It's Dynamic!

Have problems getting your singers to use a dynamic other than mezzo-blah? I used the following strategy today and it worked great. It connects the brain with a physical activity so it is great for kinesthetic learners.

Rehearse a piece of music as you normally would, but instruct students to change their body position as the dynamics change. Anytime the written dynamic is piano, they must sing from a sitting position. For mp, stand up just a little bit, mf a little more, and for f they should be standing fully erect. If ff is used they can stretch up on their toes. If there are crescendos that do not have a dynamic written in students still need to rise to show an increase in volume.

This can be quite a work-out if the piece of music you're singing has lots of dynamic changes. It can also be used to help students understand when and in which voice part the melody occurs.