The Power Of Games in Music Lessons

The Power Of Games in Music Lessons
How our music school grew from 6 to over 200 students in
under two years.

When my wife and I started our music school - everyone
around us thought it could'nt be done. It really hadn't
been done in our home town much and no one we knew had ever
quit their day job as a teacher to go and run their own
music school business. we weighed up the pros and cons of
it all and decided after it all that it was a challenge
that we wanted to pursue. So we went ahead and before we
knew it we leased a commercial premise, found ourselves a
program and we were on our first opening day ready a raring
to go!

Our first term was tough - we enrolled thirty students and
half of them quit within a few weeks. We coudn't work it
out - here we were fully established, credible teachers and
it wasn't working. What were we doing wrong?

We could no longer think the same as we previously did in
working in schools and operate the same teaching methods
because they were not working. Something we were doing was
not right and we had to find out what it was quickly.

We talked to our six families that we had on board and any
families which came through our doors. We asked them all
the one simple question: "What is it that you would like to
get out of have music lessons for your child?"

With this question we found out some very important
information. Because our parents were doing this in their
free time with their children, it had to be FUN. A parent
didn't want to pay for lessons if it was all too hard or if
their child didn't enjoy it and they definitely didn't want
to bring their children because it was good for them.

The other observation we made was that if a parent enjoyed
lessons, then their child would as well. The parent didn't
even have to be in the room, but when a parent asked their
child how their day was and what happened in music, if
their child was excited about it, it would in turn make the
parent excited as well. It had to be fun for both child and
parent.

With this information, we started implementing different
ideas. The children would tell us that they enjoyed playing
games and so we took this to the next level. In fact
everything in our music sessions became a game of some
description.

Teachers never had a chance to sit down in our school -
they were too busy having fun and playing games. Notes
would be learnt with stories and note races, kids would be
running up to the piano with special cues, games were
played learning pieces - even aural activities were a game.

In general the place became a bustling games area! .... And
the other thing that started happening was that we were
suddenly growing out of control. We only had a small music
school premises, but suddenly there was no room left in the
car park, in the hallways and parents wanted to start
learning in this method as well in our lunch hour!....many
had told us that MUSIC HAD NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN! On top
of this, our older students started achieving the highest
exam results we had ever seen...

So what changed?

All we did was come up with strategies in playing games.
Basically we came up with literally thousands of games
ideas and on a lesson to lesson basis and for two years we
tested them, made them work and we taught them to our staff
members and students. The spin off effect was that students
started remembering more...and therefore achieved higher
grades. In essence this is what the FUN music company is
about. We no longer have time to teach anymore because we
are too busy packaging the ideas we have been using in our
years as music teachers. It is impossible to be a teacher
and to keep coming up with more and more ideas without an
end in sight.

So now we are ready to share these ideas with others.. so
that they don't need to be spending years getting it right.
Our passion is to make music learning fun and easy for
everyone at the click of a button - not just for those in
our home town, but to share it around the world and
increase the enjoyment of music for everyone.

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Kevin Tuck is a music teacher and entreprenuer, and
together with his wife Janice provide the vision and
passion behind the Fun Music Company, who run several
websites to help teachers and parents make music learning
fun. You can learn more about the games available from The
Fun Music Company by visiting
http://www.printablemusicgames.net

How to Take Care of Your Voice and Improve its Quality

How to Take Care of Your Voice and Improve its Quality
If you are a singer, you may have heard about things that
can cause your vocal quality to deteriorate. Voice fatigue
is a major problem for many professional singers. You
might find your voice feeling dry or tired often. You may
get sore throats on a regular basis. Vocal fatigue can be
caused by several things, so it is important, if you plan
to sing often, that you are very careful to take care of
your voice properly.

If you suffer from heartburn or acid reflux, you are at
even more risk for reduced vocal quality. As a singer, you
may be aware that your larynx is, after all, vital, and
gastro-laryngeal and gastro-esophageal acid reflux can
damage your esophagus, larynx and vocal chords over time.
Not to mention the other health problems that constant
reflux can create.

Chronic acid reflux disease can cause you to have halitosis
(incurable bad breath), a bitter taste in your mouth, a
sore throat or a dry mouth. You might also feel like you
have a lump in your throat, excessive amounts of phlegm and
feeling like you need to clear your throat on a constant
basis. As if that weren't enough, it can even cause you to
lose sleep because of discomfort in your throat and
coughing when you are sleeping. So, if you want to protect
your vocal quality and take good care of your voice, you
should see a doctor at the first signs of a serious reflux
problem. Your vocal chords will thank you for it in the
long run.

Also, sopranos who speak in a low voice may be at risk for
singers' dysphonia (difficulty producing vocal sounds).
Research indicates that speaking in a low voice and singing
in a high voice can cause vocal problems. Major changes in
pitch like that can affect sub-glottal air pressure, which
is the air pressure that builds up below the vocal chords.
In turn, that can affect the ability to produce a desired
pitch.

Sopranos whose natural speaking voices are quite low
compared to their singing voices are sometimes concerned
that this disparity may be harmful to their singing
careers. Some of these singers are right to be concerned,
for singing/speaking pitch disparity may contribute to
voice problems. Such major changes can put serious strain
on the voice because more effort is needed to control the
muscles around the larynx and vocal chords.

Sometimes, the speaking pitch of a soprano is affected by
age. Most mezzo-sopranos speak in a range between 230 and
262 Hz. However, those who speak in low pitches tend to
speak at around 224 Hz when they are young, 218 Hz when
they reach middle age and 214 Hz when they get older.

Another thing that can affect vocal quality, believe it or
not, is a woman's premenstrual period.

If you have any trouble with any of those things, you may
want to talk to a voice coach or voice pathologist. They
can tell you how to protect your vocal chords and take care
of your voice. That way you can keep your voice quality
intact for years to come.

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Find out more at http://www.singinglikepro.com