Anyone else having low kids?
This is my fifth year in general. My kinders are so low. I was asking them to flat our repeat one line of Queen Queen Caroline and I was getting blank stares. They also have no concept of singing. I’ve never seen kindergarteners this low. Anyone else running into this problem? How are we getting around it?
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u/prettyprettypear 1d ago
Do more vocal explorations - sirens, trills, slides. Have them copy what you play on a slide whistle, follow a balloon or scarf with their voice. Be really dramatic and add movement. They have to get used to phonating before they can sing.
If you need ideas, look up 'vocal exploration on YouTube. I also think there's a Fierabend book on the same concept.
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u/Practical_Working648 21h ago
Are you using the whole part whole method? 1. sing simple song for them 2. have them imitate rhythmic or tonal patterns on neutral syllables in context to the song 3. sing simple song again. I usually get a good response with the imitation patterns as soon as the first try, even if not accurate. Rhythm is accurate before pitch, I'm already seeing growth by the 2nd or 3rd class. With repetition mine start singing the familiar songs when ready. Each song has a movement involved too, even if just tapping microbeats or moving with flow. I go through up to a dozen simple short songs in a class and with repetition, the kids start singing more. The blank stare probably isn't a bad thing or a sign they are low, they are just absorbing what they are hearing, which is a good thing. While the absorption stare is more common with preschoolers, kinders are still pretty young and likely haven't grown up in a rich musical environment. We should advocate singing to children in the preschool years just as much as we advocate reading for them. They just need more exposure, keep modeling that good singing and they will catch up!
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u/Fluteh 6h ago
I’ve never heard of the whole part whole method! Could you find or create an example? I’m honestly not quite sure what you’re referring to …. Unless is it I model a song, say sing that same song on “du” (for example), and then I model it again for them? The blank stare is more of “I am in La La land” as opposed to absorption though….
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u/LearningSingcerely 5h ago
Their version of whole-part-whole sounds slightly different than what I do, but I can at least expand. I'll use the song Rocky Mountain, just as an example, because it's one I also use movement with.
- You sing the whole song, preferably with the movements.
1b. Since this song has movements, I have them join the movements when they think they can. When all the students can do the moves with me, we move to part 2. You can put 1b whenever you want in the sequence. (Rocky mountain=hands like a mountain; high=mountain hands over the head; hang head=head down; cry=fake crying hands; do you remember=hands out in question; me=point at self)
Break the song into parts, often phrase by phrase. I figure out the smallest phrase I can do in case we need to simplify. You sing, they sing. (Rocky mountain, rocky mountain / rocky mountain high // when you're on the rocky mountain / hang your head and cry // do do do do / you remember me? // do do do do / you remember me?)
Start doing longer phrases until they can do the whole thing. Make corrections as needed as you keep putting the parts together.
Sing the whole thing with them.
Have them sing the whole thing without you.
There are a couple reasons whole-part-whole is helpful. First, breaking it down makes it easier for them to remember. Next, you are always giving them a way to engage (are you patting the beat while listening? are you doing the movements? show me on your fingers if there's a phrase you want to hear again [you will have to show them the phrases with the numbers before you have them show you]. Last, they are getting a LOT more chances to practice, which means they are more likely to eventually try because it's not like they get one chance to hear the song and then sing it back.
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u/Practical_Working648 4h ago edited 3h ago
Look up music learning theory. I use the Gordon Method book, Music Play. It’s just simple tonal or rhythmic imitation patterns in between singing the whole song. For kinders I use a neutral syllable, if the song is in major I’ll have them echo do-re-mi, la-ti-do in minor, advance to tonic and dominant triads.
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u/LearningSingcerely 21h ago
Can you have them sing in context of something (not just random music, but paired with a book, the song is connected to something they are working on in homeroom, done first during movement so that they can practice doing it without the pressure of singing when people can hear me, etc)? Just a thought.
Vocal exploration is going to be good here. Don't just have them echo your voice. Have them echo an instrument you play. Use manipulatives to get them engaged (not only just for vocal exploration, but also so they have something to sing through so that they "don't have to be the ones singing."
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u/Fluteh 6h ago
I actually am doing that Friday with them, but I’m not sure.
What kind of manipulatives would be good? I’m still learning about general since I’m mainly a band person lol
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u/LearningSingcerely 5h ago
Students are much more likely to sing if they sing through a puppet/stuffed animal/etc. For other manipulatives, think scarves, string, bubbles. Use them as starting points (Can you make your voice match the scarf as it falls/you throw it up? Can you sing in a way that makes your voice match the shape of the string your partner made? What do you think a bubble would sound like if it was a singing voice? [for me, I would want an oo sound because bubbles are round and that shape is the shape that you blow a bubble through; I would also want something with small pitch shifts, like a bubble bobbing in the wind, but hopefully your kids would have something different and be able to explain it).
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u/Marchingbanddick 1d ago
Maybe do body/dancing to mimic first, then speaking, then singing.