As we head into the holiday season, we are surrounded by the strains of some of our most cherished holiday songs. I found it surprising to learn that many of them were not actually written as Christmas songs. Jingle Bells Jingle Bells is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American holiday songs in [...]
Whether you are a world-class singer, enjoy singing along to the radio, or only give concerts in the shower, singing can help you feel better. Belting out one of your favourite tunes can take your mind off your troubles and boost your mood. That’s because singing releases endorphins – a chemical produced and stored in [...]
Have you ever wondered how singers can hold those long notes, or sing an entire phrase without having to take a breath? Proper breathing is one of the most important elements in singing. Breathing is something we do naturally, and is not under our conscious control. We inhale to bring oxygen into our bloodstream, and [...]
One of the primary goals in Early Childhood Music Education is to build a child’s musical vocabulary. In this case that doesn’t mean a list of words, but rather it means patterns and sounds in music. Unfortunately, the vast majority of music produced for children is based on the same pattern – a major or [...]
A good sense of beat and rhythm are one of the most important gifts you can give your child. Why? Because this helps develop graceful motor flow, by building connections between the rhythms that we hear and the movements that we put together with them. This integration of sound and movement lays the foundation for [...]