I’ll pay the rent (medium, young male, Hero).ĭoing warm-ups not only helps children explore their vocal range but expand it as well.But I can’t pay the rent (high, young girl Tenant) (Repeat these first two lines 3 times).Squeak, squeak says the rat (very high voice).I whisper all around, whisper all around (whisper).I send my voice out into space and (shouting/projecting).I take my voice down low (high to low).Preschool–Kindergarten (3–5 years old), C to A Children’s Vocal Rangesīelow are the general ranges of a child’s voice. The head voice is lighter, more tension-free, and more natural and therefore more beautiful sounding. Chest voice feels like the sound is emanating from the chest, which tends to create a lot of tension in the throat, particularly in younger singers. Head voice requires placing the sound higher up in the “vocal mask” or the face, as if singing from the eyes. Although most songs children hear are pop songs that are placed in the chest, a child’s voice is not yet developed, and should not be belting out or pushing from the lower range or chest voice.

One good habit to help children sing well is to ask them sing in their head voice rather than their chest voice. Using a clear, clean, straight head voice rather than chest voice will help to avoid this, and will strengthen a child’s vocal musculature for a lifetime of excellent singing.

As children’s voices are very light, they should not be pushed out of their vocal ranges too soon. Good SingingĪlthough we are used to hearing and singing pop music, a child’s voice is not yet ready to sing songs either with such a wide vocal range or with the sophisticated vocal stylings or timbre that he or she might try to imitate from pop singers. Similarly, these are the students who start to believe that they can’t sing at all, and give up on music. After a while, they will give up trying to reach the material altogether. While a few might be tall enough, most won’t be. Singing in a key that is out of a child’s range would be analogous to an art teacher giving a creative assignment to students and then placing all of the art materials up on a shelf out of reach for most of them. An incorrect key can take away the child’s ability to sing the song well or sing the song at all. Pitching a song in the wrong range can have significant negative consequences on a child’s musical self-esteem. Adults sing in much lower range than children, therefore pitching a song too low causes children to be unsuccessful at reaching some of the lower notes. One common mistake that adults make when singing with children is that they tend to “pitch” the songs, (or sing them in a key), that is comfortable for themselves, but unfortunately, out of a comfortable singing range for the children. Chapter Objective: One of the most basic yet challenging activities to do with children is to teach them a song.This chapter focuses on the child’s singing voice, including their vocal range, selection of appropriate musical material, and methods for teaching a song in a musically meaningful, cognitively stimulating way that lays the groundwork for future integration.

Songs that use a voicey clap