Singing is one of the most known arts in the world. It is common in many places with different styles and techniques-Daria oxley
Ms. Plette became a well-known singer at OSA, she is the Vocal Music Department Chair. She has practiced many times to get her powerful voice. Ms. Plette started singing in third grade. “I was in a talent show, and when I sang, all the kids stared at me in awe,” Plette said, “It was just an amazing feeling.” It was amazing because she had never been so proud.
Her mother had asked her why she doesn’t dance when she sang. But Plette was focused on her goal to be a good singer and made that her top priority. Later in life, she was forced into the opera by the people she sang/worked with. “It was either I sang opera or don’t sing at all,” she said. She went with it even if forced and practiced lots of times. After singing opera, she felt powerful about it because singing gave her courage and she learned to love it.
Plette feels like she’s sharing who she is when she sings.“I feel powerful when I sing,” Plette said , “I can’t get a room full of kids unless Ising to them. Then, they will stop talking and listen.”
She has a way to prepare her voice before she sings, so that she will be ready for action. “Warming up your voice is definitely a big thing, with lots of sleep, water, and regular practice,” she explained. Plette always does these things to get her voice ready to go.
Plette’s favorite composer is Puccini, who wrote romantic opera. The first time she heard his work was in college. “It was in a sports arena, they brought in animals of all sorts, it was a big show, and I didn’t like it. And then this woman came, and she started to sing, and the whole crowd stopped to look at her, they were speechless, you could barely breath listening to her song.”
Plette has been teaching singing for about eight years, and she has been nervous about teaching singing because she was scared that someone would get hurt or do something wrong, but her favorite part about teaching is that she gets to see her students grow and get better. “The students usually sing classical hop, mostly contemporary,” she said.
Plette’s biggest challenge teaching students is that she is not sure the students love to sing just as much as she does. Another challenge for her is teaching a group. Plette can easily teach individual students, but teaching a group is hard because she doesn’t know if she is doing the right thing to have them progress. But having patience with her students allows her to see what they will grow up to be and how they will change throughout the years.
According to Plette, her students’ favorite song to sing is “Over the Rainbow” by Yip Harburg and “Red are Strawberries” by Beth. I asked the students how they express themselves through singing, and they all could agree on: being loud, and that with each of them has an individual voice that they feel kind of special. They also said that they express themselves when writing songs then singing it since it makes them feel somewhat unique. They also enjoy seeing people have fun and letting out emotions when they sing song, such as anger and sadness.
The students each explained to me why they chose their emphasis, they said that they are really passionate about it and want to be professional. Also, they also said that they like to do a lot of performances, so that’s another reason why they picked Vocal. And, they chose OSA because it is a place to be free.
May is in 6th grade and is 11 years old, her family is very musical, but in the instrumental way, they sing from time to time but focus mostly on playing instruments. Aliah is 11 years old and also in 6th grade, she has been through a lot in her childhood and says that singing is very calming and it helps her get through tough times. The students in vocal had all been through a lot and singing was the one thing that helps them cheer up.
In groups, students warm up together everyday working on solfege, learning songs together, and working on solos. Students say that working in a group is a lot of hard work that requires a lot of patience and self-control.
Olu is 12 years old and he is in 6th grade and is looking forward to getting more comfortable when singing by practicing more and is excited about writing his own songs. Satine is in 6th grade and she is 11 years old, she is trying to conquer her stage fright and start harmonizing more. Karea is looking forward to singing while having a good beats, Karea thinks that the singing would sound better together with a beatboxer. Ruby can’t wait to do performances because she likes to perform in front of people and doesn’t have that much stage fright, and Carlyne is looking forward to learning how to improve her singing and to learn how to get along with people.
Oscar is hoping to get better at harmonizing and start singing at auditions. And last of all, Maya is looking forward to getting better, but hoping to get even better around people and in groups. Plette can’t wait to see who they become, and how their voices change as they continue to grow. “Middle school voices are not the same as you grow up,” Plette said, “your voices change.”
Her mother had asked her why she doesn’t dance when she sang. But Plette was focused on her goal to be a good singer and made that her top priority. Later in life, she was forced into the opera by the people she sang/worked with. “It was either I sang opera or don’t sing at all,” she said. She went with it even if forced and practiced lots of times. After singing opera, she felt powerful about it because singing gave her courage and she learned to love it.
Plette feels like she’s sharing who she is when she sings.“I feel powerful when I sing,” Plette said , “I can’t get a room full of kids unless Ising to them. Then, they will stop talking and listen.”
She has a way to prepare her voice before she sings, so that she will be ready for action. “Warming up your voice is definitely a big thing, with lots of sleep, water, and regular practice,” she explained. Plette always does these things to get her voice ready to go.
Plette’s favorite composer is Puccini, who wrote romantic opera. The first time she heard his work was in college. “It was in a sports arena, they brought in animals of all sorts, it was a big show, and I didn’t like it. And then this woman came, and she started to sing, and the whole crowd stopped to look at her, they were speechless, you could barely breath listening to her song.”
Plette has been teaching singing for about eight years, and she has been nervous about teaching singing because she was scared that someone would get hurt or do something wrong, but her favorite part about teaching is that she gets to see her students grow and get better. “The students usually sing classical hop, mostly contemporary,” she said.
Plette’s biggest challenge teaching students is that she is not sure the students love to sing just as much as she does. Another challenge for her is teaching a group. Plette can easily teach individual students, but teaching a group is hard because she doesn’t know if she is doing the right thing to have them progress. But having patience with her students allows her to see what they will grow up to be and how they will change throughout the years.
According to Plette, her students’ favorite song to sing is “Over the Rainbow” by Yip Harburg and “Red are Strawberries” by Beth. I asked the students how they express themselves through singing, and they all could agree on: being loud, and that with each of them has an individual voice that they feel kind of special. They also said that they express themselves when writing songs then singing it since it makes them feel somewhat unique. They also enjoy seeing people have fun and letting out emotions when they sing song, such as anger and sadness.
The students each explained to me why they chose their emphasis, they said that they are really passionate about it and want to be professional. Also, they also said that they like to do a lot of performances, so that’s another reason why they picked Vocal. And, they chose OSA because it is a place to be free.
May is in 6th grade and is 11 years old, her family is very musical, but in the instrumental way, they sing from time to time but focus mostly on playing instruments. Aliah is 11 years old and also in 6th grade, she has been through a lot in her childhood and says that singing is very calming and it helps her get through tough times. The students in vocal had all been through a lot and singing was the one thing that helps them cheer up.
In groups, students warm up together everyday working on solfege, learning songs together, and working on solos. Students say that working in a group is a lot of hard work that requires a lot of patience and self-control.
Olu is 12 years old and he is in 6th grade and is looking forward to getting more comfortable when singing by practicing more and is excited about writing his own songs. Satine is in 6th grade and she is 11 years old, she is trying to conquer her stage fright and start harmonizing more. Karea is looking forward to singing while having a good beats, Karea thinks that the singing would sound better together with a beatboxer. Ruby can’t wait to do performances because she likes to perform in front of people and doesn’t have that much stage fright, and Carlyne is looking forward to learning how to improve her singing and to learn how to get along with people.
Oscar is hoping to get better at harmonizing and start singing at auditions. And last of all, Maya is looking forward to getting better, but hoping to get even better around people and in groups. Plette can’t wait to see who they become, and how their voices change as they continue to grow. “Middle school voices are not the same as you grow up,” Plette said, “your voices change.”
