- What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
- How can I become part of the Special Chorus?
- When is our end-of-the-year Chorus party?
- How often should a person sing?
- How does one join All County?
- How does one read music?
- What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
- How can I find out what is going on in Chorus?
- How can I take the lyrics home for Chorus songs when you collect the music?
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What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
When you have a sore throat, either sing softly or don't sing. If you have
chorus, tell me and I will let you sit out. BUT you still have alot to do,
read along, pay attention, you can still learn alot. Also, at home, fix a
glass of warm water and put a little lemon juice in it and gargle it. You
don't have to drink it, just spit it out. Lemon is the BEST thing for a
singer's throat. Celine Dion does this before EVERY concert she sings!!!
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How can I become part of the Special Chorus?
I pick several Special Chorus's throughout the year. Sometimes I audition for
them, sometimes I just choose singers. It depends on what songs I want to do
and for what occassions we're performing. But I will always let you know when
the auditions are and what I'm looking for.
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When is our end-of-the-year Chorus party?
We're having a Chorus Party on June 15th starting at 8am. We will start with
seven contestants in a talent show with judges and a prize for the winner.
then we will have a pinyata and food. i'll have baggies to put your food into
to last the rest of the day.
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How often should a person sing?
singing is NEVER over. If you ask me, a person should sing all day; in the
shower when you get up in the morning, on the way home on the bus, out on the
baseball field. Singing yourself to sleep is the best. It's better then
counting sheep!!! When I was a kid, I used to challenge myself to see how
often I could remember to sing. Try it sometime.
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How does one join All County?
All County happens this year on Feb. 22 & 23rd at the Haviland Middle School
in Hyde Park. This year I will be in charge (the General Chair) of the All
County for Dutchess. I volunteered and Mrs. Gibson will assist me. Each school
is allowed only so many children to All County. They determine this by the
size of the school. Beekman Chorus is allowed to bring 5 children this year. I
choose the children by audition. All County is very difficult because when you
are chosen you only have about 1 month to learn 4 or 5 songs by heart. I help
by scheduling special rehearsals and making tapes for each child. Then the
weekend we go is two long days of singing. The kids sing for 4 hours on Friday
and then on Saturday for 6 hours. It is a lot of work. What is wonderful is
that these singers really get an idea of the rewards of this hard work. The
concerts are fantastic and the vocal training is terrific.
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How does one read music?
When ever you learn a Chorus song, learn the words first by heart. After this
then you can free up your eyes to look at the notes over top of the words.
Even if you can't tell exactly what the notes are, you can still learn to see
where the notes are going. Are they going up, walking or jumping, or going
down or staying the same. If you do this enough you will eventually be able to
"read the music". When you get good enough then you can figure your song out
all by yourself with no piano. Hah!
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What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
I am a little different then many other voice teachers in school districts. I
was operatically trained by Beatric Littau of the New York Metropolitan Opera.
I do not teach, as many teachers do, that there are 3 registers. Instead I
teach what is called the "Open Throat" method. The concept of this technique
is that our voice is all one, like a rubber band. I approach it as one
instrument inorder to creat a smooth continuum throughout the voice, with no
break points. So I start by teaching children to "open their throats". I'll
say things like "put the orange in your mouth" or "give me shape". Opera
singers specialize in keeping their position in singing; the best ones do
anyway. It's like the difference between sitting up straight and slouching.
When I want you to keep the position in singing I'll say "you are the king
rolling out the red carpet, looking down" or "pull the puppet string." The
final part to the package is breath. Many times in opera, the singers do not
use microphones, they can through the use of air put out incredible sound.
When it gets close to concert time, especially I teach the children how to
"fill the room with sound."
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How can I find out what is going on in Chorus?
In October I will put up the Chorus bulletin board. It will be outside the
music room at Beekman - as you face the door to the left. It will say Fifth
Grade Chorus and I will put imformation on it regarding extra rehearsals and
contests, there. I will also put up a sign-up for the Fall Special Chorus.
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How can I take the lyrics home for Chorus songs when you collect the music?
I will post all the song lyrics here on this website. It takes me a little
time to type them all in but little by little they will be up.
