Reply To: Contemporary music in the chorus classroom

[nafmeadmin]

Good question! I’ve struggled with this question over the years I’ve been teaching. I used to say “absolutely not” but then, trying to recruit and retain more boys, I let them do a pop song as a boys-only feature, and then of course the girls wanted to do one too. So now each concert includes two pop songs, one for the girls and one for the boys. I’ve been been questioned a few times by the other music teachers, but never by the parents, who generally compliment my choice of repertoire. As you found, even the best “chorus” song doesn’t motivate and excite the kids the way “their music” does.

One question though: Are you worried that by doing an all-pop concert, you’ll set a precedent for next year? You didn’t say what grade you teach, but if you have returning students, they might think “we did only pop last year and it was great, so why not do it every year?”