Teach Your Children

Welcome back to school everyone!  This year has gotten off to a quick, but exciting and fun start.  I feel like this a year of change for everyone.  We, as teachers, are all changing how we run our daily routine due to changes in requirements at the state level.  Flexibility is really a must these days.  I’ve been working with Mr. Rodgers at Howard Elementary to try to make our programs a little more similar so that when our students reach middle school, they are more prepared to be in band or choir.  As if that weren’t enough, my husband and I found out shortly after school released last spring that we will be welcoming our first child sometime in February…which brings me to today’s topic.  I was thinking about all of the fun things that I will be able to teach our son about music, and I realized that there are a lot of really great resources out there for parents, who aren’t as comfortable with music as I am, to use with their children.  So, I decided that over the course of my next few blogs, however many it takes to satisfy my interest, I will be exploring online resources that you can use with, or without your children.  Some will be geared more toward adults, since I know that as adults we still enjoy learning, while others will be geared more toward kids.  I hope you enjoy the websites and the blogs.  Happy online learning!

1.       Pandora: I love this website and app for my iPhone!  It personalizes radio stations to your preferences.  I love starting my day off with my Toto station, listening to some ‘80s music.

2.       San Francisco Classical Voice http://www.sfcv.org/kids-family?gclid=CN-ImIPd1qsCFULBKgodXR3MOg :This website features a kids and family podcast, a list of books and listening selections for kids, and links to many of the websites listed in this blog.

3.       Carnegie Hall http://www.carnegiehall.org/ORC/Games-and-Listening-Guides/ :  This website offers an interactive guides through the history African American music, history of Carnegie Hall, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and a walk through the orchestra.  I love the history of Carnegie Hall with the accompanying game.

4.       Classical Chops http://www.classicalchops.org/ : This website is geared more toward teenagers and has cool videos and information on classical musicians, composers, and conductors.

5.       Classics for Kids http://www.classicsforkids.com/ : This is a great website if you want to expose your child to classical music.  Classics for Kids is a radio show, and they’ve put their show onto this website so kids everywhere can learn about classical music.  I love that this site lets you choose a topic, listen to the show relating to that topic, listen to the music that goes with the topic, then quizzes you on it!

6.       Dallas Symphony Orchestra http://www.dsokids.com : I absolutely love this website.  It has some really fun games, such as Beethoven’s Baseball and Time Machine.  It also has a listening center that offers options such as listening to music by a certain composer, exploring how different instruments sound, and learning music theory through sound.  The website also has a section on making your own instruments at home.  For those of you whose children take instrument or vocal lessons privately, there is even a page to help them learn how to practice effectively.

Look for more websites in my next blog!

Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Big Mistake

Even professionals make mistakes.  That’s what I learned while watching Christina Aguilera perform the National Anthem during Sunday’s Super Bowl.  I have conflicting feelings about the faux pas.  The critic in me wants to scream out, “You just don’t mess that up!”  While the performer in me is saying, “I might have made the same mistake if I had been singing all alone in front of that many people.”  The teacher in me says, “That’s why I spend two weeks at the beginning of each school year teaching my students the words to The Star Spangled Banner.”  Northwestern has so many amazingly talented children, who’s to say that we may not someday see one of them on that Super Bowl stage?  So, each year I make sure that my students know the words to The Star Spangled Banner.  Though the words are difficult to learn, they aren’t impossible to memorize, and the more we study and understand the words, the easier they become.  That is why we not only memorize the words, but spend time learning the meanings of the words and the history behind them.  By sixth grade our students should have a firm understanding of the treasured song.

Christina Aguilera’s mistake made for a great teaching moment.  My older students were able to pick out the mistake and describe what happened.  But I forgive Ms. Aguilera for her mistake.  We all make mistakes and it seems like we always make them at the worst possible times, for instance, the biggest football game of the year.  Whether the words just proved too difficult, she was too nervous, or as one news source suggested, she was trying too hard to be an Aretha Franklin-like diva, I’m sure it won’t happen again.

Natalie Imbruglia

One Voice

Vocal Health Blog #1: General Vocal Health

Every day I am confronted with students who have various vocal ailments.  Whether it is a sore throat or a hoarse cough, I am reminded of how important it is for us to learn about how to care for our voices.  Taking care of your voice is as important as taking care of the rest of your body, yet we often forget to do it.  Many of us abuse and misuse our voices without even knowing that we are doing it.  I am just as guilty as the rest, and I’ve been trained to use my voice properly and lectured on vocal health more times than I can remember.  So, I did some research for all of us.  This blog and the ones to follow will help you and your student implement good vocal practices.

Hydration: Things to Avoid and Remedies

Our vocal cords need to stay well-hydrated in order to work properly.  Here are some things to avoid, if possible.

·         Areas/rooms with low humidity, such as air conditioned rooms, rooms heated with gas heating, and airplane cabins.  The Fix- Drink plenty of water!  If you are at home, a humidifier can also help manage the issue of dry air.

