Effective+Communication

=Vocal Pedagogy= As a NESA musical theatre major we are required to take vocal pedagogy all four years. Every 9 weeks we are required to learn up to two songs to perform for our class. When we think about communication we usually think about simple speaking. When you listen to music, the composer and lyricist has written the song in such a way to convey a message through music. Learning to act a song is especially important in order to deliver the message as the writer intended. This year, we chose a song in a foreign language. I chose Spanish considering I had completed Spanish III last year. The song was titled El Tra-la-la y el Punteado by Enrique-Granados. This proves my proficiency in Spanish. Attached are the lyrics to the song as well as the translation from spanish to english.

=Alabama Project= As juniors, our class took an educational trip to Alabama. We stopped in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham. On this trip there was an assignment to pick a topic about the civil rights movement and make a documentary. Our question was how music affected and sustained people’s spirits during a time of social unrest or social change. In Alabama my group members and I would meet to discuss what should be filmed and recorded for our final product. We visited some amazing places such as the jazz hall of fame where we met Doc Adams and Kelly Ingram Park which was personally the most touching to me. After a long bus ride home, it was time to hit the ground running on the documentary. Though a fellow team member and I were somewhat frustrated by some of the group not taking part in the final product, everything turned out exactly the way we wanted it to. In order to make a 12-minute documentary enjoyable, you must have effective communication. When Charlotte and I recorded the voiceovers, we made sure to articulate and to use language that was appropriate for all ages. At the showing we made sure our documentary would present information and express opinions in a literate, persuasive, and appropriate manner: orally, visually, in writing, and through electronic communication tools. We did this through, voiceovers, visual text, pictures, and even interviews.