most importantly, this module is a starting point on your journey as a music educator. Directors need to be lifelong learners, always in search of more tools and better understanding of the musical process. Whether we shoulder all the educational needs of our group or teach and train our teams to assist us and to build greater depth of knowledge within the chorus, the vision is ours.

This organization is full of generous and knowledgeable educators. Seek them out and learn from them. Learn how to use their tools. Observe their teaching methods. Every experience we have, good or bad, teaches us something. If the road ahead seems daunting, remember what Maya Angelou said: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Enjoy your journey!

A short quiz is provided at the end of each article, which can help you self-assess how well you’ve learned the information provided in that article. It is HIGHLY recommended that all learners take these quizzes, prior to attempting the final module assessment.

4.1 Adult Learning & Motivation

We begin by looking at the difference between teaching children and adults. Motivation is critical to continued growth as individuals and for the chorus as a whole. We look at teaching modalities, effective practice strategies and how we can reach every member of the chorus.

4.2 Teaching Notes & Words

There are many ways to introduce new music to a group. This article discusses the lifecycle of a song—from repertoire choice to performance—and offers some options for teaching new music effectively.

4.3 Teaching Musicianship and Barbershop Style

This article explores the learning process past memorization of notes and words. Here we look at how to teach the stylistic elements in arrangements, including how to develop artistry in our singers.

4.4 Rehearsal Tools

Directors spend their lives adding tools to their toolbox for use in rehearsals. Here is a selection of rehearsal techniques to provide a starting point on your directing journey.

4.5 The Director & The Visual Plan

This article looks at the integration of a visual plan with the music as the director intends it. There are tips for teaching planned movement and for designing a plan that will suit your ensemble. We discuss ideas for working with your choreographer or visual team in planning and teaching the visual performance part of a song.

4.6 Director as Coach

We can’t have a coach at rehearsal every week but, as director, we can vary our viewpoint and role to imitate the coach’s perspective. How and why would we do this? This article includes guidelines for listening with coaching ears as well as developing a Personal Vocal Instruction program to coach individuals, and tips for developing quartets within your chorus.

4.7 Hiring an Outside Coach

There’s a lot to think about when bringing someone in to coach your chorus. Choosing the right coach for you and ensuring the visit is well planned and runs smoothly involves much preparation and forethought.

Here are some guidelines to make the process easier.

Contributing to the articles in this module were:

Bev Sellers

Fred King

Jean Barford

Gail Jencik

Vicki Dwyer

Jenni Pyefinch

Julie Starr

Valerie Taylor

Joanne Oosterhoff

Sweet Adelines International Education Department