Page:Choirmaster's Manual.djvu/13



Selection of Boys, and Tests. In starting a choir a great deal of trouble in the future will be saved by a judicious selection of boys in the first place; as a preliminary test, make them sing the scale of E major on "la" or "ah" (this vowel sends the tone well forward and the scale of E takes in all the "registers"). If a boy should try to "force" his tone on the upper E, a scale a note or two higher should be tried to test his natural head-voice.

Never take a stout, heavy boy with a "break." A thin, light boy may, by diligent practice downwards, overcome this defect.

Order. It is essential that only boys of good moral character should find a place in the choir. Once admit a troublesome or unruly boy, and the whole choir will suffer from inattention in practice and irreverence in church; parochial politics or social expediency should never be allowed to have weight in the claims of a boy or man in the choir.

Discipline. The first essential of a good choirmaster is discipline; no amount of learning can compensate for the lack of it. A certain amount of self-confidence is necessary to impress those being taught that the choirmaster knows what he wants and is going to get it; at the same