Child with Disability, Down Syndrome, Education, Music, New Skills, Performing Arts 
4 Comments La Chanteuse
“Are you going singing?”
“Yes.”
“Can I come?”
“No.”
“Pleeeeease.”
“No.”
“Aw,” Poppet says, as she tries to poke me in the ear as retribution for dismissing her request.
This is pretty much the conversation we have leading up to my weekly singing lesson and thanks to the kindness of my teacher and the humility of my fellow students, Poppet has now accompanied me several times to my lessons. She only joins me if a) it’s okay with my teacher, b) it’s okay with the other students and c) it’s during the school holidays.
She makes sure I practice regularly and often enquires about the songs I’m singing. The times I practice are usually when I’m in the car and most of the time Poppet is with me. When a song comes on that she loves, she’ll often tell me, “I’m singing this on my own,” leaving me little option but to be silent. I’ve tried to harmonise with her when she’s singing, or ‘doo wop’ as back-up to her lead, but she doesn’t appreciate my interference and glares at the side of my head as we move through the traffic. I get it. She is dead-set keen on singing.
Over the past year or so, I’ve listened to her attempt to hit the notes in the various songs. Singing is something she’s not good at – yet. Her voice typically wavers all around the notes, not actually hitting them. She’s getting better though and has learned how to sing several notes. When she does, she is pitch perfect.
In ‘Voice of People with Down Syndrome’[1], researcher Mary Pryce says, very few people with Down syndrome can sing at all. There are many factors contributing to this including low muscle tone, which affects the many muscles required to just speak and a lack of hydration of the voice; many people with Down syndrome do not drink enough fluid to keep the vocal chords sufficiently healthy.
Additionally, it takes an average person 75.52 microvolts of energy to begin talking. For a person with Down syndrome, 131.57 microvolts are required, almost twice the effort. No wonder Poppet gets tired easily.
When Poppet sings, she usually places her fingers over her larynx to feel the vibrations. I now realise she is learning from feeling her voice and how it changes with each note she sings. This is a very crude replica of how Pryce conducted part of her study, whereby she used an electromyograph to measure the vocal muscle vibrations of her subjects.
Had I not read Pryce’s article, I would still be wondering why Poppet hasn’t been able to sing a song, for she is very musical. She plays the piano and is quite accomplished at using each hand on the instrument. Of course it’s taken much practice but the point is, she knows the music, she feels it. I wrote about this in, ‘Encore’[2] in July 2013.
As an example of her musicality, a few years ago she was at her piano lesson and her piano teacher, Suzi, interrupted the lesson for a quick experiment.
“Poppet. I want you to play these notes on the piano please.” Suzi then hummed three notes. After a moment reflection, Poppet then played the tune, note for note.
“Try this one, Poppet,” she said, I suspect to make sure the first time wasn’t a fluke. Again, Poppet played the notes. Suzi turned to me looking as surprised as I felt.
“This is something even some of my advanced students would struggle with,” she said. Turning back to the piano, they carried on with the lesson.
So Poppet has this ability. It’s within her, yet she is still to learn how to make her voice reach each note. Perhaps this is why she is so keen to come with me; she wants to know what happens when someone is learning how to sing.
Last week I received a text from my singing teacher, Leah, saying Poppet messaged her. “Can I come singing please?” Poppet had asked.
Not only was I bothered by my daughter for being so bolshie for texting my teacher, I was intrigued that she’d taken the initiative to arrange a lesson for herself. Leah didn’t want to disappoint Poppet, but doesn’t have any spare time. She did however, offer Poppet the opportunity to attend occasional classes if she has a cancellation and put Poppet on her waiting list.
My thoughtful teacher understands that Poppet simply loves music and interestingly has mentioned she is looking forward to something new for herself through the whole process. I hadn’t considered that for a music teacher this would be something worthwhile, since they are so accustomed to working with students who are completely capable of achieving standard goals.
For Poppet, goals would need to be adjusted quite significantly, just as we did for her piano lessons. Regardless of this though, Poppet will continue to do something she loves. I’m proud of her determination and her ingenuity as she continues to ‘feel’ how to sing.
P.S. Last year a YouTube clip of Madison Devlin, went viral and spawned an enormous amount of media attention. Madison has Down syndrome and loves to sing. Her YouTube clip can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISHb3JcOb2s .
P.P.S. If you’re interested in helping people with Down syndrome learn, the Down Syndrome Education Online website is a fantastic resource – http://www.down-syndrome.org/ .