There is a commonly held misconception that singing either can’t be taught, or doesn’t need to be, because ‘anyone can do it’.
While it is true that each of us is born with a voice and is capable of producing musical sounds, like any other innate ability, it can be improved and harnessed to great effect through proper training, so that we become experts in our chosen field.
Nobody disputes that footballers improve through coaching and training, although anyone can kick a ball, so why should singing be any different?
Another widely-held belief is that young children’s voices can’t or shouldn’t be trained.
This is also untrue: with the enormous plasticity of children’s brains, early childhood is absolutely the best time to embed and develop any skill, music included.
Their voices should, of course, never be forced, which can cause damage to the vocal folds and lead to the development of bad techniques that cause more harm than good, but with appropriate training, fantastic results can be achieved.
Not only will they derive great joy from singing, but by learning from an early age to recruit proper vocal technique, they will be learning in a way that protects their voice, while increasing confidence and opening neural pathways that amplify their global learning skills.
Aside from the technical and academic benefits from learning musical skills, singing is proven to alleviate stress, as it stimulates the production of oxytocin (the ‘love’ hormone); an important consideration at a time when children’s stress levels and mental health issues are reported to be at record levels.
It can also be of enormous social value, opening doors to a plethora of opportunities including choirs, bands and musical theatre, and if parents join in with their young child’s music making, it can strengthen family bonds and provide a means by which to spend quality time together – everyone wins!
To start your musical adventure, contact Wendy Long for further details or an informal no-obligation chat! 😊
