My daughter plays the piano, and although she enjoys it and is very good at it, she loves singing. The only trouble I have is that I can't afford singing lessons as well as all her other activities,none of which she would give up. I do know that she can sing because she auditioned for the choir when Joseph and his amazing technicoloured dreamcoat came to the theatre royal and got in the choir.(she had to sing solo, a verse and chorus of close every door to me in front of quite a few people).She has also sang solo in school productions and carol concerts. Is there anything she can do at home to practice,or for now at least,is singing for fun enough?can she learn from this? will playing the piano help to some extent with pitch etc..?I knoe one on one is better but for now it is not an option.(she is also in the school singing club). Any ideas or help would be very much appreciated,she has just turned 10yrs. Clare

If she's in the school singing club and enjoys singing, then just encourage her to explore her voice as much as possible, without pushing it.

Perhaps you could invest in a lesson once every month in Voice instead of piano, so she has three piano and one voice? Just a thought - alternatively perhaps joining a choir would keep her interest going and give her some new things to work on.

Could you buy her some easy piano versions of songs she enjoys singing so that she can 'accompany' herself on the piano - that would be a fun way of keeping it going.

If she wants some specific daily exercises so she feels like she's doing some 'proper' singing training, you could encourage her to siren gently around the middle of her voice (never going too far one way or the other) and do some lip trills as a gentle warm up each day, then perhaps some interval singing exercises to get her head around thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, seconds etc.

I think as long as you encourage her and keep her interest alive, then she can always get lessons later and if she keeps her voice gentle and mid-range for now, she's unlikely to do any damage that would hamper progress later.

Feel free to PM me if you want more help.

Allan

You could investigate junior/youth choirs in your area; the choir as a group (including your daughter) would get some vocal tuition from the conductor as part of the rehearsals and she would gain more confidence and have more opportunity to sing as well as making some new friends whom she could stay friends with when she changes schools at the end of next year!

The Cantamus choir has a great reputation (a couple of my friends used to sing in it a few years ago!) and they have a training choir for girls from the age of 10. http://www.cantamus.com/choirs.htm is their website and apparently "Group singing lessons and choir rehearsals take place on Friday evenings during school term-time at Sherwood Hall School, Forest Town, near Mansfield."
There are some contact details on their website, and even if they aren't suitable (your location says "Nottingham" and I'm not sure how far away you are from Mansfield) then they would probably be able to point you in the direction of someone helpful.

I would hesitate to suggest singing lessons for someone as young as ten as I know that some teachers prefer you to wait until mid-teens when the voice has settled a bit.

Really grateful for your replies,have started to look into choirs (great idea both of you) and have discovered that a friend is in Cantamus,it clashes a bit on the rehearal night with couple of things but may be another choir possibly church.Thanks again. Clare

IF there's one in your area,
JOIN A CHURCH/CATHEDRAL CHOIR.
It's the best music in the world. And being in a choir is oh-so-much FUN.

Is it worth looking into possible bursaries or scholarships? Perhaps one of the secondary schools you're considering for next year (?) has a music scholarship offering free lessons on one or more instruments? Sometimes local music services subsidise tuition, although usually for families on benefits, not for those who have already spent all their money on pony-trekking, taekwondo, brownies, ice-skating and ballet lessons!

Singing gently and naturally, with a voice that sounds fitting for a ten year old (rather than copying 20 somethings on ex-factor), your daughter will naturally develop some good habits and musical knowlege without formal lessons for the time being, so when looking for a choir for her, try to find one that fits that bill if you can.
If you can manage to sort out the clash, I really would recommend Cantamus - the vocal training your daughter would get would be very good indeed.
Some church choirs are absolute gems - but it depends on the knowledge of the person in charge. If they have good singing technique themselves, they are likely to be able to foster good habits in the children they direct. If, on the other hand, they are in the position of director of music based on their organ playing, then singing knowlege is not a given. Having said that, the church choir I work with, the director of music is well aware of his limitations - which is why he drafts me in to give input to the children, vocally.
Good luck - I wish your daughter every enjoyment in her singing.

really grateful for everyone's input,am pleased to know it's early days and even if we don't find anything for now,it won't be too late with being so young. Cantamus does look great though.

Hi, just thought I would update those of you who had some input with my daughter and choirs, she auditioned for Cantamus and got in ,and has already done three concerts with the training choir,amthrilled because they are a world class choir whohave won competitions through out the world. Thanks again,especially Ellie the little elephant.

What lovely news, clarebear. It's great to hear that your daughter is getting such good training. Long may she enjoy her singing.

That's lovely news, you must be thrilled for her