Posted by Diane Hamilton on April 09, 2006 at 21:44:51:
In Reply to: Is the range appropriate for young voices? posted by Christine on March 20, 2006 at 18:17:11:
I focus on the intervals that the students CAN sing. Such as the first three notes. K-3 should be able to sing Sol and Mi, 2-3 should be able to sing S M D. That is the basis of a chord. The students have sung singing games with these in them so the interval is easily to reinforce. The high Do is reserved for upper grades. I tell students that when their voices are exercised they will be more able to sing the whole song. Then I go on teaching the book that goes with the song, and then the sign language so they can sing with their hands to know the words. The most important part is exposure to the words and their meaning. If they know the words they will be more likely to sing it later on in life. I give them an opportunity to sing it when the join choir. I also play "fill in the blank" so they know the hard words. The kindergarten love learning big words, such as rampart, galantly, and glare. The sign language helps them to relate to the words and know their meaning. Yes, it may be too difficult to match all the pitches in kindergarten, but there are a lot of concepts you can teach with the song besides pitch matching...phrasing (walk in a circle and turn at the end of the sentence), Form, dotted rhythms, meter (it has been sung in 4/4 and 3/4 at games. Get some recordings of games and compare how they are sung by the stars, especially Whitney Houston, who they love) I also change the key so it is lower and easier to sing. Just some thoughts about how it fits into our curriculum. : I have been taught, and have also read in several sources, that an appropriate singing range for most young students is usually not be wider than an octave (and in some cases, even smaller than that). I just went to a workshop on vocal health where I learned that young students' voices can be damaged if they frequently sing or speak in a range that they are not physically able to so healthily. Shouldn't we wait until the students voices have matured before asking them to sing the octave-and-a-half range of the SSB? Are kids who are singing the SSB in grades K, 1, and 2 actually singing on pitch throughout the whole song without vocal tension (some may be, but are the majority?) or are they straining on the upper and/or lower notes? Is is developmentally or vocally appropriate to ask them to sing this song? Your thoughts please.