During times of crisis, many of us find comfort in gathering together, often singing in worship. Unfortunately, that might not be a good idea right now due to the uncertainty of exactly how COVID is spread and contracted in the community.
Dr. Heather Nelson, a vocologist with a PhD in voice pedagogy and voice science shares, her insight into how we can be cautiously creative when it comes to gathering and singing at this time.
Listen to the full episode here
Singing is a valuable asset for music study
Parents can help their piano kids develop a stronger sense of music internally through singing and listening.
Use singsong in your conversations. Instead of speaking, sing your words. You may feel silly at first but that’s what children love!
Call and response – you sing a question and your piano kid sings an answer – teaches phrasing and melodic line.
Folk Songs – keep the songs of your people and your community alive by teaching them to your children, even if you choose to make up your own! Sing a book instead of merely reading it.
Sing the lyrics of the songs in your piano books. Sing the notes of the melody you are playing. Your teacher will be delighted to know you are practicing the names of the notes on the staff!
Listen to instrumental music. The music of Mozart, in particular, has distinctive sections for children to listen for. Encourage them to move differently as each section of music changes.
Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saënz and Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev are excellent choices for helping children learn tonal color of instruments of the orchestra.
We tend to learn things deeply when they are set to music. Think of the alphabet song or days of the week. … Singing can help implant them into our brains more deeply.
The corpus callosum is a conduit between the two hemispheres of the brain. Singing and playing instruments use both sides of the brain and the Corpus Callosum helps them to communicate. The more we sing and the more we play, the more synaptic connections in the brain we have.
Caution Regarding Singing in Groups
Heather goes into great detail about the current research (at the time of our recording on May 25, 2020) regarding how scientists believe COVID is spread along with interesting information about how we project moisture into the air when we speak, sing, cough, or sneeze.
I encourage you to read her blog directly by going to this link.
For the purpose of these show notes, I will focus on information and creative suggestions we discussed on the podcast.
Heather and her county health director recommend avoiding “Intensity and Density.” Being in a confined place for a longer period of time appears to increase your chances of spreading or contracting the virus.
The tough question is whether we should continue to avoid gathering together or try to sing with masks on or find some other way to corporately worship. Ultimately, you have to decide what is best, what is safest, for your family in light of how your community is affected.
Your solutions might be creative and unconventional under normal circumstances but these are not normal circumstances.
Consider these comparisions:
- Outside is better than inside
- Fewer people singing in a group is better than more people
- Lesser time singing versus more time singing.
- Change your corporate worship to something other than singing.
- Play a recording
- Use various percussion instruments to shake as a group
Use this time as an excuse to be creative with your worship.
Let Everything Praise the Lord
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Resources mentioned in this episode
First Steps in Music by Dr. John Feierabend.
Read the blog Heather first wrote about Singing, the Church, and COVID-19. This was my first introduction to Heather’s research and how she distills information in a way that is much easier for a novice to understand.
Reach out to Heather for vocal coaching or a vocology consultation.
Join Heather’s Musical Mystery Mail Summer Program!
Final Thoughts
No matter what the situation is in your community, COVID or otherwise, you have the power and the ability to structure the music of your household. Use this time and Heather’s suggestions to incorporate singing as a family and as part of your child’s music education.
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