Hi Molly: I've read the other posts and all the advice is sound. I, also, have had students under 10 years old and have approached it with this one thought: It's better that they are under the guidance of a professional if they're going to sing anyway so that you can help them with the basics of proper breathing and singing appropriate rep. for their range and age.
I use: folk song arrangements RCM repertoire books Broadway solos for Kids Popular songs for Kids (these aren't ":pop" songs, they're songs from Disney and movies that kids have sung.) Movie songs for Kids Choral repertoire (ie Kitty of Coleraine, folk songs arr. etc. that are arranged with the smaller ranges - usually no more than an octave).
Also, I have a keyboard with a transpose button so if any piece of music pushes the range, I can change it by a semitone or tone to make it fit the student better. Often, years later, we'll come back to these pieces and see how our range has increased and how much our voice has changed.
Have had (and still do) our share of stage mothers. The worst part is when they tell you their child is "gifted". It's rarely the case. But, there's so many wonderful parents who are realistic about their children and just want to offer them the benefits of studying voice that it's still all worthwhile.
Jacqueline SlightlyoffBroadway jaxsobcon@n... Visit our website at: http://www.slightlyoffbroadway.com Read Jacqueline's musical theatre articles at: http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/musical_theatre Jacqueline manages: http://www.suite101.com/entertainmentcommunity Have fun at: www.geocities.com/sloffbrdway
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