Hi, a question for any of you who teach younger primary (elementary) age voices.
I'm teaching at a primary school, and I've got two students who really stand out. I've started taking them aside and giving them some private tuition. One of them is a girl, and I haven't taught young girls in a private context before. She's in grade 4, so she's 9. Are there any things I should look out for? She has a breathy quiet voice, yet extremely musical sensibilities and fantastic pitch, and I'm worried that if I ask her to make it fuller, that I may damage her voice. I study opera myself, and do realise that my preference for full sounding classical voices is influencing me here. Is the concept of a 'full (for their timbre), grounded, yet not pushed voice' ok with younger voices, or is it really important to maintain a concept 'quieter' and cautiously gentle singing at this age.
My gut feeling tells me that you can teach all ages the same way, as long as you don't teach them to 'push' the voice.
Mirko
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