Why the pitch pipe?

One of the best things about teaching Music Together is that we get to interact not only with the children, but also with the adults in class. And very often, the adults have really great questions. Something I was asked recently was, why do the teachers always use a pitch pipe in class?
Well, it's not just because we find the sound so utterly beautiful. Since I don't have perfect pitch, I use the pitch pipe to find the correct key and starting note for each song. This will always be the same key that you hear on the recordings. You see, the songs are pitched rather specifically so as to be appropriate for a child's voice. A lot of popular music (and even a lot of recorded children's music) is quite low; comfortable for an adult to sing along with, but not really comfortable or healthy for a child's singing voice. Singing in tune is one of the main components of basic music competence; this skill is much harder to achieve if you're forever singing songs where you have to struggle to sing the right notes!
So, what is a proper vocal range for a young child? For the most part, it's from about middle C, to the D that is an octave above that note. That's a range of just over one octave. Now and then you'll notice an MT song that briefly goes a little higher, or a little lower, but for the most part they'll stay within that range.
By the way, this range is also very healthy and singable for adults, but a lot of us are accustomed to singing and speaking in our chest voice rather than our head voice. All that means, really, is that we're much more comfortable with the lower register of our voice that we are with the higher one. Getting used to using both of them is just a matter of practice, so start singing those MT songs with your child!

Music Together Outreach

I hope everyone has had a great first two weeks of the Bells collection! Remember to keep singing and moving with your kids at home. Remember, you are their most important music teacher.
Did you know that the parent/child program is not the only version of Music Together? The program is also available for use in a preschool setting, and we are fortunate to be able to provide Music Together as an outreach program for pre-kindergarten students at the Early Childhood Center in Sand Springs.
Many of you know Teresa Mossburg, who taught several of our classes at the Conservatory last year. She's now doing a wonderful job of teaching MT in Sand Springs.
There's a nice article in today's paper about the program. Click here to access it. (And feel free to leave positive comments in the space below the article if you are so inclined!) If you have any questions at all about it, please let me know. There are a few differences between the parent/child and the pre-k programs, but the basic goal is the same: to help kids reach basic music competence in a fun, age-appropriate fashion.
Have a great week!

Christy

Welcome back!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good break and are excited to be back for the winter session of Music Together. Returning families, you probably remember that when you signed up for class for the first time, you were given a booklet called "Music and Your Child," which explained the Music Together philosophy, as well as including several good things to know about your child's musical development.

Well, that booklet has now been replaced by a DVD parent guide. Our new families are receiving it along with their regular class materials. However, if you're a returning parent but would like to see the DVD, you may watch it at www.musictogether.com/parentguideDVD. Personally, I found it really interesting and very enjoyable.

Thank you so much for joining us for this session. We're so lucky to have so many great families in our program. I hope you're enjoying the Bells collection so far, and I'm looking forward to a great winter of music-making with everyone.

Christy

Making musical memories

I just have to brag about one of my classes.

Two weeks ago, during the last class of the session, we were in the middle of our free dance. "Palo, palo," was playing, everyone was dancing and singing and having a great time. In the middle of the song, the music stopped. When it didn't immediately start up again, everyone in the class looked up, waited for approximately one second, then continued singing right where the recording had left off. We continued the rest of the free dance with just our voices and it was wonderful. In fact, it was one of my favorite moments of this entire session.

If you've been in Music Together for any length of time, you've heard us say that you are your child's most important music teacher. Hopefully, you've read the parent guide and understand the importance of creating musical moments with you children. We get so used to having music all around us - on the television, on the radio . . . some of it's glorious, and some of it . . . well, I won't get into that. But it's easy, and tempting, to leave the music-making to the pros, to just enjoy listening but forget about creating. What a loss that is! Your voice is so much more important to your child than that of any recorded musician.

I should mention that when we had that wonderful moment in class a couple of weeks ago, the class was on the small side. So there was not the comfort of "hiding" your voice in the crowd. (Not that anyone there needed to hide, it's a great group of singers.) Yet everyone sang enthusiastically and was completely involved with their child. It was music making at its best.

Remember during this busy holiday season that it doesn't take much to make musical memories with your child. Maybe you can turn off the radio in the car and just sing with your kids. Maybe you can take out some instruments (pots and pans included) while you have music on at home and have a "play along." Whatever it is you do, I hope you and your children have a great time making music!

Christy

Dip, dip, and . . . sing!

I love singing "Canoe Song" from our current Bongos collection. I love the ostinato of "Dip, dip, and swing." The song's melody, especially when sung in a round, sounds very beautiful to me. But, several parents have mentioned that this is a song they have a hard time learning. Perhaps because it's so high - does that make it more difficult to sing?
Well, we probably perceive it that way. In reality, the song isn't pitched any higher than the other songs in the collection. The highest note in the song (the second syllable of the word "silver") is a D, and a great many of the Music Together songs go that high. However, what makes this one seem higher is that it takes a pretty good sized leap to get to that D - the note right before it so much lower. The large interval makes it seem like more of a strain to reach the note. But don't be fooled! Other songs in the collection that go equally high are "Palo, Palo", "L'il Liza Jane," and "Train Is a-Comin," just to name a few.
So be confident when you sing that D. And don't worry if you don't get it exactly right. Remember the most important thing - that you're setting an example for your child by creating musical moments. And those moments don't have to perfect - they just have to happen.

Welcome

Welcome to the Barthelmes Beat, a blog for our Music Together families. We hope that this will be a place to get information about our program, and learn things you didn't already know about music education for your children. If you ever have any comments or questions, please feel free to add them here. And if there's anything you'd ever like to see addressed in the blog, please let me know.We're happy to have such great families in our program, and we hope that this is useful for you. Happy reading!