Miss Donna 4 Music

I and finishing up my first week of summer camps today and I have 2 more weeks to go! It’s been fun so far, not as many students as I hoped, but the ones who have come have been very engaged. I even had a couple adults join my kids classes where we were singing silly songs and jumping around!! It was great!

I’ve had 4 summer camps every day this week and will have the same ones again next week. In the morning I’ve had SingAlong Music Circle at 10amEDT, where we learn the basics of rhythm and singing, and add movement to our songs.

At 11amEDT, we have Piano Music Games. In this class, we also learn about rhythm, tempo, dynamics, 5-finger scales, and chords, along with simple piano techniques, and we play games throughout the class to help reinforce the concepts.

Then in the afternoon, at 2pmEDT, we have Kids Sing Disney. A class where we learn basic singing techniques that are healthy and appropriate for young voices. There is much debate about whether or not kids should learn to sing. Some think they should not, because their voices are fragile and immature and certain vocal techniques could cause damage to their developing voices. Some of that can be true. BUT if you have a teacher who is experienced in working with young voices that is not the case. It is important for young singers to develop that sense of correct pitch, correct breathing techniques, and proper vowel shape BEFORE they begin developing bad habits that can damage their voice, a lot of which are caused by trying to sing pop songs that are too difficult and out of range. That’s part of what we do in this class. Focus on healthy techniques and sing Disney songs that have the range and quality to fit young developing voices.

Then, after singing, we have Rhythm Band at 3pmEDT. In this class, the focus is…quess what?? Rhythm!! Every musician needs a good foundation in solid rhythm. And you don’t need any fancy, expensive instruments to do it. In fact, you can turn almost anything into a rhythmic musical instrument, which is exactly what we do in this class. We learn about different note types and rhythm patterns, and we practice them using “home found” instruments. On Day 1, I used an oatmeal container as a drum. On Day 2, I used a box of pasta as a shaker. On Day 3, I used a metal strainer and scraper across it with a spoon to make a great scratchy sound!

It give kids a chance to use their creativity and imagination and be able to create music even if they don’t have an instrument, no how to play one, or can’t afford one!

All these same camps will be offered next week again, though I’ve switched up the times a bit. I hope you’ll join me in one of those classes for some summer fun! And stay tuned to hear whats going on in week 3!