Updated: Feb 14, 2022
This video is posted a dozen times on YouTube (the picture is a link):
It’s a video of a little girl trying to sing I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton. There are many reposts, and the captions say things like “Fail!” and “can’t sing the song worth her life,” and “can’t hit the right notes.” I know it’s supposed to be funny, but it breaks my heart.
This little girl’s issue in the video elicits one of my Queen of the World thoughts. Do you ever have those If I Were Queen/King of the World thoughts? Those times when you identify something that’s obviously wrong and could be easily fixed?
(Isn’t it nice that we all just have that out there?)
In the world under my sovereignty, all middle school music teachers would have to know basic things about the voice, and would be expected to explain it to the children.
The kids would learn a bit about vocal registers, their natural break, and that their voices change as they get older. They would learn that there’s nothing wrong with them, that it’s natural, and that they can work on their singing to build singing skills.
Also, the girls would learn that their singing voices may sound a little fuzzy right now, and they'd be reassured that they'll sound more grown-up in a year or two.