Grandchild # 1, 5 years, 4 months, is completing the 12th CCS Online Music Class, currently the last class available. He is familiar with the various meters and tonalities, rhythm and tonal syllables, has engaged with discrimination games between meters and between tonalities, and has engaged with rhythm reading, tonal reading, and rhythm writing. He can deliver tunefully and rhythmically, reverting to babble when at all threatened, distracted, or tending to words. Grammy wanted to see if he was ready to move into the higher singing range and to take on songs written for the young chorister.
For years, Grammy had a kindergarten/first grade chorus for children who had come through the early childhood classes at the Come Children Sing Institute. This kindergartener is every bit as developed musically from the online classes as were those coming through live classes. Oh, how Grammy wished she could provide that little chorus for her grandson, with first graders scaffolding the new kindergarteners in becoming choristers. Children this age can lose themselves in a group, but can clam up musically if at all self-conscious.
Grammy used the song, The Leaves Fall, which captures the musical imagination with minor tonality and the song contour, and guides the young voice in moving into the higher range with the security of the lower range. She introduced the song with singing and flowing movement, not knowing quite how the kindergartener might respond to the greater vocal demands of the song in the one-on-one context. Grammy hoped the child would lose himself in the song, but at this age, it is hard to get lost when the only chorister!
Throughout the activity, the little cherub engaged in flowing movement, even if a bit tentative, and got into the higher vocal range. His face showed awareness and even a bit of excitement when he was singing tunefully in the higher range with Grammy, yet when at all distracted or unsure of himself, he would slip back unaware into tonal babble while maintaining the rhythm, words and movement. As the encounter went on, he engaged with the song beautifully, even with his 2 year old brother singing and moving along.
Grammy also introduced the song, The Funny Clown, designed specifically to help young choristers get over the voice break, through both the repeated “ha ha” in that range, activating breath, and the jump to energize the musculature for vocal production in the higher range. Again, Grandchild #1 showed awareness and excitement to be on pitch in the higher range, but didn’t sustain it.
This 5 year old is surely ready to propel that little voice into the higher range and would benefit greatly from a community of voices to sustain the sound, support, and confidence in the higher range. Grandchild #1 is so ready to become a little chorister, that Grammy can hardly wait to introduce him to songs she wrote for her kindergarten/first grade chorus.
