Helpful Tips Voice Training for Children          Music and Child Development          Tips for Practicing              At what age should vocal training begin? Many experts in the field have held to a belief that formal vocal training before the teen years is not beneficial.  However, the American Academy of Teachers of Singing now recognizes the benefits of early training.  Here is an excerpt from their article, "Teaching Children to Sing", released in November, 2002: From their first cry at birth to their last sigh at death, human beings are sound-producing creatures.  We know from numerous clinical studies that respiration and phonation occur at birth.  Intonation (humming, cooing, squealing, laughing) normally develops in the first four months of life.  Articulation and the first words occur at about one year of age.  Before a child is two years old, two-word combinations are being used.  Analysis of such data reveals that the necessary elements for singing -- respiration, phonation, resonation, and articulation -- are in place at a very early age.  It follows then that the opportunity to teach children to sing more efficiently and expressively can also occur at a very early age.  There continues to this day, however, a controversy as to when, and even if, the training of young singers should begin.   The American Academy of Teachers of Singing addresses the topic of teaching children to sing.  Acutely aware of the physical damage improper, excessive, or ill-advised singing can cause, the Academy in the past has recommended that children not engage in formal voice studies.  However, upon further investigation, no scientific, pedagogical, or physiological evidence indicates that child voice pedagogy is inherently harmful to children's bodies, minds, or spirits. The Academy now recognizes that there are benefits to teaching children to sing.  In fact, well-trained singers of any age are less likely than untrained singers to hurt their vocal instruments or to allow their instruments to be hurt by others.  Observing our fellow pedagogues in dance and instrumental music, we find they have identified and successfully acted on the potential to instruct interested and motivated young children in their respective disciplines.  Clearly these teachers have developed age-approporate technical exercises and repertoire that challenge but do not overly tax the young body and mind.  They are astutely aware that children are not "miniature adults," and should not be taught as such. The Academy believes that teachers of singing should take their cue from the aforementioned colleagues to develop and utilize age-appropriate vocal exercises and repertoire that support the natural inclination of children to express themselves in singing and song. Click here to read the entire article, "Teaching Children to Sing"

Music and Child Development "The word is out: Researchers have discovered a way to make kids smarter. And savvy parents are signing their children up for private music lessons while school boards debate the role of music in the public school curriculum."   These are the words of Joan Schmidt, member of the board of directors of the National School Boards Association, in support of music programs in our schools. Statistics indicate that if your child participates in music, he or she is likely to earn higher grades and score better on standardized tests. Now there is powerful evidence of a cause and effect link between music instruction and intelligence. A study conducted by psychologist Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and physicist Gordon Shaw of the University of California at Irvine produced startling results. Preschoolers who received piano instruction scored 34% higher than those who did not study piano in tests to measure spatial-temporal reasoning — that function necessary to understand math, science and engineering. They also scored higher by the same margin than children who studied computer skills! There are dozens of recent scientific studies which indicate that music making is a key component of academic and social success.  These findings show that music training at a young age may actually change how your brain works.  Brain imaging has shown that a region called the planum temporale (which is involved in auditory perception) in the left hemisphere of the brain is larger in musicians compared to non-musicians.  Researchers have found that the left side of the brain may be more developed in musicians, and therefore, adults with music training have better verbal memory than non-musicians. *Research shows that children who participate in the arts on a regular basis are:      • 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement     • 3 times more likely to be elected to class office     • 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair     • 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance     • 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem *In addition, young arts participants as compared with their peers are likely to:     • Read for pleasure nearly twice as often     • Participate in youth groups nearly 4 times as frequently     • Perform community service nearly twice as often *Source:  Dr. Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University, for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. "A-Sharp to A-Plus...Boost Your Kids' Brainpower with Music" (Click the link below to read this informative article) Click here to read "A-Sharp to A-Plus...Boost Your Kids' Brain Power with Music" article in Prevention Magazine

Practice Makes Perfect - Tips for getting the most out of your practice sessions 1.  Try to set up a regular time to begin your practice each day. 2.   Eliminate distractions.  Make sure you have a place to yourself to practice without other activity swirling around you. 3.  Don't miss a day - even if you only get in a few minutes of practice time. 4.  Keep your practice sessions at a reasonable length.  If you get bored, frustrated, or if your mind starts to wander, take a break.   Try splitting up your practice time into 2 or more shorter sessions during the day. 5.  Resist the temptation to try to "make up" for lost time by doing an extra long practice session after missing a day or more.  You may strain muscles you are aiming to train, and put yourself further behind in the process. 7.  Warm up at the beginning of your practice session with scales, arpeggios, technique exercises.  Slowly waking up your muscles and your brain will make you more ready for the challenges of the pieces you will work on. 8.  Zoom in on the hard parts of a piece.  Figure out what specifically is hard about it.  Is it the rhythm?  The shifting to a new position?  An awkward series of notes?  Then take it apart and break it down by sections, measure by measure or note by note - whatever it takes to get it.  And SLOW DOWN to a crawl if you have to until you get it correct.  Then you can go back and gradually build it up to speed. 11.  Look for recurring patterns in the music you are working on. 12.  On piano, practice hands separately first. 13.  Circle passages you can't figure out and ask your teacher to help you with that specific part at your next lesson. 14.  Reward yourself after a good practice session!  Have a snack you love, play basketball with your friends, watch a favorite tv show - whatever. 15.  Make it musical.  Knowing the notes isn't enough.  To really make music, you must go beyond the notes and make it beautiful.  Don't wait until it's note perfect to start doing this.  Do it in each practice session.