


by Jenny Walters
by Leandra Merea Strope
People learn to sing as they learn language. A child who is surrounded by singing will learn to sing in tune by the time she is using language, sometimes earlier. Like any language or form of expression, the earlier we learn the more easily it comes. And also like any language or form of expression, the window on a person’s ability to learn to sing is open throughout life.
If your child is not yet matching pitch, here are some things you can do to help.
by Leandra Merea Strope
Summer camp is a fun time to get to know other singers and to dig into some of the skills we use in Sisters’ Voices rehearsals.
We start each day with stretching – warming up our bodies (because singing is a full-body physical activity!) and our voices. Usually this involves some yoga-like meditative slow stretching, deep breathing, and exploring the many sounds our voices can make. It also often involves some tai chi-like movement, working for balance, connection to our breath, and continuous motion.
After we have warmed up we sing! Camp singing is aimed at developing a beautiful sound together using folk songs and canons from our songbook and beyond.
Singers have time during the day to move around to centers that support the exploration of anatomy (especially how bones and muscles work together to support breath and physical alignment or posture), tongue twisters (to help develop great enunciation and diction), solfege, jumping rope with rhymes, and the International Phonetic Alphabet (that can help us learn to sing in other languages). There is also ample time for playing games as a large group, practicing solos and small ensemble pieces, eating, beading, drawing, talking with friends …
Singers of all levels of experience and skill are welcome to join in this fun and supportive summer adventure!
Mailing Address:
(please note, this is NOT our rehearsal address)
407 Tinkerbell Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Email:
leandra@sistersvoices.org
EIN #: 27-3186007