O Happy Day! --Vocal warm-up

Anyone who has studied voice or had singing lessons knows that sometimes vocal warm-ups can get old, tired or boring.  A good voice teacher will try to come up with interesting vocalise exercises that still demand vocal concentration, intonation and endurance.

When "Mama-made-me-mash-my-M-and-M's" becomes mundane, try the warm up from this clip from Sister Act II (one of my favorite movies...ever):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=SLY7yI1xV-M

That warm-up contains:

A pentatonic scale

Arpeggio

Syncopated rhythm

Call and response

And on top of all that.....it's a pretty AWESOME arrangement of an AWESOME song!

I love the Backyardigans!

With 4 kids, I have watched ALOT of kid shows.  ALOT. And I definitely have my most favorites and my least favorites. (The Doodlebops were at the bottom of my list.)  At the top of the list are Backyardigans and Little Einsteins (see previous blog on that one!).

We're actually watching Backyardigans right now as I type---the episode is Elephant On The Run--- and once again, it's a good one!

Here's a short list of why I love the Backyardigans:

1. There's no baby talk. Baby talk bothers me.
2. They sing well. Not flat, not sharp.
3. They each sing in their own range. Ex: Tyrone sings an octave lower than Tasha sometimes
4. Their dance steps are usually in perfect time with the beat of the song.
5. Their dance steps help the kids to understand the mood of the music.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but for now I'll stop at 6 reasons. :)
I'm being summoned by my youngest to come to the couch and watch the rest of the episode with him!
Until next time!
Audrey

Metronome - Listen Up!!

The metronome is a fantastic tool to use when conducting listening exercises.  When your musician begins learning terms such as Andante, Moderato and Allegro, try this exercise.

Play some recorded music, any style will work, but I would try to get a variety of styles and genres. As the music is playing, find the steady beat of the piece and pat it along with the music. Keep the beat going as you stop the recording and find a matching tempo on the metronome.  Ask questions like these:
Did the song feel like it had a slow, medium or quick tempo?
Which musical term could we use to describe the speed? 
Did the piece stay steady the whole time?
Was it difficult to find the steady beat?

Then move on to a different genre.  Since metronomes are so mobile, you could even take it along with you in the car and analyze the songs on the radio. We do this quite a bit and have fun....especially to some of the music on Radio Disney!

The Five Senses - Hearing

Sense #2--Hearing


A musician with a loss of hearing---no wonder Beethoven went mad! Hearing/listening and music go hand in hand.
Listening to music though, really listening is very important to the budding musician. Encourage your child to listen to not only what he is playing, but how it sounds! If you have some kind of recording device, record his practice and then have him listen to it and describe what he hears. Does he think his beat is steady? Can he tell what song he is playing? If he sings while he plays, ask him if he thinks his pitch matches what he is playing. If you are really bold, record yourself singing along with his playing and ask him if your pitch matches his playing.


A listening challenge to the parents would be for you to truly listen to your child's playing. Close your eyes, and enjoy listening to their progress!