- What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
- My recorder must be broken - it doesn't sound right!
- Why do I have to look at the music page?
- Why do we have to do the music papers all the time?
- What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
- My Recorder still won't play, what can be wrong?
What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
When you have a sore throat, either sing softly or don't sing. If
you have
chorus, tell me and I will let you sit out. BUT you still have
alot to do,
read along, pay attention, you can still learn alot. Also, at
home, fix a
glass of warm water and put a little lemon juice in it and gargle
it. You
don't have to drink it, just spit it out. Lemon is the BEST thing
for a
singer's throat. Celine Dion does this before EVERY concert she
sings!!!
My recorder must be broken - it doesn't sound right!
Alot of children tell me this when they start recorder. And you
know what? It is NEVER true. The recorder is not broken, what is
happening is that your fingers are not covering the holes all the
way. The more notes we learn the more holes you will have to
completely cover. It doesn't take pressing hard, all you need to
do is make sure that the pads of each finger fully covers the
holes. This includes the thumb too. And I always tell children to
feel the holes under their fingers. Good luck!
Why do I have to look at the music page?
You may have heard me tell the classes that "I know I'm beautiful
but the notes are not on my face." I want you to look at the page
and get used to seeing the notes there. You are actually learning
and training your brain many things all at once. You are learning
to focus on those little black circles (notes), you are learning
to cover the recorder holes, you are learning to think about what
note you are looking at (the name of it), and then you are
telling your fingers what to do. This all happens in less then a
second for each note you play. So the more you look at the page,
right now, the quicker you will be able to do this.
Why do we have to do the music papers all the time?
Learning to read music is like learning to read. Do you know that
you spend 3 hours every day, in first grade, learning to read?
And by third grade you still spend a great deal of time
practicing reading. Music is like this too. As old as I am I
still don't know everything about music. This is why we do the
papers - to practice the basics of reading music so that when you
get your instrument for fourth grade, you already know what you
need to know to play in band or orchestra.
What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
I am a little different then many other voice teachers in school
districts. I
was operatically trained by Beatric Littau of the New York
Metropolitan Opera.
I do not teach, as many teachers do, that there are 3 registers.
Instead I
teach what is called the "Open Throat" method. The concept of this
technique
is that our voice is all one, like a rubber band. I approach it
as one
instrument inorder to creat a smooth continuum throughout the
voice, with no
break points. So I start by teaching children to "open their
throats". I'll
say things like "put the orange in your mouth" or "give me
shape". Opera
singers specialize in keeping their position in singing; the best
ones do
anyway. It's like the difference between sitting up straight and
slouching.
When I want you to keep the position in singing I'll say "you are
the king
rolling out the red carpet, looking down" or "pull the puppet
string." The
final part to the package is breath. Many times in opera, the
singers do not
use microphones, they can through the use of air put out
incredible sound.
When it gets close to concert time, especially I teach the
children how to
"fill the room with sound."
My Recorder still won't play, what can be wrong?
If you have tried to feel all the holes and you are sure that you
are covering each hole fully, try paying attention to your
tongue. Some people actually put their tongue over the mouth
piece hole and this blocks the air from going through. Once you
move your tongue out of the way you should be fine.