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Most groups sing songs at some time or other & chances are as a youth leader you don't have any formal music training.  I feel that I can help a lot of would-be song leaders as I am probably in contention for being the world's worst singer.  True story, up until the time my son was about 18 months old, whenever I would sing to him he would put his hands over his ears and cry.  Now that's bad!  I have included tips from experience how someone with absolutely no musical talent can still impart the joy of singing.  One of the best tips I can pass along is to teach primarily silly songs.  Having a bad voice will not detract from the song AND this is the favorite type of song for children of all ages to sing.    

TEACHING SONGS

Tell the title of the song. Tell your plan of teaching it .   (I’m going to sing it through once, then we’ll sing it all together, then we’ll learn the actions!).

Sing it though once so that the children get a feel for the song

Teach it line by line. Sing one line and have the children repeat it. Use "pointing at me, pointing at you" motions. Teach only one verse at a time.

Sing the song all together after learning it line by line.

If the song is fast or difficult, sing it at a slow tempo first then speed it up once everyone knows it.

If the song has a lot of verses, teach the chorus first

If the song has motions, teach without motions first

If singing a round, a song with parts, or a descant, make sure each group knows its part well before putting the parts together. If you are singing a song with parts, have a leader who knows each part. Use simple hand motions to keep the tempo

 Helpful Hints

Start with "piggy back" songs -- songs that say "sing to the tune of ..."  Everyone already knows the melody, you are just learning the words.  After your group has learned a few of these kinds of songs, go on to more difficult songs with unfamiliar melodys.

Sometimes even "piggy back" songs are difficult for those of us who feel we are musically "retarded".  I will take a kazoo and hum the melody several times onto a cassette tape.  Afterwards, I will sing the new words to the song along with the kazoo-tape until I am comfortable with the new words.

If you can't "carry a note to the post office", teach with pre-recorded music.  The public library has hundreds of tapes and CD's.  I prefer to copy the song/s I plan to teach onto a casette tape.  CD's are wonderful, but if you need to access the middle of a song you can't do that with a CD!! 

Check out children's music from other countries...especially Africa & the Caribbean.  They frequently have the same songs but with a different beat that your children might enjoy even more.  You might also want to search out some of the children's songs done by Rock & Roll artists, Little Richard is one of my favorites for interesting renditions of traditional songs.  

Don't feel that you have to teach an entire song "in one sitting", feel free to take 3 or 4 or more meetings to teach a song.  Once you have taught a song, remember to review it every now and then.

 Leading Songs

The first song should be a well known one. The group can't go wrong and the success of the first song will establish your success as the leader. (All you have to do is keep up with it.)

Announce each song clearly and name the tune if it is a piggyback song.

Sing a few notes to give pitch and tempo.

Start everyone at the same time--shout, "Let's go!" in rhythm with time or clap your hands or stamp your foot and start the next beat.

Use simple hand motions to indicate the tempo.

Choose songs that fit the crowd and the occasion.

Formal leadership isn't always necessary. While natural and spontaneous singing is possible, encourage it.

Know your song by heart!!

Groups tend to drag songs, so set a faster tempo.

 Helpful Hints:

Don't ask "Who knows (name of song)?" OR "Who wants to sing (name of song)"?

Be ENTHUSIASTIC

There is a tendency to sing high when nervous (yikes!) so start on a low pitch.

Don't be afraid!! Children love to sing and want you to lead songs. In their eyes, leaders are awesome and incapable of making mistakes!

Keep a 3x5 notebook with you (they sell 3x5 spiral bound books in the stationary section of most stores).  Write the titles of songs you know well, write the words to songs you aren't completely familiar with.  When a situation arises that you need to lead songs you will have an abundance of ideas.

Copyrights and You

Most songs have a writer and a publisher who have the copyright to them (own them). These songs aren't published on Girl Scout Web sites because they do not belong to Girl Scouts of the USA. Most of the songs listed in the Girl Scout songbooks are either there because special arrangements were made with the publisher or author, or because they are now in the "public domain." That means they have been around so long that no one owns them any more-the author is usually no longer living and no publisher can claim ownership. Here's a quick guide to what you can and cannot do:

You Can:

* Put together a collection of your favorite songs in a personal notebook.
* Sing songs for fun around a campfire or in meetings without special permission.
* Get fined heavily if you use someone's song illegally.

You Cannot:
* Publish your own book of songs for others without securing permission or paying for the rights.
* Make a book or tape of songs to sell without asking permission and/or paying user fees for the use of the song.
* Pass out song sheets with copyrighted music or words/or both without getting permission. ***
* Sing songs in a program and charge admission without permission or paying a fee for use of each one.
This applies to everyone-girls, leaders, troops, councils, camp staff, and so on.

***There is something called "Fair Use" which includes allowing people to use copyrighted material for educational purposes, but this doesn't have any hard and fast rules

http://www.pdinfo.com/list.htm  (A Website for public domain music)

Posted by: wee wifey at 10:01 AM | Comments (44) | Add Comment
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