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Today's Preview of the Sing With Our Kids website: Seeking the Key to Being Comfortable Singing

Helping people become comfortable singing is at the heart of this project. And one of the things that I know  helps, is if people have the words to a song in their hands or in front of them. This does two things. First of all, of course, there is the obvious and practical point. If everyone has the words, everyone can join in. And if everyone joins in, those with weaker voices are carried by the group. In our culture, church, camp experiences and life events (weddings, funerals) still provide this group-sing model. Singing in the safety of a group is what teaches us to sing. But we have fewer and fewer of these opportunities as each of us goes off to do "our own thing."  And there's another thing I've noticed from my work with children. There are always a few of what I call "reluctant singers," and if you work with young children, you know what I mean; the children who just never sing. I discovered by accident many years ago, that if you give that child something to hold, he or she is much more likely to sing. Maybe it's as simple as providing some sort of security, or maybe it acts as a distraction from self-consciousnesses. In my music workshops I use the example of a traditional song called, Who Has a Penny? (you can download the song with lyrics and activity notes at http://nancymusic.com/SOM/2009/who-has-a-penny.htm ). Each child is given a "treasure" to hold. The songs begins with the leader singing, "Who has a penny?" Children with pennies answer, "I have a penny." It's really stunning how every child will sing. It's magical! I have found this to be true with other songs where children are holding something special during the song. So during the Sing With Our Kids Project live events, I plan to have lyrics to songs as part of an experiment to see if this makes a difference. This is an example of why having a live project in addition to the website will be what makes the project unique and really useful.