To Sing or not to Sing in Instrumental Class

Using singing with a beginning band program is a useful tool because it can improve musical and critical-thinking skills of young performers. Singing is a crucial part of all undergraduate music programs at universities to help students develop aural skills, learn sight-reading, and make connections between music theory and its applications. However, even with these benefits it often not used with instructional programs with band. The article explains that directors do not include singing often because they do not want to take the time out of their rehearsal periods with the ensemble, the director may not have the confidence in their own singing ability, or for fear of negative responses from the students. However, by properly integrating singing into the rehearsal, students will be able to develop their ears to aid in intonation and become more independent musicians who are able to identify and correct their own mistakes without the director calling attention to them.

This article adds to my understanding of my topic because it addresses how to incorporate a singing method with beginning band programs. Singing is a crucial part of the elementary curriculum but then it often gets dropped through the band curriculum even though it provides an opportunity to strengthen the individual musicianship and skills of the members, a skill that can and should be taken away from their musical education.

Robinson, Mitchell. (1996). To Sing or not to Sing in Instrumental Class. Music Educators Journal, 83(1), 17-21.