Less than 1/10,000 people have “perfect pitch”…

I’m here today to tell you that it’s ok if your child isn’t that 1 in 10,000.

I’m here to tell you that there are things you can do now to help develop their musical ear that will still  benefit them as they grow as musicians. I’m here to tell you that to be a great player, singer, composer, or improviser, you just need a darn good music education, … and parental support doesn’t hurt either.

Here are some things you can do today to help develop your child’s ear:

1. Have your child recreate sounds they hear in their environment.

Work with them to match the pitch of the fan or the microwave.  Imitate the cricket and bird sounds they hear in the yard. This also means that YOU need to do this too. :O) Do this as much as possible to increase awareness of sound and the ability to reproduce it with the voice.

2. Pitch Exploration.

If a child doesn’t know how to use the range of his or her voice, then it will be difficult to reproduce what they’re hearing in their musical ear. Getting kids to explore their head voice is especially important

Feeling out of balance today? Well, I have a really cute exercise for you that will improve your physical alignment, plus help you feel less tension, and even breathe better! All in about a couple of minutes. Plus, it’s just so darn cute…

We are putting unnecessary tension on ourselves because of poor posture! A lot of us have our shoulders hunched forward from sitting at desks and rushing through life. Let’s take some time to pay attention to our posture today, and give our bodies a little TLC. Please show this to your kids too!

Here we go! Let’s act like penguins!

Step 1 – Stand straight with your flippers about shoulder-width apart.

Step 2- Begin to waddle side to side in place. Your head can wiggle back and forth like a bobble-head doll. Feel the freedom in your body movement.

Step 3 – Waddle back and forth less and less until your body movement has stopped.

Step 4 – Notice how you feel… how your muscles feel.

Step 5 – Lean to one side and notice any tension that arises in your muscles.

Which posture demonstrates how your body feels normally throughout the day?

Keeping a balanced posture not only eliminates a lot of unnecessary tension, it allows you to be more open in your chest to breathe better.  I say “thumbs up!” to getting more oxygen!

When you’re doing this with kids, feel free to have them move through space as penguins, and, most importantly…

HAVE FUN! :O)

 Love,

Miss Cassie

P.S. – How is your body feeling today? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

“So, when I’m older, I am going to lose my teeth??” exclaims my 4 year-old daughter, Gia.  It is kind of a freaky thought if you’re not used to it.  Plenty of times, I’ve had dreams where I’ve lost my teeth, only to be fully weirded-out upon waking in the morning. Ah, my teeth are still there… phew…

This has led not only to interesting conversations with Gia, but also to drawings.  Yes! And I have one for you right here:

(Me, According to Gia)

And, do you see that shark tooth-looking thing hanging out of my mouth? Well, that’s exactly what it is. My tooth.

“Mommy! This is YOU when you was a little girl, and you grew BIG! You grew a big tooth!”  Haha.  I must have had a very easy time chewing my food.

What hilarious things have you heard or seen from children? Join me in the laughter and drop me a comment below!

Love,

Cassie