[HANASHIR:11074] Re: teaching song leaders

[Ketzev2 <Ketzev2...>]

Rachelle--

What a great opportunity for you. I hope you have fun with them.

Songleading as we know it today, kind of grew out of the 60's-folk-singalong 
generation. Can't really think of anyone who got into back then with the idea 
of performing at all! Mostly it was out of a love of singing and then playing 
the instrument of the day (guitar) and being the one who was strumming at the 
party or the camp fire or whatever.

In the summers we went to camp, and sang the camp songs along with our 
guitars and "Poof".....we were called: Songleaders! 

The real truth is that as songleaders we are first and foremost teachers. We 
teach Torah through music. And since we are teachers, we should learn as much 
as possible in order to teach, and teach well. 

Young songleaders really need to learn and understand the opportunities that 
exist for them to practice their budding skills and at the same time, help 
their own communities. They also need to realize that what they see at camp 
with respect to leading songsessions is only a small part of what songleaders 
get to do. Kind of like the cantor's job. The Cantor only lead services from 
the bimah about 15%-20% of the job-time. The rest of the time they teach and 
do other functions.  It ain't all glory. It's not about that.....

Songleading is truly a passion. A love of music, especially Jewish music. I 
think of it kind of like "The Force". It's all around us. This passion for 
singing and the lessons in the songs we learn and then teach to others is our 
mission. And hopefully, pass on the passion.

Like everything in life we learn from easiest to hardest. Create your ideas 
and curriculum accordingly. Teach the easier songs to them first, then build 
their reptoire from there. Do the guitar skills the same way, by playing 
level (Beg., intermed. adv.) if you can. Everybody will need a chordster. It 
should kind of be their new  songleading Bible. (The more of it they learn 
and memorize, the better off they'll be.) Break them into groups of 2-4 to 
work. They'll motivate each other for sure.

Help them identify songleading situations (Camp,  services, youth group, 
retreats,  Sunday school, etc.) and what types of songs go with each 
situation. Get as many examples as you can from them. The lists of songs 
they'll give you for each situation can be come a road map to their learning. 
This is when young songleaders begin realize that is much more than just 
leading big groups.  Most of our Camp songleaders have had at least a couple 
of years of "hard labor" as a Music teacher in a Sunday school or pre-school. 
This is the only true way to practice these skills. Going on the Temple 
retreats is also an excellent place for them to work and practice their 
skills at the same time time. Working with those younger grades is not always 
easy, but a great place to help a young songleader (or any leader for that 
matter) grow.

Just a few thoughts...Good luck and have fun!

Steve Dropkin
Birmingham, AL

 


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