Finding Your Voice - Games

The first step to finding your voice is finding your head voice.  Helping children to use their head voices will also improve their singing as well!  Use the following games with children, or for the kids at heart!

• "Nah, nah, nee, nah, nah" - The children's playground taunt naturally falls into the head voice.  Listen to children sing in their play; that is likely the same range they should be using when singing.
• Sirens - Imitate fire engines, police cars, and British police sirens.  Make it an echo game. These sounds tend to naturally fall into the head voice as well.  
• Roller coaster - Younger children love imaginative play, and even if they are too young to really ride roller coasters, they are very happy to ride a pretend one.  Build up the experience.  Sit down, buckle and imaginary seat belt, and pull down the shoulder harness, because this is an upside down roller coaster.  With hands out in front, palms down, imitate a roller coaster going up a very steep track (add sound effects, like clicking your tongue).  Pause for a moment at the top, then hands mirror zipping down the track while making "whooooooo" sounds in your head voice to mirror the movements.  Try a big turn, corkscrew, loop-de-loop, whatever you like.  Just be sure to stay in your head voice and the kids on your coaster will automatically stay in their head voices too!