Gareth Malone is back on TV (woohoo!) with his all-star celebrity choir for Children in Need. But for all his brilliance (and he is a great choir master) to me, he makes singing look a bit strict and a bit laborious. He does get great results and of course people will always hang around if they are on TV! I'm not really a stickler for being perfectly correct. Don't get me wrong, I do like things to be right and I wouldn't want to teach anyone the wrong / incorrect way to sing , however I can't help but feel when I watch Gareth I feel a million miles away from just singing! My aim is to get everyone singing and if its not perfect then so what! Why don't we sing more and why is singing so scary to people? The good news is everyone can sing! I know you don't believe me - I can hear you now "but you haven't heard me sing, I am tone deaf!" It's not true! I do not believe tone deafness exists unless of course there is something medically wrong with your ears! An average, normal person can most definitely sing! Just look at those celebrities Gareth has to work with - Linda Robson, yes she hits quite a few bum notes, but the more she learns to sing by listening to Gareth the more she will learn to match pitch and develop her inner hearing. So that what she hears in her head is exactly what comes out! Jo Brand - Jo only thinks she can sing in a lower octave however Gareth has found she does possess a higher range, if only she had more confidence in her ability! The more you sing, the better you get - but you need to listen to the natural singing voice and not the pre-recorded or electronically produced music you hear on the radio. Backing music is unhelpful in developing your singing voice and listening skills this is why all my classes (even with young children) are taught using only the singing voice. Singing without backing music can be one of the hardest but most rewarding things to participate in, being able to hear our own voice and others at the same time is a special musical skill.
Listen hear to an example of how a simple song can sound amazing!
https://soundcloud.com/user-205137837/once-a-man-fellmp3
Ready to sing more?
I love my kids classes - and if I don't find them fun and interesting what hope have I got for the kids? I also know that beneath all the fun is an added element of learning musical concepts and this is best learnt through singing. No need for instruments at all - although listening to different instruments helps children differentiate between timbres (different qualities of sound) so even if a trombone and clarinet played the same pitched note we hear the difference of the instruments. This can be the same with the singing voice. We all have a different quality singing voice and as a group when we come together we can sound amazing, even if you are not a professional singer.
So how do we encourage the ordinary person to join a singing group? Everyone sang at school didn't they? Most Primary schools encourage singing but by the time children leave and go to high school singing is then pretty much out the window. Personally I think we need to make singing (and learning a musical instrument) more accessible and less elitist. Information locally for singing groups or music groups is pretty non existent. Wakefield Music Services are pretty elusive the only contact I have with them is when I take my daughter to violin at music school on a Saturday. I rarely hear anything else about what they are doing - occasionally I get a letter. In todays world I would be expecting an up to date website at the very least and then really now social media. I know some music services do this and this makes them more accessible. Singing as a group, singing in parts, working together to produce music with only the voice is an incredible experience that can really lift your spirits and give you a focus or purpose. The joy of being a part of a group that sings is immense, this is exactly what I need when I feel stressed or a bit down...focus, a focus on something happy and fun!
Have I you encouraged yet?
Singing use to be a part of normal everyday lives for many, many years - Circle dances, wedding and courtship, skipping, catching and clapping games. There's no question singing unites people! You only have to look at the history from children singing in the street; war songs to keep peoples spirits up and unite in the darkest of times; work songs to get people through the toughest days; singing to gain solidarity for various political groups; singing to sooth and comfort. Not to mention the Social and Emotional aspects - learning to take turns, share, confidence in singing on your own and being part of a cohesive group. What I love about singing is that everyone can participate in it. It doesn't matter if you have money or not, what your ethnic background is, whether you are young or old, have a disability, singing is for everyone! Singing is something that happens world wide however it is more important or prominent in some countries than others. I recently gained a new little boy to my infant musicianship classes. His parents are Latvian and this is what she said in an email to me:
"(my son) told, he wants to go again and that it's better than (named Franchise) :) so, we'll go on with it. I was looking for some place, without the recorder in the background and with someone who asks the child to repeat and sing. It looks that we have found it. It's not a problem to find such a place in Latvia but it looks that in England teachers prefer another way of teaching and we were struggling to find someone like you". If you feel a little inspired by my post or you want to sing - go do it! Find a group and start today! Contact me: melanie@cossinsmusicschool.co.uk My
Comments