How to Teach Children How to Sing

Some parents and voice teachers avoid teaching children how to sing out of fear of disappointment that they won't sound like adults.  However, done the right way, singing lessons can be crucial in training a child's ear and vocal technique. 

Voice lessons are a valuable experience for children.  Those children not exposed to singing may grow up tone deaf.  Additionally children who sing but were never taught proper techniques often develop hard-to-break habits that can eventually lead to vocal damage.  But, the most important part of teaching a child how to sing is that the voice lessons must be enjoyable for the student to succeed.  Remember that children do not have long attentions spans and that they learn much better from doing than being told how to do something.  Parents interested in finding a music studio to enroll their child in voice lessons should find a voice teacher who has experience and success in teaching children.

Getting Started:

1)  Children should begin each lesson with some simple stretches and posture exercises.

 2)  Practice simple breathing techniques.  When breathing in the stomach should bulge out, when breathing out the stomach should tighten back in. The shoulders and chest should never raise or drop.

3)  Next, the student should be introduced to using different registers.  Practice falsetto by lifting up into the upper register for high notes.

4)  Begin ear-training. Teach them to match pitch and then to sing steps going higher and lower.

5) Teach scales. Begin to practice 3 and 5 note major scales, using the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, and Sol. Once they make good progress, try the whole scale (Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do)

6)  Teach intervals. Begin to work on major/perfect intervals beginning with seconds and progressing to octaves.

7)  Begin working on vowels. Make sure the child to sings each vowel with the proper mouth shape.

8)  Begin learning songs.

9)  Learn how to perform.  Successfully performing a song is one of the best experiences in voice lessons.  Encourage the student to sing for their parents and friends, if they are comfortable doing so. 

Wagner Dance and Music offers private music lessons in piano, guitar and voice. They have found that private one-on-one instruction allows students to progress at their own pace and gain the best understanding of musical techniques. Students can start private lessons as young as 5 years old. Students can start private lessons any time of the year or month so there's no need to wait to get started. A variety of styles are taught such as pop, jazz, rock and classical. 

Focus on Teaching - Wagner Dance and Music does not sell or rent musical instruments. This leaves them free to specialize in one thing - providing the highest quality of music and voice instruction.

University Trained Teachers - All of Wagner's instructors are highly qualified and many have extensive performance experience. Most importantly, their instructors strive to relate their teaching to each individual student's learning style.

All ages - Beginners to Advanced - Current students range from 5 years old to some students in their 60's and 70's and they come from all over the East Valley - including Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe Arizona.   The teachers at Wagner Dance Art take care to teach what you want to learn so music is rewarding for students of all ages and skill levels.

About Wagner Dance and Music

Since 1989, Wagner Dance and Music, a performing arts school, has been teaching East Valley students. Our 3600 square foot Gilbert facility is conveniently located on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Guadalupe in the Big Lots plaza. We offer classes for ages two to adult in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Tumbling, Cheer, Musical Theater and Voice as well as adult classes.  For more information, or to sign up for a class, visit http://wagnerdancearts.com or call 480-892-7179.