Can my daughter sing?

[whimsy]

Hello,

I am new here and just need some advice for my 10 yr old daughter. She has been singing in a Chorus School for 4 yrs. There are 4 levels in this school and my daughter has flunked or almost flunked every level. Now she has finally quit because her self esteem is taking a hit. I think she has a beautiful voice, but now I am starting to wonder do I think she can sing because I am her Mother? Anyway I don't think such a well behaved, beautiful and talented child like her deserves such a bad rap sheet. Ok maybe she's a little awkward, but she's 10. Well I would appreciate honest advice on her video and where do I take her now to get some training? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzejo3JKUJs  Thanks!

[dug dog]

Sounds pretty good to me.

 

 

[deepflight]

Is she as good as the kids in the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus?  Probably not.  But if you are asking me to assess her singing as a regular ten year old kid, she sounds fine to me, better than most.   Tell her to keep singing, she most certainly can sing!

Is that other video on your channel of two little girls 9 & 10 years old singing the National Anthem at a Giant’s game also your daughter?  If so, I bet doing that gave her a boost, no matter what her teachers have told her.

You haven’t told us where you are so it’s hard to give you advice on how she can get more training.  But if you are somewhere that has a chorus class for fourth/fifth graders that it is possible to fail/be held back on the basis of singing ability, my guess is that she has teachers who are trying to teach her some real musical skills.  (Where is she a student, anyway, where all the music classes haven’t been cut in favor of studying for No Child Left Behind Tests?!) She’s obviously not in the kind of music class I had as a fourth grader where we sat around in a circle and sang folk songs, and learned to play the recorder. :-) 

Anyway, keep her singing.  And talk to her teachers and find out what they have to suggest in terms of what she needs to learn.  They are the ones telling you she's lacking, after all.

[Ku'Yleh]

I can give a fairly experienced and un-biased review for you. My wife teaches third grade, and I have sat in for music teachers and "directed" the musicals for the last 7 years. I have worked with plenty of 6 to 12 year old singers.

 

She is good. She could be much better, and thats probably why the teachers are hard on her. You can hear it on a few parts, the power and tone are there, just trying to get out. She knows how to let them out in some places, not so much in others. General pitch accuracy is pretty good, but she seems to have a hard time coming up to some notes from lower ones.

To me it sounds like a kid singing, doing a better than average job overall, with a strong young adult voice jumping out on select notes and short phrases here and there. Those make you go "whoa" but they also make the rest look that much more "kid-like" by comparison.

 

Speaking from a general teacher standpoint - you generally dont tell a kid that you are going to flunk them if you actually intend to do so. You tell them that becuase you know they can do better, and you want to give em a kick in the pants.

[whimsy]

I really appreciate your input. We're in the Bay Area and she sang with the SF girls Chorus until a month ago. So if you know other venues where she can continue her singing, I'm open for suggestions.

The National Anthem was her and her 9 yr old sister singing at the Giant's Game last Sept. That was an amazing day!  It took a couple days to come down from that experience. 

[whimsy]

Thanks Ku'Yleh. Great observations. She entered the Girls Chorus at a very young age. Even though, in her first year she excelled in Theory and performed well in Rep Evals, I was told she did not pass because of her maturity level. I believe "changing the goal post"  on her took a toll. It made her feel no matter how hard she tries, there is no guarantee she'd pass. Then the following years I think it may have been interest based and I think you're right they wanted to give her a" kick in the pants."  The first couple times it worked until she ran out of steam and this last "kick" backfired. She maybe a little socially awkward, but she is not the kind of kid that is use to being in trouble.

Anyway, it's not the place for her. They are very strict, care only about their final product, and if they kill a few souls along the way, then so be it.

You're right she struggles with her lower notes. Maybe because she always sang soprano for many years. 

She still loves to sing, so now it's about finding a new approach. Thanks for your input!