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First Graders Use of Singing Voice and Pitch Matching in the Elementary General Music Classroom - Amy Paz
from 2022 May TEMPO
First Graders Use of Singing Voice and Pitch Matching in the Elementary General Music Classroom
Amy Paz Woodside Avenue School, Franklin Lakes apaz@franklinlakes.k12.nj.us
Helping children find their singing voices is one important aspect of early musical development in the general music classroom (Green 1990; Nichols, 2017). Although many young students often succeed in finding their singing voice and are able to match pitch, others will need help and benefit from multiple strategies. For instance, some children may sing the contour, but not the accurate pitch. Others may match pitch inconsistently or are unable to hear the difference between a singing or speaking voice. Some students may chant or waiver between a speaking and singing voice while sustaining pitch.
Invariably, teachers will often sing to their students and expect that they will be able to successfully sing back to them, but many children have a difficult time finding their singing voices. What follows are some strategies that potentially may help students who struggle to find their authentic singing voice. Why is this important? Students who sing their authentic selves often open a “window” and, eventually a door, for the rest of their lives.
Strategies to Improving Pitch Matching There are many approaches to help children find their singing voices and assist teachers with promoting vocal exploration and pitch matching. Cardany (2017) posits that starting with free exploration of sound, and exploring melodic phrases and simple songs is a way to progress and succeed in voice development among children. Because of this, some of the strategies used in the general music classroom include play-party games, teacher modeling, and peer-echo. Sometimes there are visual props involved such as puppets or stuffed animals. Also included are techniques like vocal play such as imitating sounds such as ghosts or sirens.
Assessment in Pitch Matching
The demand to provide solid data through both formative and summative assessment strategies has an impact on music teachers every day. In order to track the progress of children’s singing, it is important to measure vocal development and achievement. Notably, general music teachers should provide a valid, consistent measure of vocal development to accurately assess children’s singing (Salvador, 2010). Because of this, what follows is an assessment tool to measure for the singing voice:
Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM)
1 Pre-singer does not sing but chants the song text 1.5 Inconsistent Speaking Range Singer sometimes chants, sometimes sustains tones and exhibits some sensitivity to pitch but remains in the speaking voice range (usually A2 to C3). 2 Speaking Range Singer sustains tones and exhibits some sensitivity to pitch but remains in the speaking voice range (usually A2 to C3). 2.5 Inconsistent Limited Range Singer waivers between speaking and singing voices and uses a limited range when in singing voice (usually up to F3) 3 Limited Range Singer exhibits consistent use of limited singing range (usually D3 to F3) 3.5 Inconsistent Initial Range Singer sometimes only exhibits use of limited singing range, but other times exhibits use of initial singing range (usually D3 to A3) 4 Initial Range Singer exhibits consistent use of initial singing range (usually D3 to A3) 4.5 Inconsistent Singer sometimes only exhibits use of initial singing range, but other times exhibits use of extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: B3-flat and above) 5 Singer exhibits use of extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: B3-flat and above)
Figure 1. Rutkowski’s (1996) Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM).
The SVDM can be used to measure childrens’ developing singing voice. It is a 5-point rating scale for general music teachers to exclusively evaluate the child’s singing voice aside from all other vocal and singing components. It is one way to “formulate a consistent vocabulary by which one can describe the singing voice development of children” (Rutkowski, 1990, p. 91).
Contextual Strategizing To test the validity of the SVDM model as an assessment tool in my own classroom, I examined different approaches and their effects with children in the first grade having difficulty finding their singing voice and accurately matching pitch. Specifically, I explored varied strategies with selected non-singers and analyzed for effectiveness in helping students match pitch. Students were selected for the study if they were evaluated at 2.5 or lower on the SVDM.
Notably, students who measured 2.5 or lower were either inconsistently using their singing voices, wavering between speaking or singing, or unable to match pitch. The eleven students that scored 2.5 or lower then became my sample and those scores were recorded. This became their baseline score and I set up a chart to record the measurement for each new assessment.
Each succeeding class, I introduced a different strategy for matching pitch and finding their singing voice that involved individual singing. I taught a singing game, a vocal exercise, or a short song; then recorded the measurement assessment according to the SVDM. The strategies I tested included a play party game that included solo singing, self-led vocal exploration, teacher echo fragment singing, teacher echo fragment singing into a prop (toy microphone), partner singing, question and answer on so-mi to a puppet, peer echo, and solo singing a simple song.
