The last few years have been really hard for music teachers for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons for me personally was that we weren’t allowed to sing until January 2022, so it had been almost two years since my kids had sung. That wasn’t a big deal for my little kids- the vast majority of my K-2 students had no problem jumping back into singing. My upper elementary grades are now full of reluctant singers, though. How do you teach a shy singer to not be so shy anymore? Well, I’ve got a few tricks that I’ve learned that I’m going to share with you today.
Singing Games
My number one tip for engaging my shy singers is to play singing games. Honestly, games make everything more fun and all of my students are far more engaged when we’re playing a game. A few of my favorite singing games include:
Ye Toop Doram
Ye Toop Doram- Students sit in a circle. During the first part of the song, students pass the ball of the beat of the song. During the speaking part, whoever is holding the ball on “seh” has to pass the ball off, stand up, and get in the middle of the circle. Students will roll the ball at the student during the next singing part. If the ball hits the student, he is out. If the student dodges the ball and doesn’t get hit, he can get back in the circle and keep playing. My kids LOVE this game- especially the kids who tend to be my more reluctant singers!
Ida Red, Ida Blue
Ida Red Ida Blue- Students sit in a circle. One student is a mail carrier and is holding a red and a blue envelope. Each envelope has movements inside (hop, skip, gallop, speed walk, crabwalk, etc.) The mail carrier walks around the circle during the song. At the end of the song, she gives the envelopes to the two students she lands by. Those students each take an envelope, grab a movement, and race around the circle doing that movement. Whoever makes it back first is the next mail carrier.
Apple Tree
Apple Tree– Students stand in a circle. One student is the apple tree and stands outside the circle with his arms up. Students walk underneath his arms during the song. On the last word (“out”) the apple tree brings his arms down. Whoever he catches is now a tree with him. Whoever they catch creates a new tree somewhere around the circle. You add trees until there is one person left standing.
Popular or Preferred Music
If you want shy singers to feel more comfortable singing, use the music they know and love! Please, please don’t discredit using popular music in your classroom. I know that sometimes it can feel hard to find music that is both something the students love and appropriate. Playing pop music during game time and assemblies has made such a difference in the way my students interact with me though!
How can you use that pop music in your classroom to get your reluctant students singing? Can you use it to write a parody? Can you have them sing the lyrics with the actual song in the background to assess their singing? Maybe you could have your students sing the song while playing an ostinato they created with instruments. As students become more comfortable singing, you can gradually drop the volume of the background vocals.
You can also use pop music to teach your students other concepts than singing. For example, when I’m teaching sixteenth notes, I love using the song Old Brass Wagon. But, I could also use the chorus of Good Life by One Republic. When I’m focusing on teaching my shy singers, it’s helpful to use something they already know and enjoy. You could absolutely teach students about harmony using your music textbooks, or you could point out the harmonies in pop music (Pink has some of my favorites in just about any of her songs!)
Spreading Students Out
Sometimes there’s power in numbers, but I’ve found that if I’m teaching shy singers to be more confident in their voice and I need them to sing, spreading them out is actually more helpful. Now, this really can go either way- it may even benefit you to let your students choose whether they spread out or sit next to a friend. I have found that moving kids so nobody is sitting next to anyone helps students feel like nobody can hear them. Then I walk around the room and listen to them as I’m singing with them.
When I first started at my new school back in 2019, my older kids were really reluctant to sing for me. But, I needed to assess them. So when it was time for their first and second assessments, it was as easy as echo singing their name for me. I would have some kind of group composition project going and then walk around and assess their singing while everyone was talking and working. You can read more in these blog posts about how I do compositions in K-2 and 3-5. The students felt more comfortable because nobody was listening to them! Any student that was still reluctant could come with me to a corner of the room. I would stand in the corner facing the rest of the class and the student would face me with their back to the class. I have had so many students tell me how much easier that was than singing in front of the whole class!
When Nothing Seems to Work
Sometimes none of these things will help your reluctant singers enjoy singing. It happens. For these kids, I at least give them the reasoning behind why they have to sing in my class. I talk about how trying new or scary things helps us build confidence. I tell them how it helps us release endorphins to lower stress and feel good. It’s good for our mental health to listen and sing to music because it gives us a release when we’re sad or upset, and it’s also good for our physical health because it helps build our lung capacity. And, as was probably the case for a lot of us music teachers growing up, singing (or playing an instrument) helps us build community with people and work toward a common goal. Not all of your students will like singing, but they certainly can’t argue with the science behind it!
Conclusion
Honestly, I totally identify with these kids. I can sing in front of them all day long! When you ask me to sing in front of a room full of adults, I will get stage fright! I completely empathize with my reluctant singers because, as much as I love to sing, singing alone still gives me sweaty palms and a knot in my stomach. Please be kind and accommodating when you’re teaching shy singers. We want to build their confidence, but be empathetic, too. I would love to hear your tips and tricks when helping your reluctant singers! Leave a comment below or DM me on Instagram (@caffeinated.j) with your favorite activities that help your shy singers feel more comfortable!