·         Antihistamines.  Antihistamines that are included in cold/flu and allergy medicines cause dryness to occur.  The Fix- Always drink plenty of water!

·         Caffeinated drinks.  Drinks that include caffeine cause dehydration.  That means that we should avoid drinks such as sodas, tea, and yes, my personal favorite, coffee.  The Fix-These types of drinks are entirely avoidable, but if you’re like me, they are a guilty pleasure.  So…my personal recommendation is to drink them in moderation and make sure you drink plenty of H₂O. 

As you can see, drinking enough water is vital to keeping our vocal cords healthy.  The Texas Voice Center recommends that we drink at least two quarts of water per day!

Colds: What Not to Do and What to Do Instead

Cold season always brings new challenges to vocalists.  Really, whether a singer or just someone who speaks to others on a regular basis (that includes almost everyone), we need to know how to care for our voices during a cold.

·         Clearing your throat.  Believe it or not, clearing your throat can cause damage to your voice if it is not done properly.  So, what can we do when we’ve got that mucus making us sound like we’ve got a “frog in our throats”?  The Texas Voice Center recommends that you take a deep breath, hold your breath for a moment then make a silent “H” sound while you exhale.

·         Harsh coughing.  I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got a cold I feel like the only way to get that mucus out of my body is to cough really hard.  Though effective in breaking up the “gunk,” harsh coughing can be very damaging to your vocal cords.  Instead, try to cough lightly when you have to and use cough drops to help keep your vocal cords hydrated.   The Texas Voice Center says that the safest way to get mucus out is by, “using a gentle, breathy productive cough where there is high airflow with little sound.”

·         Mucus.  So, if we aren’t supposed to cough hard enough to break up the mucus, what do we do?  Try using an expectorant.  www.medterms.com defines and expectorant as, “A medication that helps bring up mucus and other material from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea.”  Don’t be confused though, expectorants are different from cough medicines.  You can find over-the-counter expectorants anywhere you can buy cough medicine.

·         Losing your voice.  When we “lose” our voices during a cold, like I often do, we tend to try to speak through it.  We whisper or speak normally using our hoarse voice as is.  Neither of those is a good option.  The best thing to do is to try to avoid talking altogether.  I know it’s not an easy thing to do, but it is what’s best for our vocal cords.

·         Sore throats.  How do we know when not to sing or speak when we have a sore throat?  The general rule is that if the act of vocalizing (talking, singing, etc.) causes more pain then don’t do it. Period.

General Things to Know

·         Your voice is connected to the rest of your body, so regular exercise helps your voice too!

·         Eating healthy meals helps keep our voices and bodies in shape.

·         If you’re a talker, like me, take a break and let others do the talking sometimes.  Excessive and prolonged talking is bad for the vocal cords.

·         Avoid yelling.  We all do it.  I yell from one room to the next to get my husband’s attention, and I’m sure that most of you are guilty of the same.  Yelling can cause serious damage to our vocal cords.  Sports fans, especially, need to be aware that the yelling and cheering you do at sporting events is really bad for your voice!  I know how much we all want to cheer for our team or yell at the officials after a bad call, but we must be careful!

·         Hydrate!  Hydrate!  Hydrate!

Our voices are important.  Try to imagine living life without your voice.  It’s hard to even imagine, so please, take care of your vocal cords and help your children take care of theirs!  If you would like to read more information about vocal health visit the Texas Voice Center’s website.

Barry Manilow

A Long December

It's almost time for our much-needed Winter Recess.  After our two nights of music programs last week and all of the other activities associated with the holiday season, I feel like the month of December has been very long and tiring.  Like the students, I am ready for a little rest and relaxation.

Speaking of the Christmas programs, I was extremely proud of our awesome students for bringing some of our most beloved Christmas songs to life on the stage.  We had great attendance for both nights.  It was so nice to see the auditorium filled with parents and other loved-ones.  I received many wonderful and encouraging responses to the program.  It seems like our closing song, O Holy Night, was everyone's favorite part of the program.  I have to say, it was my favorite part too.  There's nothing like hearing a whole auditorium full of people singing together.  Thank you to all of the parents who brought their students to the programs, and thank you to all of the loved-ones who attended the programs.  I wish you all a happy holiday season.

I am looking forward to the next semester.  Last year I was able to create some very fun learning centers for the third grade.  This year I am hoping to expand on that and create learning centers for more of the grade levels.  Fifth graders will be playing recorders, and learning about composers to prepare for our trip to the Indianapolis Symphony.  Sixth graders are going to be exploring the roots of popular music.  At the end of our unit, they will be doing a fun Create-A-Band project.  Fourth graders are going to begin working on songs and square dances for Pioneer Day.  Third graders will be learning how to read music through the use of a story about a man named Mr. Everybody and his musical apartment.  First and second grade students will be singing some of my favorite songs from our textbooks.

Well, that's about all I have to report on for now.  Stay warm, and have a restful Winter Recess!

Counting Crows