Take a Deep Breath

We are cruising right along ... learning notes, choreography, staging, lyrics AND trying to incorporate proper vocal technique at the same time. I felt like we needed to take a deep breath during rehearsal as the kids were up and down today -- one minute doing the Charleston in "Sleigh Ride", the next working on proper vowel placement in "On Christmas Night". They definitely have to keep their wits about them to get it all straight and they are doing just that!
One interesting fact about "Sleigh Ride" and "On Christmas Night" however, is that they both require a tremendous amount of breath control in order to sing well. We really do need to "take a deep breath"! Today we learned how to stagger our breathing when holding a note for a long time (check out the end of "Christmas Sing-Along"). We also re-emphasized deep breathing from the diaphragm as opposed to more shallow breathing with the shoulders and chest. Breathing correctly helps with singing while dancing, sustaining long notes, producing louder, clearer sound and even staying on pitch. It is important in choral singing and very important for the soloists -- a good first breath can make all the difference in sounding bright and confident.
With some simple practices we reviewed today in rehearsal, each singer can learn to better control their breath, using it as the power behind each note....or to hold their breath longer under water... or to have more volume when public speaking!

Why Do We Memorize?

Some children's choirs perform while holding their music.  While there can be some short term benefits from this (being able to perform after just a few rehearsals), we feel very strongly about our singers performing without their music.  We believe that the best performances come when the music (and choreography) are memorized and the music has really become "part of" the singer.  In order to accomplish this, we utilize four different types of memory:  kinesthetic, aural, visual and harmonic.

You can learn more about these four "memories" in this great article!

In addition, there are HUGE benefits that come from developing strong memory skills (math facts, anyone?).  We will address those in a future post!
  

3rd Week's a Charm

It is always amazing to see how quickly the kids pick up new songs, melodies, harmonies, vocal techniques, choreography...you get the idea.
This week we were able to do some review and learn a lot of new things.

One of the most important aspects of singing is the breath. It helps to power and maintain the sound. To help the kids understand the proper way to deep breathe while singing, we had them focus on their breath lying down. We then had them begin some breathing exercises standing up. A great way to start each warm-up session!

We all had a lot of fun as we began our choreography for "I Believe in Music" and reviewed choreography from "Sleigh Ride". It is tricky to dance stay in brand new formations AND sing at the same time, but they are getting the hang of it!

We were impressed today with how familiar everyone seems with the songs and lyrics. Keep listening to those Cds!

A New "Singers" Year

Much like the school calendar, we think of September as the starting of a new year at Young Midlothian Singers! We are excited about our three sessions this year, in the fall, winter and a shorter "Patriotic" session in the Spring before school gets out. We know there will be a lot of growth in vocal ability, performance technique and overall confidence. We look forward to sharing again with the community the joy we find in music.

We hope everyone enjoyed a fun and relaxing summer. We were anxious to see everyone today for our first fall rehearsal, especially as we welcomed some new faces! 

Our rehearsals are typically divided into 3 segments. Warm-ups, Lesson/Technique, and Music Rehearsal. Our warm-ups today included "Lip Trills" which help to loosen up the tongue, jaw and face prior to singing. We sounded like a bunch of motor boats and all got really itchy noses...just try it!

The excitement always builds as we start looking through the notebooks and the kids realize what song they will be singing this session! Though our program will include a lot of holiday songs, we started today on many of our songs more universal in theme. "I Believe in Music" seemed a quick favorite.


Throw your CDs in the car and get the songs stuck in your head! Can't wait 'till next week!

Spring Session Starts!

We had a lot of fun at our first rehearsal for the Spring session! We are looking forward to all of our patriotic songs and the performance opportunities we have lined up. The kids were especially excited about singing at the Richmond "Kickers" soccer game and the  "Flying Squirrels" baseball game later on this summer.

Speaking of performances, we wanted to share some photographs from our Winter performance at the Southerland Place assisted living center in March.

These types of performances are what make all the hard work for the kids really pay off. The residents were so appreciative and loved watching each Singer really shine! 

We were impressed with the kids' willingness to meet and greet our audience before we left. One of our singers said to me as we were leaving, "I think we made their day". I think so too!

YMS video!

Check out our video with the awesome singers from our first 2 sessions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tql4oGFjsQ

Bring a Friend

  We had a fun time on "Friend Day" last Thursday afternoon.

We played some vocal games, shared songs together and the Singers even got to perform a bit for their friend audience!

It was especially fun to see the kids sharing their notebooks, excited to show their friends the work they've been doing. 

It was also rewarding for them to see how much they've learned over just a few short weeks!