April 2024
Children Singing
(Question from a workshop participant who teaches piano)
I use singing as part of my ear training for the younger students. Do I need to be concerned about anything in particular (voice strain, proper form, etc.)?
How can we encourage students to continue to sing at (piano) lessons as they begin to get self-conscious? Some of my students refuse to sing .Why?
Encourage your students to sing very lightly, like a four-year-old child, and then they will not hurt themselves. Singing should feel like they are doing nothing, so remind them of that.
Starting them very early on sight-singing should help when they get older, as it will be standard procedure for them and not a new, embarrassing "self-exposure". If still self-conscious, remind them that they have no audience, that you have heard their voices many times before, and that it helps them to learn the music more quickly. As long as they stay in the very young voice, it will hopefully not stir them to anxiety, as they think it's not their "real" voice.
For students starting lessons later in age, it may take a great deal of coaxing, but if you lead by example (yes, you have to sing!) they may be less intimidated. If a student has never sung for you before, it may also be that he or she cannot carry a tune well. I have found that those students usually breathe incorrectly (high chest breaths with the mouth), and they try to push the air up and out when singing, thus altering the pitches. If you can explain to them that they should inhale downward, without lifting the shoulders, and think of the sound as going inside, rather than out, it may correct the problem. For some, the issue is so extreme that they truly need a voice instructor who understands this issue to work with them for a while before they will ever sing.
Another excellent option for all of these students is to HUM the music. They will normally stay on pitch, and it is less embarrassing to them.