Today I did something that some music teachers feel very uncomfortable with and that is listening to kids sing and assigning a number as to how well they can match pitch.  As a firm believer that singing is a learned skill and not just a talent, I have seen many students who struggle in their early years of elementary school gradually develop that ability to hear and match until it becomes more and more accurate.  So why is this important?

Singing is a part of who we are as humans.  My students will want to sing at church, at concerts with their favorite artist, participate in karaoke with their friends.  They won’t be self conscious in front of family and friends and have a way to express themselves.  Singing also provides mental and physical health benefits according to recent research.

Sometimes parents become upset when I give a child a certain number for their singing, some who have told me that I have ruined their child’s self esteem.  Would they say the same thing if their child received the same number for math or reading or would they kick in and do what they needed to do to support their child learning those skills?  So many times if a child struggles matching pitch, a parent will say, somewhat apologetically, well, they get it from me – I have no talent for music.  I really take this kind of thing as a challenge.

So today in class, I was walking among a group of 4th graders, listening to them sing, when I walked past a student I’ve been working with for a couple of years.  His speaking voice is naturally lower, not forced, just lower, so when he tried to sing, and he LOVES to sing, it was always too low and often almost monotone.  I would do all kinds of exercises with him and he always received a lower number from me.  He was never discouraged and just kept making his joyful noise.  Some people might be satisfied with that, but like I said, I believed he could do more.

I noticed earlier this year that he seemed to be matching more pitches this year, getting up into a head voice.  Today however, as I walked by, there he was with a big smile on his face as always and just singing like crazy – and completely in tune.  When I finished listening to everyone and I had a chance to talk to the class, I talked to them about just this thing, that the biggest barrier to them accomplishing something, like singing on pitch was that they don’t believe in themselves enough.  And then I bragged on my smiling friend.

I shared that when he first tried to match pitches he couldn’t match any at all.  Several of his friends chimed in “yes, I remember that!”.  But I told him he could do it and he kept trying and today he sang everything on pitch.  The kids all cheered for him and his smile got even bigger.  Then I looked right at him and said “you are why I do this.”  The kids got quiet as I explained that I love it when they made music, it’s what makes me happy and it was ultimately why I do what I do.  Today he made my day and it reinforced the message for the rest of the class (who, by the way all match pitch) that they too can do whatever they set their mind to and believe they can do.  Belief is a powerful thing – I need to remember that for myself as well.

So at the end of a long week of school, with snow on the way which made my kids crazy (all of my teacher friends understand), this one event made it all worth it.  I don’t do this for the pay, or for my summers off (ha,) or the acclaim I receive for my little elementary concerts (ha, ha).  I do it for the students.