little jam sessions
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Unity in Diversity
Many music genres today are fusions of older styles: Reggaeton, Ethio-Jazz, K-Pop, Celtic Punk, Country Rap, and Blues Rock to name just a few. This blending of genres shows what amazing things can happen when cultures learn from each other — not stealing, not appropriation, but sharing. As a classically trained singer, I’ve sung in…
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Words Matter!
Have you ever heard Martina McBride’s Independence Day at a patriotic event? Or Bruno Mars’ Marry You at a wedding? Words matter and so do song lyrics. Independence Day is actually about getting out of a bad relationship (nothing patriotic), and Marry You is about getting drunk, heading to Vegas, and divorcing in the morning…
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Are You Missing a Big Discipleship Moment?
One of my great privileges is to sing with the Santa Clarita Master Chorale, a group of about 80 talented musicians that put on three concerts of beautiful and challenging repertoire each year. In addition to singing, I am the staff writer who researches and composes the program notes for each concert, giving the audience…
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Benefits of Singing in Choir
Singing is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. Clearly, it’s important to God. And there are numerous benefits to choir singing. I’ll share some of them with you here and later I’ll share the benefits of singing specifically in KidMin choirs. Kids who sing in choir: Choir is great for kids because it really…
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Crafting is crucial
Time, energy, mess … oh my. Oh yes! My absolute favorite reasons for having littles do crafts is that it’s a fantastic tool for the kinesthetic and visual learners. They’ve heard a story. They’ve heard music. The aural learners are all set. But the hands-on and the I’ve-got-to-see-it crews need something more. Of course, there…
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Pro Tip for Building a KidMin Choir Program
Start with Preschoolers! Why? Preschoolers love to sing, easily soak up information, and are adorable. Even if it’s just a few kids, people will love them and they will have fun. We want littles to start understanding worship from the earliest possible. Preschoolers are capable of praising God AND understanding what that means. So, preschoolers…
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How to Teach a Preschool Choir
Preschool-age littles make a fantastic beginning KidMin choir for so many reasons. Check out my article HERE for a few of them. But it also comes with some challenges: they don’t read, they like to wiggle, short attention span, and small vocal range to name a few. I like to teach KidMin choir as part…
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KidMin Choir: What’s the point?
Is the goal having fun or changing lives?Children’s choirs fulfill three main goals: Character development Kids in KidMin Choir are- Musical Education Kids in KidMin Choir – Spiritual Formation Kids in KidMin Choir – Character development and music education are fantastic gifts to families, churches, and communities. But Spiritual Formation is – hands down – the most…
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Now I know my ABCs …
In preschool, littles learn the alphabet in song. They might sing “ellemenopee” and it’s adorable, right? But if ALL they do is memorize the alphabet and never move forward with learning that the alphabet represents letters and that those letters can turn into cool things like words — even their own names — and sentences…
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Ever have trouble getting littles to sing?
Do you struggle to get littles to sing in choir or worship? Songs in the wrong vocal range is a huge problem in kids’ worship music. We talk about other issues HERE. A vocal range is the lowest note you can sing up to the highest note you can sing, and it is directly related…