i've taught choirs before, and i guess i'm approaching this a bit differently than whether or not the children can hit the high or low notes. i don't know who this group is, who they are performing for, or how much experience tonia has in teaching music, but i am thinking that the whole song will sound better and the children will enjoy singing it more if they know it really well....and by knowing it i mean the notes, the rhythms, the words....

untrained children's voices can have quite a limited range, and just the act of singing freely and openly will stretch the range considerably. the range can be more limited on a day when a child is tired or unwell or just screamed at a hockey game or is unhappy or tense or is not really concentrating for any reason. i don't think it's overly helpful to think too much about the highest and lowest notes of the parts, at least not when first starting to teach the song. i think it's more important to make sure that here are at least a couple of strong, enthusastic and happy kids, who like to sing,on each part. they'll be the fuel for the fire!

~ black walnut