What Animal Is Your Vocal Patronus?

WHAT ANIMAL IS YOUR VOCAL PATRONUS?

I teach both middle- and high-school choirs, so sometimes I find myself caught addressing the choir on the wrong age level. There are a few things that middle-school students seem to universally connect to, such as Twilight, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter.

One day, I was trying to get my 7th grade choir to sing out. It’s a challenge to push for more when the singers are new and scared to be “wrong.” (7th grade is the first year for choir in my district.) I was throwing the kitchen sink at them and nothing was working. Then I thought - perhaps something that made the sound feel external to who they are, yet was a representation of them at the same time: A PATRONUS!!!

So, I asked the singers to see their voice leaving their body like a patronus, charging out to save the day from dementors. I asked them to think about how they currently WERE singing, and what animal that would be (an army of chipmunks and rabbits, methinks). Then I asked them to visualize what fierce/large/majestic animal they wanted their patronus to be, and to sing that. I got all sorts of responses, from “Elk” and “Deer” to “Bear” and “Horse.” The room got a giggle when someone said “Moose,” but I thought that was more than fair. Moose are tough!

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I’m sure it wasn’t the VISUALIZATION I gave them as much as the DISTRACTION from their own fear that it provided. It allowed them to externalize past their self-image, to create independently, and to feel bonded together in a group purpose (“Let’s all run these dementors out once and for all!”). Oh, yeah... and it was FUN! That always helps. :)

I’d be interested to hear: WHAT ANIMAL IS YOUR VOCAL PATRONUS?