Figure 2 shows and compares scores between the eleven tested students.
Vocal Exploration 5 2.5 3 4 4 2 4 1 2 3.5 3
Teacher Echo 2 1 2 3 3.5 2 1.5 1 2.5 3 2.5 Teacher Echo with Prop 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.5 3.5 2.5 2 2 3.5 3 2.5
Partner Sing 3 2.5 3 3.5 4 2.5 2.5 2 3.5 3 3
Puppet Q & A 2 2.5 2.5 4 4 2 1 1 3 1.5 3
Peer Echo 2.5 2.5 3 4 4 2 2.5 2 3 3 2.5
Simple Song 2.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 2.5 2 1.5 2.5 2 2
Figure 2. SVDM Ratings on each strategy
The most striking observation among all the vocal strategies showcased that vocal exploration seemed most successful for all students. Likely this is because students led their own vocalized patterns and created self-guided visual imagery. One way this strategy proved successful was that students focused on their fingers painting in the air while their fingers traced their voices. They laughed and enjoyed creating ghost and siren sounds. Additionally, there was a much higher success rate in finding their singing voice when doing so involved singing with a prop. Again, they were focused away from the sounds of their voices and instead focused on the prop and the imaginary play part of the strategy.
During the “puppet-based” question-and-answer activity, students thoroughly enjoyed answering individual questions and singing their answers. This particular strategy brought out lots of laughter and smiles. Indeed, students focused on the puppet in front of them and released any inhibitions about their singing voices. The simple song, “Frog in the Meadow,” seemed to be the most difficult vocal strategy for many students. I needed to jump in several times and redirect their pitch.
In total, I examined eight strategies in the hopes of helping children match pitch and find their singing voice. I uncovered that, in the cases where the child’s focus was off their own singing and on a visual prop held in front of them (e.g., the puppet), there was a much higher rate of success in matching pitch and finding an authentic singing voice. In aggregate, the vocal exploration strategy where students controlled the pitch pattern showcased the greatest success. Notably, the absence of lyrics and the student-controlled vocalizations in combination helped students achieve higher scores on the SVDM.
Final Thoughts
When seeking strategies for helping students match pitch and find their singing voices, the simplest activities seem the most successful. The vocal exploration was not only a class favorite, but pro-
duced the most successful singing among my students. This specific activity did not involve any lyrics and students vocalized on a neutral syllable. It was enjoyable, light and students had the opportunity to be playful and creative. They enjoyed making the sounds of ghosts, cars, sirens, and other reproducible sounds. They loved painting those creative sounds in the air with their fingers and thrived having control over the process
The usefulness of “play” in the elementary classroom such as playparty games, dances, movement, circle games is undeniable. Such activities are important ways to assess student growth and practice skills; it is important to foster this play in music lessons for musical reasons, but also for more social and emotional considerations, too. Finding ways to accomplish all these goals while helping students experience joy in school helps develop and support student confidence. It is not easy to fully be oneself in front of others; singing alone in front of others is one way in which students share who they are and can become. Because of this, developing the skills to sing, match pitch, and find one’s own singing voice is as much a musical endeavor as it is a keen lesson in vulnerability. Because of this, it is important for music teachers to help students in as many ways as possible to be themselves through their voices. Indeed, elementary general music teachers can help foster students’ sense of “fearlessness” by finding creative strategies so they can sing in front of others. Doing so is not only important in the elementary general music classroom; it is also important in order for students to develop the necessary skills and dispositions for a life filled with song. Cardany, A. B. (2017). Favorite children’s books for vocal exploration and pitch-matching activities. General Music Today, 30(3), 22–25.
Green, G.A. (1990). The effect of vocal modeling on pitch-matching accuracy of elementary schoolchildren. Journal of Research in Music Education, 38(3), 225-231.
Nichols, B. E. (2017). Constructing singing assessments for the music classroom. General Music Today, 30(3), 13–17.
Rutkowski, J. (1990). The measurement and evaluation of children’s singing voice development. The Quarterly Journal of
Teaching and Learning, 1(1& 2), 81-95.
Rutkowski, J. (1996). The effectiveness of individual/small-group singing activities on kindergartners' use of singing voice and developmental music aptitude. Journal of Research in Music
Education, 44(4), 353-368.
Salvador, K. (2010). How can elementary teachers measure singing voice achievement? A critical review of assessments, 19942009. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 29(1), 40–47.
