Songs are the magic that launches children’s artistry and sends it soaring. The expression of rhythm and tonal knowing and children’s artistry can be only as good as the song itself. A quality Art Song or Gem Song in the beginning singing range fully defines a tonality, includes characteristic tones, tonic and dominant anchors, and stepwise passages, with the rhythm and melody a natural expression of text. In addition to these attributes, quality Art Songs and Gem Songs in the higher singing range stimulate the proper use of the voice and necessary vocal technique, while providing for the child voice to ring.
Songs in the higher singing range take children’s voices beyond the voice break that is around B above middle C. Propelling rhythm and tonal knowing into the higher singing range requires greater energy and greater breath support. Quality Art Songs and Gem Songs generate proper vocal production, without the coaching of vocal technique.
Songs that hover around the B-D above the voice break help children with a background in meters, tonalities, Art Songs and Gem Songs in the lower range cross the bridge to choral singing, which happens spontaneously for some children, and with greater movement and time with others.
Children’s voices really ring just above the voice break to the higher E, and sustain that sound best in songs with a tessitura between the G above middle C and the E an octave higher. Children secure in that range may also competently deliver Fs and Gs, but good songs for developing children’s voices don’t take them higher than F, or lower than middle C. Songs placed in a range from E above middle C to the E an octave above place children’s voices where they can sing most beautifully.
Songs that keep children comfortably in the range from the B above middle C to the E above, encourage vocal technique. Songs that skip into this range from a lower tonic or dominant pitch encourage a breath to execute the jump and breath support to sustain the higher range. Songs with descending passages from the higher range bring the ringing sound of the higher range below the voice break, stimulating a unified and supported sound throughout the voice range. Children learn to naturally support and unify the sound of their voices throughout their range just by singing quality Art Songs and Gem Songs.
Songs with a compelling contour of melodic line draw the artistry out of children. The dramatic energy of the line in movement stimulates breath energy to carry the line in all its glory—with a sound and vocal technique to match—if in the range where children’s voices really ring. The expression of rhythm and tonal knowing and children’s artistry can be only as good as the song itself. Songs are the magic that launches children’s artistry and sends it soaring.
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