If your children participate in music programs during the winter, you know that the cold, dry weather can offer up special challenges to both voices and musical instruments. To help your child make the most of his or her winter concert series, it’s important to acknowledge these cold weather obstacles and act proactively to avoid your child getting sick or not being able to perform. Younger children are especially vulnerable, since they don’t yet have the experience to know what to do in the winter. We suggest you consider the following tips.
Concert Preparation Tips for preparing your younger children for winter concerts
1. Make sure they know the goal. One of the most important things about planning a winter concert with young students is making sure that everyone knows what is expected on them. That means not only knowing the sound, but knowing what they are supposed to where, where they will be standing or sitting and what they need to wear. Repeat these often. Not knowing one or more of key elements can be extremely distracting to young musicians.
2. Take steps to care for vocal chords and instruments. A musician is very too young to learn about taking care of their instrument, whether that’s their voice or a trumpet or clarinet. Outdoor singing and playing can cause vocal chords to constrict and wooden instruments to contract. It’s especially important this time of year to keep vocal chords warm with a scarf or high-necked coat and to remove excess moisture from instruments after every use.
3. Help all participants feel successful. Younger children all have different levels of achievement, in music as in live. Help encourage them by identifying the thing they do the best, whether that is rhythm, tone, reading music or projecting into the audience.
Winter, especially the holiday season, can be an exciting time for young vocalists and musicians. Make sure that they are prepared by communicating the goal and all the details of the concert, making sure that they know how to take care of their voice and instruments and praising all participants individually.