Singing Lessons for Children
Children under the age of ten should take piano and voice lessons together. We call this “Music for Kids.” These lessons include learning the basics of piano and singing as well as rhythm, reading notes, etc. and are a lot of fun!
Since children under the age of ten tend to have very short attention spans, these private lessons are 30 minutes in length. Each lesson is broken down into many five to ten minute segments and each segment focuses on a variety of songs, fun exercises and games designed to prepare your child for more advanced voice lessons when they are a little older.
Serious voice lessons (Like an older child or adult would take) can damage the young and fragile vocal tissues. You don't want them to push too hard or sing too high. They can learn a tremendous amount about hearing the proper pitch (ear training) and the other items that I mentioned above though and give the child a huge head start for when they move into more serious voice lessons around the age of 10.
Additionally, our voice teachers added the following...
Not only can you do damage if you push the child to hard, but her voice will change immeasurably in the next few years. Any work on the tone or range of a voice at that young of an age is susceptible to change and irregularities. Of course, singing fun songs and learning basic musician and performance skills will put her way ahead of the curve, and make it easier to sing later on. :)
Combining piano with voice and general music study is really beneficial for building strong, engaged musicians. Most students I have worked with seem more interested the more diverse their material is - I would encourage students to see this as a really positive thing - it gives them a big head start no matter what direction they head in music later in life. But I would also add that if they are going to be learning some piano, they will need to practice outside of lessons to get the most out of the experience.
Please call us at 425-485-8310 if you have any other questions about voice lessons for yourself or your child.