Guide the melody

I recently directed a Christmas concert with my students singing Christmas songs. Some of the songs had harmonies in them and some of them everyone was singing the melody.

One thing that helps younger students learn to sing a song properly, and in tune, is by using your left hand to sort of “draw” the pitches. You’re trying to guide them to where the next pitch is with your hand.

I do this by using my left hand, because my right hand is doing a standard conducting pattern. I try to give them an idea of how far apart two pitches are and which direction they go.

If the melody goes up by a step I’ll move my left hand up a little bit. If the melody goes up by a fifth I’ll move my left hand up a little bit more so that it’s noticeable that those are two different intervals.

This can also help with scalar melodies because it shows the students how many notes down the melody goes and when to stop or go back up in pitch.

Some people use Curwen hand signs. I personally do not, for no other reason than I don’t know them well enough. But they could do the job too.

Guiding the students to know which direction the melody is going can help a lot. It can help them start to hear in their head what they should be singing next because you’re giving them an idea of where to “look” for it. They don’t have to rely on just their own inner hearing. They can use your hand guides to help themselves figure out where they should be going.

ISJ