CA M P S , A R T S + A C T I V I T I E S
Singing Should Be a Part of Every Kid’s Life Here are four ways to get started By Tera Schreiber If you are looking for a way to give your child a boost socially, emotionally and academically, you just might find the answer through song. “Children who regularly sing in a group develop self-confidence, self-discipline, listening and memory skills, and they demonstrate improved grades and academic achievement. They develop confidence in their own abilities as singers and musicians, and they experience the joy and satisfaction of creating something beautiful in teamwork with others,” says Sara Boos, artistic director and conductor of Northwest Girlchoir. The evidence is not just anecdotal. A growing body of research documents the calming yet energizing effect of group singing on people. Here’s how to get your kid involved.
1. Start young — sing with your preschooler. Singing helps preschoolers with everything from language acquisition to developing confidence and emotional intelligence. You can reap these benefits by singing at home or by taking one of the many preschool music classes in our region, such as Kindermusik (kindermusik.com) and Music Together (musictogether.com), which typically include movement, games, stories and play with simple rhythm instruments. These music education providers have all adapted programming amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
2. Choirs, choirs everywhere! Starting at around age 5, kids can gain a meaningful musical education by joining a choir: In addition to church and school choirs, there are dozens of member choirs in the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium (seattlesings.org), a number of which are exclusively children’s choirs. Kids can explore girl- or boy-only choirs or mixed-gender choirs for all ages. Or the whole family can get involved by seeking out a family choir. Many choirs offer scholarships for those who find the price of music education prohibitive; and different choirs ask varying levels of commitment from families. For example, choirs such as Northwest Girlchoir (northwestgirlchoir.org) and Northwest Boychoir (the two are not affiliated; nwchoirs.org) require multiple practice sessions
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a week and, for higher levels, a commitment to touring. But Endolyne Children’s Choir (endolynechoir.org), based in West Seattle, doesn’t require auditions and requests only a single afternoon of rehearsal a week. In a choir, your child may have the chance to sing music from other cultures, in other languages, classical music, historical pieces and modern popular music. Musical selections and priorities will vary. Check out some concerts (Greater Seattle Choral Consortium is a terrific resource) and explore the philosophical and musical goals of the choir to find the best fit for your family.
3. From ‘Hamilton’ to fairy tales with musical theater For both new converts and longtime aficionados of musical theater, being in a show (or taking a theater class) is a great way to experience singing. Around the Puget Sound area, choose from intense, competitive, professionalquality experiences for teens, such as the Rising Star Project at the 5th Avenue Theatre (risingstarproject.org), or from smaller theaters that support musical theater education and performances with kids of all ages, such as Studio East (studio-east.org) in Kirkland. Village Theatre’s Kidstage program (villagetheatre.org), Seattle’s Broadway Bound (broadwaybound.org), Youth Theatre Northwest (youththeatre.org) and Olympia Family Theater’s youth program
(olyft.org) are other well-known musical theater programs for kids.
4. Sing in a band or start a family band. “When my daughter was 12, she felt like she didn’t fit in,” recalls Seattle mom Nicole Durbin. “At School of Rock [schoolofrock.com], she found a community of kids like her.” Durbin recalls that during almost five years as a lead vocalist with her School of Rock bandmates, her daughter did everything from memorizing lyrics to practicing until she mimicked the pitch, tone and tempo of The Doors singing “The End” and Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel of Love.” Shoreline dad Brian Peterka realized his long-held goal of learning to play guitar when his youngest child, Zeth, was a baby. He started practicing guitar and singing to the kids at bedtime. Over time, his wife’s fiddle lessons and his guitar lessons led to jamming in the living room, and eventually included the kids. Although now the family plays less often together, the kids still appreciate the gift of music they received. If you want to start this kind of musical legacy in your own family, Peterka recommends, “Get started now!” For a list of places to sing in the Puget Sound region, visit parentmap.com/singalong. Tera Schreiber is a freelance writer from Seattle and the mother of three children.
