By Anastasia Winterhalt
QUESTION: I am a piano teacher, but I like my students to be able to sing pitches and melodies as well. Some students are not able to match the pitch of anything or even hear sing simple ascending/descending patterns. Are there any ways of cultivating pitch awareness?
Assuming that it is not fear that is stopping the student from singing along and they are simply struggling to match pitch, I will work through a number of different approaches.
1) Match sounds to the student rather than have the student match a specific melody.
After listening to the student speak in their regular speaking voice, I will locate on the piano where their speaking voice sits. Then I have them say a few words or a sentence that moves up and down. “Hello, my name is____” and play their speech melody back to them. If it is too difficult to copy a full sentence, try using just one word (“hello” is a good one!). Once the student recognizes that the piano is matching them, they can begin to match new pitches (or at least start). Ideally, the student will be able to confirm that I am correctly imitating their sounds.
2) Mimic sounds or accents
This can be really fun and silly. Find out what shows or games they watch and if there are any characters they can copy. Animal sounds can be good too. The purpose is to get rid of the fear of making noises that they are not used to and to “play around” with the different sounds their voices can make. No judgments or worries about being correct, just copying sounds. I do think it works best when I attempt to copy their sound before asking them to copy me.
3) Create tiny melodies
After the pitch range of their speaking voice has been established, I would start with 2 and 3 note melodies moving around those pitches. For example: do-re-do, do-ti-do, do-re-mi-re-do etc.
4) Start Expanding those Melodies
Once the student is able to consistently and easily match notes around their natural speaking range, then you can start to build the melodies. You can switch between this exercise and mimicking animal sounds that expand their range.
5) Questions worth exploring.
I remember working with a student that would often sing away from the melody—far away!
I finally asked her, “Do you hear when we are not matching?”
“Yes,” she replied.
After some conversation, I discovered that she just didn’t think it was a big deal as it didn’t really bother her. (I hope that gave you a giggle too!) I am happy to report that my student understands that part of the job is to sing the melody.
How much singing happens at home?
Have they had a bad experience? Is someone at home or school telling them not to sing because of the sound of their voice? Do they think they have to sound like a famous singer (or someone else)?
I do find that after a lot of listening and going through the above activities, you will find your students can and will begin singing in their piano class!
