Moreover Many parents these days are quite interested in their childrens’ musical development in Quality Music 2011, but sometimes feel that their own musical skills are somewhat lacking. Parents often do not realize that professional music training is really not necessary to instill a love of music in their children – it is much simpler than that! When our parents and grandparents were growing up, there was a lot more music-making in the family. Parents regularly shared music with babies in the form of finger-play (“Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the door and see all the people!”) and tickling games (“Shoe a little horse, shoe a little mare, but let the little pony go bare, bare, bare!” while patting a child’s foot rhythmically and doing the tickle on the last “bare”). These kinds of games can still be played and enjoyed, and since the text is spoken, not sung, most parents can confidently perform the text with a sense of rhythm and fun, which is mainly what the young child is ready to absorb. Books full of these kinds of activities are available from GIA Publications.
“I am often asked by parents what they can do to help their child with music and more specifically what they can do to help improve their child's singing voice,” says Julie Swank, a music education professor at the University of Dayton. “I tell them it is simple. Just sing with them and to them. Often a sheepish response comes next. A father might tell me that he is afraid to sing because he feels that his voice might not be a good model. Young children do not know if a singer is singing in tune or not, but they do know if their parents (specifically their fathers) sing or do NOT sing. This action of singing or not sends a message.”
Children model many of their parents’ behaviors. I have noticed while teaching guitar that parents who do not sing will more likely have children who are uncomfortable when asked to sing even a single note, and these children usually require a great deal of coaxing and cajoling to begin the process of learning how to control their voice. Once these children start to sing, I have found their progress to be quite similar to children who are comfortable when asked to sing, so it really is not a matter of inborn talent as much as finding a teacher or a situation which can help the child get over the initial hurdle of singing in the company of others.
Should we as parents be concerned that our singing might not be of the highest quality? “In the home,” says Ms. Swank, “much leeway is given to family members because the experience of sharing an intimate moment involving a song overrides the presence or absence of musical accuracy. I am not sure when children realize that other singers (such as their parents, teachers, etc.) are off key. I can report that by January, after discussion, demonstration and examples, most of my kindergarten students can tell me when I sing "too high", "too low" or
"just right" - like the story of the Three Bears!”
My advice to interested parents is to find your own voice, and learn to be comfortable with it. After all, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and many others who are considered to be great musicians do not possess what most of us would call a beautiful voice, and yet they are very expressive singers. If you are concerned about how you sound when you sing, remember that singing is a learned skill, very much like shooting a basketball through a hoop. Most of us possess a voice that is much better than we imagine! Getting honest feedback from an understanding voice teacher or choir director can give you some good ideas and direction in developing a wonderful musical instrument world.
Babies are cute, Funny, Rocking, amazing and what they do and speak are Damn hot to look at. Free Music Downloads
