hi there, I have 2 kids, and the elder one is in high school, younger one is in 6th grade. The elder one played piano kind of seriously when she was young, and now plays the flute. She’s in the highest level of city youth orchestra and makes all state every year, also participates in solo&ensemble. In shorts, she likes music and enjoying this EC very much, and also she’s got something on paper to show. Now my younger one, she likes to sing, also plays piano, but much more casual than her sister. So I’m thinking about just letting her do choir/musical. She’s started lessons with a private voice teacher and seems like it. But she seems jealous of her elder sister, thinking instruments have more opportunities, talking about there’s no youth choir as good as the youth orchestra, etc. I honestly know nothing about voice yet, so also kind of have this question. Will voice be viewed less valuable than instruments? or will voice have less opportunities than instruments? I don’t want my younger one feel this way and that’ll be kind of unfair…Thank you a lot!
They should pursue what they enjoy.
It’s not about what looks better.
I get the sibling rivalry but she needs to know she needs to choose ‘her’ path, and isn’t it fun to do what you enjoy ?
“Will voice be viewed less valuable than instruments?”
By whom? If you mean colleges then I’d say 1. Not worth considering, but also 2. No not less valuable.
By society? There are many TV shows about singing…and no hit show called “The Flute” for example (no disrespect to the flute! Jethro Tull!)
I love hearing my kid sing, and she became a better instrumentalist through accompanying herself than she ever would have done without that motivation. And voice lessons are the most fun to sit in on as a parent!
If your younger kid loves to sing….she should sing. Most colleges have choirs. And there are musical theater productions as well.
I was a vocalist…and had plenty of singing ops in college and beyond.
My kids were both instrumentalists, but also sang in a fabulous auditioned children’s choir for a bunch of years each.
Does your high school have a choir? A chamber choir? Musical theater performance? Acapella group? These things are around…check and see.
Also, if she enjoys singing but doesn’t want to take voice lessons…that’s fine. Many members of high school choirs get what they need at school.
I understand what you are saying. Studying voice is different from an instrument…bc the instrument is in your body. So serious voice study should not be done before high school. It is not good for the voice. At this time, she can “sing” and enjoy music but it will definitely feel less serious than studying an instrument. She needs to understand that voice is different and it is correct to go slower.
If she really enjoys singing with her teacher she should continue with that. Again her practice time will be much less. Then she can consider what else she likes to do. This is the nice thing about being a vocalist…you get to explore other areas (for my D it was basketball for awhile) and not worry about falling behind. She can continue studying the piano part of the time if she really enjoys music. Piano is always good. She could participate in school choir or see if there is a youth choir.
And, if she likes performance she can look at the school plays or musicals. This is actually what a lot of vocalists do. If she wants to be on stage signing, she will need to become comfortable on stage…and it can be really fun…for some kids. My D spent a lot of time in middle school in plays and musicals. Having opportunities to act and/or dance are really important for vocalist who want to perform outside of choirs.
Voice is an “instrument” just like piano, violin etc. It is “serious”…just check out opera singers on YouTube…and you’ll know how serious it is. Still vocalists are “young” when they enter college because they really can’t work seriously on their voice until high school. But again it doesn’t mean that a vocalist can’t be performing in choirs, in plays, in musicals singing, acting and dancing (and dribbling a basketball) in middle school. It just depends on how much she wants to be in “performance” vs be in a choir vs maybe teaching music.
My suggestion would be to expose her to different venues with vocalists performing (high school performances are good to inspire middle schoolers) and let her explore choirs, plays, etc over the next few years.
And…if she still worries about her sister…just point out that in many shows the instrumentalists are in the pit while the vocalists are on stage in the spotlight. But to get comfortable in the spotlight…she may want to get more and more experience on stage.
Thank you so much for all the replies. Especial @bridgenail you know exactly what my concern is. Her big sister is a star student, academic fields, music, even sports, she just keeps collecting big awards, and everything seems so easy for her. So I can feel the pressure of my younger one being shadowed by her sister, no matter how I assure her people are different and I love her sweetness and caring personality. I even switched her middle school to avoid her being compared by their teachers, even just subconsciously. So my debate is whether she would feel I take away a chance that she could shine too without trying. But she does love singing. Guess I will look harder for more opportunities for vocalists. Thanks again!