The Choir Director Corner Podcast

Matt Walker
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The Choir Director Corner Podcast is dedicated to providing choir directors with practical resources to utilize in their teaching. Matt Walker, the creator of The Choir Director Corner, reveals the teaching strategies, methods, and workflows that he has used in building a successful choral program. Discover tips and strategies that will help you save time amidst your busy schedule, run more productive, engaging and efficient rehearsals, and help you tackle your biggest teaching challenges.

  1. 05/02/2024

    101. Five Reasons Why Your Choir Recruiting Isn't Working

    Maybe you got your class registrations for next year and thought, "Maybe I should do some recruiting!"  But all of your time and energy didn't produce the results you wanted, resulting only in stress and frustration. In Episode 101 of the podcast, I'm sharing the audio from my recent video over on YouTube (Yes, I have a YouTube channel!) where I discuss five of the common reasons why your recruiting efforts aren't working as well as you'd like.  At the end of the video, I also share a resource where I share five of my favorite recruiting strategies--cause they work, and because they are a lot of fun! Need some specific choir recruiting strategies? I got you--head on over to: choirdirectorcorner.com/recruitingstrategies Need help to make your end-of-the-year recruiting push?   Check out my online workshop: choirdirectorcorner.com/boostyourchoirnumbers Need more recruiting strategies and resources?  You can find more inside of the Choir Director Corner Community Membership: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    20 min

  2. 04/05/2024

    100. Celebrating 100 Episodes: Ten Top Episodes of the Podcast

    It seems like just yesterday, I uploaded the first episode of the Choir Director Corner Podcast, not knowing where the road might take me.  And here we are, at 100 episodes! In Episode 100, I'm going back into the podcast archives and sharing with you ten of top 10 episodes of the podcast.  Not only are these some of the most downloaded episodes, but they are also episodes that cover topics that are often discussed inside of our CDC Community.   If you are new to the podcast, these are great episodes to start with!  And if you are a longtime listener, these are episodes that you may want to go back and have a second listen. A big thank you to all of my loyal, longtime listeners--I couldn't have gotten this far without you!  It is an honor to serve you, and I look forward to the next 100 episodes! :) Ready to dive into more topics related to your work as a choir director? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    19 min

  3. 03/28/2024

    099. Diving into Music Literacy with Your Choir: Sound Before Sight

    The question came from one of the members of our CDC Community Membership: "How, or where, do I start in teaching music literacy to my choir, when almost all of my singers are beginners when it comes to sightreading?"  Our elementary general music colleagues know--it's all about starting with "sound before sight"!  We need to give our singers an aural vocabulary to work from before we give them tools and strategies to start tackling music notation. In my teaching I've developed a 5-stage process to get my singers from sound to sight, and I'm sharing that process with you in Episode 99 of the podcast.  For each of these stages, I'm also sharing you an example of a rehearsal activity or game that I use to help move my singers down the road to being musically independent!  If you're looking for guidance on how to get started working on music literacy with your choirs, or you want to make the music literacy work with your choirs more efficient and productive, then this episode is for you! If you want to dive deeper into topics just like this one, then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    39 min

  4. 03/18/2024

    098. Using Choir March Madness to Cover National Music Standards!

    As choir directors, we often find our teaching centered in the "Performing" set of the National Music Standards--it can be difficult to find ways to incorporate the "Responding" and "Connecting" sections of the standards.  In Episode 98 of the podcast, I share with you how I use my Choir March Madness Listening Project to cover some of these "harder to reach" standards--it's a project you can use in a variety of ways to get your singers analyzing and discussing choral music! And even better news--if you want to do your own Choir March Madness Listening Project, the work is ALL DONE FOR YOU!  You can get your own Project Bundle over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/choirmarchmadnessproject Ready to dive into more topics related to your work as a choir director? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    27 min

  5. 01/20/2024

    097. Lessons that Choir Directors Can Learn from Ted Lasso

    After several days off due to snow and dangerous wind chills, I knew it was going to be a challenge to get my singers back into our routine.  As they started coming into the room, I thought to myself: "I'm going to have to go all Ted Lasso on these guys today!" And it got me thinking--there are lots of lessons that we as choir directors can learn from Ted Lasso.  In Episode 97 of the podcast, I discuss seven of the lessons that we can take from Ted to build community and move our choir programs forward! Ted Lasso is just one of the "roles" that we can play when it comes to motivating our singers, as well as dealing with conflict resolution.  In one of this month's video workshops, I discuss ten roles/strategies that you could use to turn around your unmotivated singers.  Sound like something that would be helpful to you? Then join us in the Choir Director Corner Community Membership, over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership and get access to online courses, our Monthly Missions video workshops, a library of PDF/Google Doc classroom resources, our NEW Choir Director Corner Searchie Hub, and more!

