035 - How to Help Children Develop Their Singing Voices
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035 - How to Help Children Discover Their Singing Voices
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If you teach elementary music in some capacity, whether it's in a classroom, at your local community music school on Saturday mornings, in a private studio, or in a children's choir, you know the importance of singing to introduce, experience, and learn musical concepts. So what do you do with a child who’s having trouble finding their singing voice?
Let me preface this conversation by saying that everyone is born with some level of music aptitude, or potential to succeed in music (source). According to music researcher Edwin Gordon, this aptitude can increase or decrease between birth and age 7, based on musical exposure and experience.
In a research article in General Music Today, music education professor Lili Levinowitz wrote:
"The vocal range is remarkably wide from birth. Infants can imitate and experiment with their vocal instruments: and even match pitch as early as three to four months of age. Purposeful singing can begin at around twelve months. At this time, adults can recognize snippets of songs to which youngsters have been exposed. Through continued exposure to spoken chant, songs, and vocal play, young children can develop the use of their singing voices during the remaining early childhood years.” (source)
The author noted that by Kindergarten or 1st grade, many children are able to sing familiar songs, engage in musical play, and make up their own songs to go with experiences they have. However, many are not.
According to church musician and educator, Helen Kemp, 17% of children need help finding their singing voices. 17%! These are the children who often sing with a very limited range, default to chanting low in the voice instead of singing, and/or have trouble matching pitch. Have you encountered this in your teaching?
I want to reiterate that this does not indicate a lack of skill or potential, but simply a lack of experience and vocal development. Like other areas of early childhood development, musical development takes time and requires a sequence of meaningful experiences, including listening to music and responding to it through singing and movement. (source)
Some children simply need a little more help and guidance to discover and develop their singing voice.
Before we get into teaching strategies and approaches, though, there are a few important things to check first:
Is the music you're singing in an appropriate range? Remember, children's voices are higher than our voices as adults. Make sure the key you're singing in isn't too low for them to sing comfortably and without strain.
Is the child able to access his/her head voice? Can they demonstrate a vocal siren that goes up into their high register?
Is the vocal demonstration (your own or a recording) clear and light? Ideally, the vocal model should be presented a cappella, without the distraction of a keyboard or any kind of accompaniment, and without vibrato.
If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, then you're ready to dive into some helpful teaching approaches.
Today, I'm sharing six practical strategies for helping children discover their singing voices and learn to sing in tune.
Six Strategies for Helping a Child Sing In Tune
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
01 | Create opportunities for vocal exploration
Vocal exploration is a great way to encourage new singers to experience what their voices can do and experiment with different types of sounds. This is a great warm-up activity for an elementary music class or choir rehearsal, but it's also a fun way to reinforce high vs. low, loud vs. soft, long vs. short, and other musical comparisons in a group class for your studio.
Spend a minute reviewing the four voices: speaking, singing, whispering, shouting. Then, take some time to create vocal sound effects that span the entire vocal range: sirens, slides, animal sounds, etc. Make a sound and have the children echo you. Have children respond vocally to a series of shapes and squiggly lines (think of these like rollercoasters or sledding hills). Here’s a fun video example. You can also use rhythmic chants to explore the voice, speaking with lots of inflection.
For those of you who direct a children's choir, see this post on How to Develop Children’s Singing Voices in Choir for more ideas.
02 | Give children an opportunity to sing alone and with others
Not only is this helpful for assessment, but it also helps children learn how to control and manipulate their voices and develop personal awareness. Use a simple hello or welcome song like “Hickety-Pickety Bumblebee” that invites a solo response from each child.
For children that are struggling with pitch, give them an opportunity to listen to themselves by using a wind whistle tube or even just a cupped hand from their ear to their mouth. This is especially useful for more timid singers. The children don’t need to know what the wind whistle is for; it’s likely that other children will want to try it, too, after they see it being used! This is great because it keeps one child from feeling singled out. You always want to create a safe, supportive environment and not make a child feel insecure about trying and exploring their singing voice as it develops.
03 | Use call and response songs
This is another great way to help children develop awareness, listening skills, and musical independence.
Use a simple call and response song at the beginning of your class or rehearsal or as a change-of-pace activity somewhere in the middle. Have the children echo you as a group, then try having smaller groups or individuals respond.
If you're looking for repertoire ideas, here’s a list of 40 call and response songs to try.
So we've talked about vocal exploration, singing alone and with others, and using call and response songs and games.
04 | Match child’s pitch for solo singing
If you find that a child echoes back in a key that's different from yours, try matching their pitch and echoing back in their key. This gives them an opportunity to hear and feel what it’s like to sing in unison with another voice. This can be useful for children who are capable of singing correct intervals, but may still be struggling with pitch-matching.
Once you have matched the child’s pitch and repeated the pattern with them, try moving the pattern up by half step and seeing if they can echo you.
05 | Seat child in between strong singers
This is a pretty simple tip, but sometimes the simplest things are the best, right?
First, identify the strongest singers in your group — those who are leaders — and simply seat them next to someone who is a little more insecure or struggling to stay on pitch. As always, encourage your group to listen to those around them.
If you have two strong singers and two singers who are struggling, consider seating them towards the middle of the group and alternating them. Or, you could try seating them in pairs (one strong singer with one who is struggling) in different sections of the group.
Experiment, try it a few different ways, and decide what works best for your students.
06 | Cultivate listening skills and musical development
It’s important to keep encouraging children to explore their singing voice. Maybe this goes without saying, but a child should never be made to feel insecure about their singing voice or discouraged by their progress. Musical development is a process and it takes time. Keep looking for new and creative ways to cultivate your students’ listening skills and help them continue developing musicianship.
If you're looking for ideas, listen to Ep. 012 - How to Develop Musicianship Skills in Those You Teach.
Summary
I hope these teaching strategies are helpful to you as you plan and prepare for group classes and rehearsals this year. What are your favorite strategies for helping a child discover their singing voice? I’d love to hear your ideas!
More helpful resources:
Of Primary Importance, No. 1 and No. 2 (Helen Kemp)
The Importance of Music in Early Childhood (Lili Levinowitz)