Singing towards musicianship

A fun way for young children to discover their musicality is to play singing games.  These can be as simple as throwing a ball or beanbag back and forth while singing the words, or as complex as passing an object around a circle while singing.  Children naturally sing in a musical way, meaning they usually have the right inflection and phrasing, even if they haven't acquired tuneful singing yet.  When children know a song well enough to sing it while engaging in an activity, such as throwing a beanbag back and forth to a partner, they are able to then keep the tune going in their head while figuring out how to play it on the instrument.  They usually can slow it down in order to connect their fingers with the right notes in places where the melody and rhythm moves faster.  This skill is very helpful in building confidence to learn other songs that might not have words or the lyrics are unknown.  I often tell my beginning parents that daily practice is important, but it won't always involve the instrument.  Sometimes, you just have to sing and rock back and forth, or tap your knees, or throw a bean bag, or march around the room.  Whatever it is, include singing in your practice routine and watch your children get excited about learning and playing their songs.

Comments

[Chad Tabary]

Great article! I've been struggling with playing piano, AND trying to sing at the same time...everything grinds to a halt when the left hand comes into play ;p

[Esther Tyree]

Hey Chad,
Both hands need to be confident in the part that they play. I recommend a lot of hands separate practice, then practicing together, for the coordination.
Also, try singing the words with each hand playing separately. Then try putting hands together and humming the tune, until the song can be played w/o any stopping or mistakes in either hand. The practice series might need to be repeated several times or more until the memory for each part is strong enough in the brain's programming to layer them together...