Singing along and moving along through a curriculum designed for music learning, Art Songs and Gem Songs, ultimately leads to articulate unison singing. The youngest children and inexperienced older children need the experience of many Art Songs and Gem Songs—their tonalities, meters, and unique expression of text through rhythm and melody. Initially, “singing together” is best defined as each individual “becoming the song”—in their own way, without regard to precision.
Children developing through Rhythm Activities, Tonal Activities, Art Songs, and Gem Songs will demonstrate a natural progression from moving along and singing along with the teacher to tuneful, articulate, expressive singing with supported sound, appropriate breath, and vocal technique. Experience with flowing movement facilitates musicality, line, musical nuance, and breath, while experience with macro/micro beat movement facilitates meter, precision, and momentum. Experience engaging with the “energy of the line,” with arms and hands becoming the articulation of text in movement, facilitates articulation, expression, and vocal energy, while tonal audiation facilitates tuneful delivery in all tonalities.
5-8 year old children well along on this journey are ready to “rehearse” songs in the higher singing range that merit children’s artistry, with each of these avenues facilitating rehearsal technique and vocal delivery. Stimulate greater musicality, line, and musical nuance by rehearsing the song with flowing movement. Stimulate greater macro/micro beat movement and rhythmic precision and momentum by rehearsing the song with macro/micro beat movement. Stimulate greater articulation of text, expression, breath, and vocal energy by rehearsing the song while moving the energy of the line. Stimulate greater tuneful delivery by immersing the children in the tonality and energizing vocal production through movement. Bringing all of these together is choral singing—“becoming the song”—making exciting music together now in unison, propelling artistry to a level worthy of performance.
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