Category Archives: singing
Pop songs for boys under 10
Teaching boys under the age of 10 to enjoy singing lessons and singing.
- Start with Fun and Playful Exercises: Introduce singing through fun exercises that engage their imagination and playfulness. Games like “Simon Says” where they mimic vocal sounds or animal noises can be great warm-ups. Encourage them to sing along to their favorite songs or cartoons, making it enjoyable and natural.
- Provide Positive Encouragement: Building confidence is crucial at this age. Offer plenty of positive reinforcement and encouragement. Celebrate their efforts, no matter how small, and focus on progress rather than perfection. Create a supportive environment where they feel safe to explore their voice without fear of judgment.
- Incorporate Visual and Kinesthetic Learning: Young boys often respond well to visual and kinesthetic learning. Use visual aids like diagrams of vocal anatomy to explain concepts in a simple and engaging manner. Encourage physical movements that help with breath control and vocal projection, such as stretching or pretending to blow bubbles. Incorporating movement into singing can make it more dynamic and enjoyable for them.
By combining these approaches, you can make learning to sing a fun and rewarding experience, setting a strong foundation for their musical journey ahead.
The following songs are popular, catchy, and have relatively simple melodies and lyrics, making them suitable for young boys to sing along with and enjoy.
Number One: Hound Dog by Elvis Presley
This is a very repetitive song and has a small vocal range, making it very easy for young boys to learn quickly, sing and enjoy.
Number Two: Here comes the sun by the Beatles
Always check the key the song is in and if that key suits the child. Sometimes you may need to raise the key to make it easier to sing in their vocal range. Remember, these voices are still immature and they don’t have the vocal chords that an adult male has, meaning they are not yet able to sing really low notes.
Here is the Beatles version, as well as the same song in a higher key.
Number Three: Count on me by Bruno Mars
Number Four: Rip Tide by Vance Joy
Number Five: Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas
Number Six: It’s a good day to have a great day by Russell Dickerson
click on CC (closed captions) to see the lyrics
Number Seven: Can’t stop the feeling by Justin Timberlake
Number Eight: Footloose by Kenny Loggins
Number Nine: Fireflies by Owl City
Number Ten: Lanterns by Birds of Tokyo
Number Eleven: Crocodile Rock by Elton John
Number Twelve: Best day of my life by American Authors
8 tips to memorize lyrics to a song
Click on the image below to get my free pdf : Mastering Lyrics 8 tips for effortless memorization.
Billie Eilish
Hi! it’s Mary from Singing Strong and welcome.
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about Billie eilish’s new song, “What was I made for?” from the Barbie movie. I have not been to the Barbie movie, I haven’t had time to go and see it yet. I’ve had lots of people telling me it’s a great movie and I plan on going to see it, but there’s some great music out of this movie, in particular the song “What was I made for?”
Billie Eilish and her brother Phineas are great songwriters, they are so well versed in using music that appeals to a wide audience. I respect the work. I have a personal reason:
One: because I am a soprano and I love to sing higher.
Two: it’s not belted. Everyone talks about belting, we’re going to belt music everything has to be yelled and yes that’s good to a point, but it’s only one feature of the whole voice.
When I first heard the song I was just thrilled that she was using a light soprano voice to sing this song. Now having said that she has made a stylistic choice and I think it has a lot to do with the style of the song, you know being with Barbie dolls as a child or you know that Barbies, these were around when I was young, so I think she added all the breath personally, I think it’s a creative thing of history or nostalgia and looking back. That’s my interpretation. When they recorded that, you have to think about what is happening that she has an incredible lot of air over the vocal chords and that is going to challenge you. I would question how many times did she do each section? How long did she have in between the takes. Did she have breaks for the voice? She could have done it in only one take, but it would be very taxing on the voice, pushing so much air. You have to remember she’s in front of the microphone, it’s really close and the technology we have now to be able to you know manipulate the sound and create what they wanted to achieve.
