Name: Charles Moe
Competency: A8
Artifact Title: Easy Literature
Artifact Type: "In the Bleak Midwinter" arr. by Brad Printz. This is an example of choral literature at the Easy Level.
Rationale for Inclusion: Competency A8 requires that a teacher of vocal music be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of approaches to general music instruction, materials, and literature for students of varying abilities. This selection, "In the Bleak Midwinter" arr. by Brad Printz, is an example of literature at the "Easy Level." Music at this level would generally be suited for a choir that is young, very small, or of limited musical ability. There are several reasons why this music is considered to be "easy." First of all, it is only 2-Parts, because of the cleffs we assume that these parts are Women on Part I and Men on Part II. Songs like this generally rely on accompaniments with a lot going on to make the song more interesting. We see that in this case with the piano and handbell parts. On the other hand such songs can be charming in their simplicity. We can also see that the vocal ranges do not venture far into the extremes as they do in the Difficult Literature selection for example. This is also a fairly familiar tune in the world of western music; this is yet another factor that contributes to the song's ease. The easiness of this song helps to ensure the success of the students even if they are not members of the most advanced choral ensemble. By being able to recognize these factors and realize that this music is well suited for students of more limited musical ability, I have fulfilled competency A8.