    27 min

  6. 12/19/2023

    096. "My Choir is SO Unmotivated!" I Have Questions.

    The social post said, in so many words--"My Choir is SO Unmotivated!"  And this is obviously a widespread problem, because the responses were flying fast and furious, all from choir directors with the same problem!  But most of the responses never dealt with the real question, which is WHY our singers are so unmotivated. Pinpointing the root cause is the first step to coming up with potential solutions to combat the issue. This is an issue that I have dealt with myself as well, and in Episode 96 of the podcast, I'm sharing with you the questions that I ask to help myself analyze the situation, get to the root of the problem, and get my singers back to the attentive, engaged, motivated choir that they normally are!  Plus, get an exclusive sneak peek at our Choir Director Corner Community Membership's upcoming video training that shares with you a multitude of options for responding to this issue! If you want to dive deeper into topics just like this one, then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    30 min

  7. 12/09/2023

    095. Tips for Translating Your Score Study into Rehearsal Techniques

    Diving into a choral score is a big process, but also one that is critical in bringing the music we have before us to life.  Once we have tackled our score study, a new challenge emerges–how does the work we’ve done in preparing the score show up in our rehearsal process? In Episode 95 of the podcast, I’m sharing with you some tips for how choir directors can connect the dots between the in-depth analysis of a choral score and the practical, and creative, aspects of rehearsal planning, ensuring every rehearsal is not only productive and purposeful, but also engaging! If you want to dive deeper into topics just like this one, then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get access to our brand new CDC Searchie Hub, the AI tool created specifically for choir directors! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    23 min

  8. 12/02/2023

    094. AI for Choir Directors?

    There’s been a lot in the news about AI recently, and more specifically, with ChatGPT.  I myself have used ChatGPT for a number of things, for a number of purposes–usually as an assistant to bounce ideas off of, and to brainstorm ideas when my brain is fried.  It certainly can be helpful in saving me time.  But there are still a lot of issues with it--the information often isn't accurate, you don't know where the information is coming from, and it doesn't always apply directly to everything we do as choir directors. But I have good news!  In Episode 94 of the podcast, I’m sharing with you an AI resource made SPECIFICALLY for choir directors, which solves all of the challenges with other typical AI tools! With this tool, you will save hours and hours of time searching; you will get detailed, in-depth answers to your questions, and you will know EXACTLY who/where the information is coming from.  I'm super excited to share this resource with you, as I believe it will be a game-changer for choir directors, and it's only going to get better! For a video tutorial, head on over to: choirdirectorcorner.com/hubtutorial Looking for an online community of choir directors, just like you? Then you should really check out the Choir Director Corner Community Membership!  Inside the membership there are Online Courses, a Resource Library with over 50 PDF's and Google Docs, and "Monthly Missions" Trainings where we focus on a specific topic, and you can ask questions and get feedback on how to tackle your biggest teaching challenges.  And, as a member, you'll get instant access to the resource discussed in today's episode! And now, when you sign up for the annual option, you'll get two months free: 12 months access for the price of 10! Leading a choir doesn't have to be a DIY endeavor--it's better when it's done together!  Come join an awesome online community of choir directors just like you over at: choirdirectorcorner.com/membership

    19 min
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About

The Choir Director Corner Podcast is dedicated to providing choir directors with practical resources to utilize in their teaching. Matt Walker, the creator of The Choir Director Corner, reveals the teaching strategies, methods, and workflows that he has used in building a successful choral program. Discover tips and strategies that will help you save time amidst your busy schedule, run more productive, engaging and efficient rehearsals, and help you tackle your biggest teaching challenges.

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