Are your students stuck singing gospel music as written in the score? Do you shy away from teaching gospel music because you lack confidence? Are you looking to enrich your choir’s repertoire? This interactive workshop offers music educators practical tools to unlock the essential performance practices necessary for authentic gospel music performance. Gospel music, rooted in a powerful oral tradition, requires a unique skillset often overlooked in standard music curricula. This session introduces educators to the techniques they need to teach this important American musical genre confidently in their schools.In this session, teachers become the students as they engage in a collective sing-along, reading through diverse gospel music selections. Grounded in African American cultural, musical, and historical contexts, participants will explore the rich tradition and heritage of gospel music. The workshop will focus on the importance of rhythm as a foundational principle. Participants will learn to create various rhythmic patterns using their bodies as instruments. They will explore timbre as a distinguishing characteristic of gospel music, which is critical to creating the distinctive gospel sound. As singers in the workshop choir, they will observe and practice the conductor as an ‘in-the-moment’ arranger, the lead improviser of a gospel choir.Gospel Music Sing-a-long - Learn-a-long provides a pedagogical framework that teachers can apply immediately in their ensembles. These interpretive tools and concrete methodologies will help any ensemble move beyond notes and rhythms into truly embodied and expressive performance, essential for broadening repertoire and empowering student creativity.