Help with Monotone Singing

[MT-PRO Music Therapy List]

In a message dated 9/8/99 11:03:36 PM, Cindy Robertson wrote:
 
<<She loves singing in 
the school choir, but, of course, her self-esteem, etc is greatly damaged 
when teased by other kids and told to just mouth the words during concerts. 
 >>
 
Hi Cindy,
   I worked with a young man last year (in his senior year of high school) 
who, while he may have been dealing with some different issues than the young 
lady you describe, had a similar issue - he wasn't monotone so much as he 
couldn't match ANY pitches presented to him.  However, when he could set the 
pitches/tonality and have the accompanist/vocal group come in where HE was, 
he did fairly well - up to a certain pitch, beyond which he simply couldn't 
vocalize.  Fortunately, his choir director was willing to organize some 
opportunities for him to "set the tonality", and then transposed the group 
down to that tonal center, allowing him to participate successfully in some 
(not all) of the repertoire (and helping EVERYONE with their ear training, I 
might add!).
   When I started working with him, after trying a variety of different 
strategies, he disclosed to me that he felt his difficulties with 
"hearing/feeling/matching" pitches wasn't due to a problem with his ear per 
se, but more with his heart - having spent years being ridiculed about his 
lack of musical acuity, and actually keeping music out of his life for 
several years until it pained him to do so.  He was willing to risk the 
taunting of peers rather than live without making music.  This disclosure was 
rather startling to me, occurring in only our second session together.  At 
that point, I went immediately to non-vocal improvisation work (piano) with 
him, and he experienced real joy in making music that was truly his own.  He 
was able to take this new-found confidence into group music-making 
situations, and while he still struggles with group vocal environments, he 
knows what he is capable of, and is therefore more comfortable at those times 
that he needs to "sit it out".
   I hope this helps       -       Donna W. Polen, MT-BC
-- MT-PRO Music Therapy List, mtpro@multipro.com on 09/11/1999 at 12:22:42 PM


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