Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2017 July 9

= July 9 =

Good Soundtracks for beginning singers
My nephews play 5 instruments between them, the eldest being 12. My niece, age 7, sings strongly, and can hit pure notes, but has no idea of key or the scales. I was thinking of getting her the soundtrack to The Sound of Music which she knows and loves. Obviously the "Do Re Mi" song will be a good influence. Are there other "contemporary" albums I can look at that will teach her to sing on key or in harmony without all the artificial nonsense of items like "Frozen" which depend on running an off-key or weak voice through a synthesizer? Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 21:48, 9 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I agree with The Sound of Music and suggest adding in Mary Poppins. I particularly like how in A Spoonful of Sugar they sing "dow....wn", with a decreasing frequency as the word progresses.  That's a good lesson for beginning singers, so they don't think a syllable always needs to be sung at a single frequency. StuRat (talk) 05:32, 10 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Are you sure you're not thinking of Rock Lobster? --Trovatore (talk) 19:32, 10 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Here are videos that may help. Blooteuth (talk) 22:06, 10 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, and I actually did just pick up Mary Poppins before reading Stu's suggestion. μηδείς (talk) 16:56, 11 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Medeis, can I ask, is there a particular reason these should be soundtracks, or is it just that you think that they will provide the best chances at music jaunty enough to capture and maintain your niece's attention? I ask because Id on't know that soundtrack pieces (even those arising from children's films) are likely to provide any concrete lessons on music basics (other than the previously mentioned Do Re Mi song, for obvious reasons) any more so than musical pieces in any number of genres.  If your niece can hit and carry notes across a range, one singer she might find inspiring is Chloe Agnew, as that's the quality I associate most with this flawless, amazingly talented soprano; her music isn't quite as up as a Disney film, but it's entirely appropriate to children:, .  Not every track in her albums is in English, and some of it is quite technically demanding , but a majority of pieces are more melodically simple, requiring controlled and sustained notes more than anything .  And I can't imagine any 7-year-old girl who is a singer not loving it all.  Do you think she might suit, or is it not bright enough?  S n o w  let's rap 20:28, 11 July 2017 (UTC)