Thank you Billie Eilish for encouraging young voices to sing with a high light soprano voice. Music and singing doesn’t always have to be pushed or belted.
2023 – The year of live performances
| After the last 3 years of the pandemic, performers are certainly making up for lost time and touring madly. Just in the last month in Australia we have had Elton John, Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and the list goes on …… This week in Melbourne Rod Stewart is performing and later in the month Pentatonix is here also. We are certainly spoilt for choice. Have you been to a live performance recently? If not, make it a goal to go and see someone live in person. There is nothing like being in a crowd at a live performance. Go and check out what’s on in your local community. You might be surprised! |
A blast from the past.
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go’s, the most successful all-female rock band of all time. Belinda will be performing in November in Australia and tickets are still available. Have fun singing along to this classic song.
Here is a singing warm up video for absolute beginners
Advanced singers enjoy this vocal warmup
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Fun Easter songs for children to enjoy singing
Below are songs, exercises and dances to sing and enjoy as we head towards the Easter long weekend.
Easter Bunny Hop Hop Hop
Click on this link to go to the Full Voice page. There are links to some singing exercises and the Easter Bunny Hop song. This is a fun song that works on arpeggios.
A fun song to dance to: The Bunny Hop from the 1950’s
Left kick, Left,
Right kick, right
forward, back, hop, hop hop.
Make a conga line with the family and have fun!
A fun Easter exercise for all ages to practice
Sing like Adele: Easy on me
Today we are going to have a look at a very small section of Adele’s song Easy on me.
We are just going to do the very beginning of the chorus: Go easy on me baby.
There are a couple of things to look at in this small section of the song.
It’s a great song, and if you haven’t listened to the whole song you can click on this link to listen to it on you tube.
The song is in F major, and this phrase begins with the tonic note, which is the beginning not of the scale -F and then you sing up a fifth, or leap up, which is the fifth note of the scale which is C.
You will find fifth intervals in lots of songs. Intervals are important to practice so that when we sing them, we land accurately on them.
Practice on the sound ng, which is the sound at the end of the word sing. The sound is closed (the tongue and soft palate are together) but you can open your mouth when you sing. This aims the sound into the front of the face.
You want to glissando (slide) up and down. As you go up, think more like you are landing on the note rather than revving up a hill.
Glissando’s on fifths exercise
Onsets
When you are attacking a phrase, especially one that begins with a vowel, there are a number of different ways you can sing it.
- Clean onset: the vocal chords come together cleanly with the sound to make a smooth, light and clear sound. To do this, connect the two words go-easy, like one word to keep it smooth.
- Aspirate/breathy onset. Air is pushed through the vocal chords to make a breathy, airy sound. Adding a h also makes it even more breathy.
- Glottal onset. The vocal chords come together quite hard to make a very strong and hard sound.
A great book for beginning singers
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Vocal Night 20th May 2021
It is with great excitement that I can announce the first Singing Strong Vocal Night for 2021.
It has been a long time since we have been able to hold an in person concert and I am so looking forward to
hearing everyone sing. I am sure you are too.
The performance will be on Thursday 20th May at 6.30pm at the VRI hall, 18/20 Queens Parade, Traralgon.
This is a casual evening, where students are given the opportunity to perform in front of an audience.
Tea and coffee will be available.
Bookings are essential and tickets are online at TRYBOOKING. Click here to book your tickets.
Singers, family and friends must all book a ticket as there is a limit on the number of people who can attend.
There will be a COVIDsafe plan in place.
The tickets are free, but I would ask if you are able, please make a small cash donation at the door to assist with covering costs.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Mary
Singing Strong
The 5 note scale
This video is all about the 5 note scale and singing it on different vowels.
Make sure that you have a low relaxed breath, legato singing (smooth and connected). Remember to have a focused sound.
Click here if you would like 1:1 singing lessons with Mary @ Singing Strong.