High and low for singers is a less than absolute concept. Navigating pitch especially for those whose ear doesn’t naturally modulate can be a challenge. I have found in my teaching that upper register work, designed by age, can be very effective in achieving range and pitch tracking.
What does all of that mean?
Pianists move right and left for high and low.
Instrumentalists have various fingerings, breath, and embouchure approaches.
Singers? We can either sing high naturally or we learn to do so. But describing what it means to sing high and low to a youngster usually brings on the glossy eyes. Doing it brings on understanding; looking at the size of the boomwhacker helps too.
In my experience, very few people are completely tone deaf. People may not have too big of a range due to physiology. If someone can match their speaking voice to a tone, there’s usually somewhat of a workable range.
So to continue my quest in the youngster’s enduring understandings of high and low, I am going to do an interval dog ramp exercise.
We shall:
1. Explore definition of an interval.
2. Sing musical intervals on solfege.
3. Identify distance.
4. Climb the dog ramp according to intervalic distance.
Let the games begin.
(Many thanks to my innovative and inspiring friend Stephanie Leotsakos for creating this solfege step graphic.)
akintsucrooner 