Music is one of the few activities we do which uses both sides of our brain. Most people know that the left side of our brain controls the right side of our body, and the right side of our brain controls the left side of our body. What many 
people are unaware of is how important it is to connect those two sides! The invisible lines that divide our bodies in half (left to right, and top to bottom) are called “midlines”. When we find activities that cross those lines, we are preparing children’s brains for a wide variety of later activities. Can you imagine trying to write, but every time you get to the center of the page you have to stop and refocus? Many children who have not had experience with midline activities struggle to learn reading for this very reason. Sports activities are also affected. A young soccer player who knows what their feet should do, but struggles to make it happen is having trouble with midline connection. In our classes we focus a lot of time on making sure children move across their whole bodies. Everything from very simple rocking and crawling to more complex instrument activities help children with binocular hearing and seeing and prepare children for reading and writing. For more on the midline, and a little about “handedness”, see this really informative article.
Tagged: Child Development, mid-line, motor skills
When I was in high school, my dad would give me a ride to school each day. I remember one particular morning he was in a goofy mood, so he rolled down the windows of his ’67 Camaro and blasted Rockabilly music as loud as his poor speakers could handle. I remember watching him parody the teens in my class by banging his head to the bass beat. I was 14 and mortified!
Now that I am older, of course, I can look back on that day and grin. In fact, every time 
I hear Buddy Holly sing about “Peggy Sue”, I think of my dad. Music has made a connection in my brain to a memory I otherwise would have lost. Rockabilly is a part of his culture which he shared with me.
Are you passing a musical legacy to your children? In our ipod world, music is increasingly becoming a personal choice, not something we share with the people we love. I’m sure you have appreciated at one point the strong emotions music can bring — even years later. If you love Beyonce or U2 or Taylor Swift, share that music with your children! They will hold onto that connection with you for life!
Tagged: Buddy Holly, music in family, musical legacy, Rockabilly
Songs with Staying Power
Are you tired of singing “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “The Alphabet Song” with your children? Revive some of these oldies but goodies:
- Hush Little Baby
- Do You Know the Muffin Man?
- Amazing Grace
- Silent Night
- America the Beautiful
- Old King Cole
- Over the Rainbow
- My Favorite Things
- On Top of Old Smokey
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame
- I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad
- Ask one of your parents what your favorite songs were as a child!
If you can’t remember the words, a quick google search will usually turn up at least one good recording and the lyrics. Also, it’s ok to hum!
Tagged: children's songs, good songs, traditional music
6 Ways to Improve your Singing Voice
Do you ever feel like bursting into song, but are nervous about subjecting others to the noise? Here’s some help!
1) Listening when you sing is just about the most important thing you can do. Take time to deliberately use your ears to hear if your voice is matching pitch. This may mean you need to sing sing softer.
2) Don’t forget to breathe! Take deep, controlled breaths when you sing, and try to regulate how much air you are letting out at a time.
3) Find your “high” voice. Next time you are playing with your child, make sounds like you are a fire truck, a ghost or a dainty princess. Any of these can help put your voice in a higher register. Once you are there, take some time to explore those notes. If you can get your voice there easily, you are well on your way to a pleasing singing voice.
4) Practice! Sing along to the radio, join a choir, sing songs with your children. You will find that the more you sing, the easier it will become to find your way.
5) Relax! First, tension does really bad things to your vocal cords — so please don’t strain when you sing! Second, you don’t have to be a great singer to enjoy singing. We live in an age of Simon Cowell, where people who don’t sing like a professional feel like they will be laughed off stage. Music is meant to be made as a community, not to be the art form of an elite few. Enjoy the voice you have and don’t worry about a few glitches you don’t like. The example will have a strong impact on your children.
6) Take lessons. Yes, they are for adults too! If you would really like to work on improving your voice, I can put you in touch with any number of quality voice teachers in the area. Anyone can learn to sing and anyone can learn to improve their voice.
We have some fantastic teachers at Florence Music Academy. Give them a call!
Tagged: singing tips, voice improvement
