Assignment 6

1. (1a) Preschool/Kindergarten (Ages four to five)
(1b) Voices are small and light.
Children are generally unable to sing in tune.
Singing range is D-A for most; D-D for some.
Children can sing play chants and easy tonal patterns.
Children can sing short melodies in major, minor, or pentatonic scales.
Children can sing melodies with one note to a syllable.
Children can sing with an awareness of a steady beat.
Children can sing repeated rhythmic patterns accurately.
Children can sing softly and loudly.
Children can sing melodies with or without a simple accompaniment.
(1c) Songs that tell a story, that give them an opportunity for natural expression, and that deal with familiar experiences.
(2a) Early primary (Ages six to seven)
(2b) Most voices are light and high; a few may be low.
Many children are still unable to sing in tune at age six.
By age seven most children will be able to sing at least short phrases in tune and will begin to sing alone.
Children can understand high and low pitches.
Children can sustain a single pitch.
Range expands from five to six consecutive pitches (D-B) to a full octave (D-D).
Children understand the difference between a playground-shouting voice and a singing voice.
Children begin to understand the importance of breath in singing.
Children can sing melodies in major, minor, and pentatonic scales.
Children can sing call-and-response songs, as well as songs in two- or three-part form.
Children can sing with attention to dynamics and changes in tempo.
Children can sing rhythmically, accenting strong beats and performing simple syncopation.
Children can sing from simple music notation.
Children can sing melodies with simple harmonic or rhythmic accompaniment.
(2c) Songs about animals, community, friends, action, pretending, folk games from around the world, and special occasions.
(3a) Intermediate (Ages eight to nine)
(3b) Most children can sing a song in tune.
Girls’ voices continue to be very light and thin.
Boys’ voices begin to develop the rich resonance of the mature boy soprano-alto voice.
Some children can sing rounds, partner songs, canons, and descants. There is little use of alto or lower parts.
Some children have much more control over expressive qualities of singing, for example, legato, dynamics, and sustained phrases.
Some children are capable of singing melodies or parts from music notation.
Some children can harmonize parts or chords by ear, such as thirds and sixths.
Some children can sing songs with more complex rhythms.
(3c) Songs about early America, transportation, geography, the circus, planets, people, that express emotions, and from other lands.
(4a) Upper elementary (Ages ten to eleven)
(4b) Unchanged voices remain clear and light; boys’ voices become more resonant.
Some children show greater ability to sing in two and three parts.
Some children have a heightened rhythmic sense and respond to music with strong rhythms.
Many children tend to imitate the quality and style of pop singers.
Some voices begin to change-that is, boys’ voices become lower, and girls’ voices become very breathy.
Some children can read simple music notation.
(4c) Songs related to adventure, work, transportation, history, feelings, from other cultures, and countries, folk songs from America, about places or events, and contemporary popular songs.
2. Creating an environment for singing experiences- The children should be surrounded by interesting songs and many examples of good singing. They learn to reproduce the tonal sounds by imitation.
Improving posture- The children should be sitting upright, with the shoulders erect, head up, and spine/back straight.
Teaching good breathing habits to support the tone- Have them practice take in a lot of air to fill their lungs and to slowly exhale.
Finding the head voice- Help them to strength the concept of different “voices” by talking to them in different “voices” and having them repeat what you said in the “voice” you used.
Developing the ability to match tones- Use an instrument to help the children match tones.
Developing the concepts of high and low- Provide many examples of items at different levels and that will help the children understand high and low.
Discovering patterns- Having the children understand which parts in the music are repeated.