Yes! Keep encouraging them. I used to write on the board:

SINGING IS AN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ENDEAVOR

and we would play "hangman" using the blanks. The missing word is,
of course, ATHLETIC. I am not generally in favor of applying sports
metaphors to music, but with this age student, it often works. They
approach singing with so little energy and commitment that some
strategy is needed, so I'll use anything that works.

So, after all the technical aspects are being taught correctly (i.e.,
we are not trying to get them to YELL like the crowd in the stadium!)
I think using evocative language and metaphors can help. Sometimes I
would say "You're singing like slow pitch softball.. what it would be
like to sing like fast pitch baseball?) In some cases I would
actually bring a softball to class and when they sang like you're
describing, I would take the softball and pretend like it was really
heavy. I'd pretend to throw it, but as if it were so heavy it would
land approximately a foot from my feet. And then I'd say... "That's
how you're pitching your sound, you must pitch with more energy. We
want your sound to travel like a good pitch." If you don't like the
sports stuff, I've said "Remember all the times you don't like me?
Make your sound a silver drill and DRILL IT RIGHT THROUGH MY BALD
HEAD." You can do kinesthetic things like.. as they sing, have them
take their index fingers, and starting out with their hands close to
their bodies, have them point at your head, slowing extending their
arms toward you slowly, pointing at your head, as they sing.

Or "frying ants." Rays of the sun falling parallel do not fry ants.
But when the rays are focused to one spot by a magnifying glass, they
become so much more powerful. So encourage them to not sing
"Parallel"... i. e. straight out to the audience, but to "focus" their
rays on you to become more powerful. The mere act of thinking this
will improve their tone. When they get used to this you can just say
"the ant is not frying" as they sing, and they'll correct automatically.

Sometimes it's a matter of "adduction".. sometimes middle school kids
love the technical names for stuff. So we'd demonstrate a "too-tight"
adduction.. grunting as if lifting a heavy object. Then we'd
demonstrate a "too-loose" adduction.. breathy and unfocused singing.
Then we'd go for the "just right" adduction.

The point is to keep teaching what you're teaching but approach it
from as many colorful ways as possible. It just takes constant
reinforcement at this age.

Chuck Peery
St. Louis
cepeery(a)earthlink.net

Dear Rhonda;

I have noticed a few things about middle schoolers and projection. Because projection requires a committment to sing, it is risky business in the minds of children that age. It means that if you make a mistake, you will stick out. It means that if you sing well, you will stick out... And of course, "sticking out" is a bad thing.

I've found that kids I've worked with all along hit this magic time when their hormones kick in and all-of-a-sudden, many of them turn into shy singers.

I wouldn't be surprised if past experience influences them. If they sang in a "safe" environment, where kids weren't allowed to tease anyone and the director never made disparaging remarks, then I'd guess less kids become shy. If they were in a chorus where this was not the case, then many kids may self-consiously stop fully singing.

I'd suggest you look through the archives for Tom Carter's posts on the subject and talk a lot about a safe, supportive group.

Rachael Barlow
Diector ATN Family chorus
Littleton, MA
rachael_barlow_groton(a)yahoo.com

At 6:52 PM -0500 10/29/08, Rhonda Schilling wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>
>I'm having a tough time getting my 7th and 8th grade students to
>project. My 6th graders (who haven't had a different choir teacher)
>are doing great. I can get them to sing out. However, my 7th and
>8th graders, on the whole, are just not projecting at all. There
>voices are barely 1 inch voices! On a couple of songs - rounds
>usually - they will sing out - but other than that they just shy
>away. This is especially true for some of my boys - baritones (or
>just about baritones).

DANGER WARNING! PUBERTY ALERT!! PROCEED CAREFULLY!!!

First, what do you mean by "singing out" or "projecting"? Important
question. If you want them to lock into chest voice and "belt,"
you're probably hurting their voices. If you already know that, then
I apologize for doubting you, but it had to be mentioned.

Second, I hope you're aware that BOTH boys and girls go through vocal
changes during puberty. Sure, the boys' are more obvious, and have
the potential for a given kid's voice to crash and burn, sometimes
for several years, and I'm sure you are capable of caring for those
voices. But girls' voices also go through a change, very often a
"fuzz" stage, and while they don't drop an octave they also have to
be relearned and should NEVER be pushed toward some concept of
"projection" that might apply to younger children or to young adults,
but NOT to your students.

>
>I've tried all the tricks I know and explaining about the diaphram,
>slides, whoops, etc....and I'm at a loss.

You're on the right track, except you don't need to be talking about
the physiology of the voice, just modeling good sound and support and
talking about the FEELING of good singing, which they can understand
and probably relate to. And for heaven's sake, develop those head
voices, not for "projection," but for good, healthy singing. When
the boys' voices in my late wife's youth choir started sinking, she
had them keep singing along with the trebles as long as they could do
so without straining, and it really paid off. Both our sons were
very comfortable in that head range, and one is now a professional
countertenor.

John


--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:John.Howell(a)vt.edu)
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html

"We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.