Posture and freedom of movement
- Stand well, with an awareness of a relaxed and balanced posture
Discuss aspects of good posture with learners. Explore ways of stretching and relaxing to establish physical freedom.
Encourage learners to be aware of their posture when practising at home. It is important to focus on releasing tension, making sure that the head, neck and shoulders move freely.
Show learners how to stand when singing, with the feet slightly apart, giving a central balance, hands and arms relaxed by the side, and the head level. Ask learners to aim for consistency.
Reinforce the importance of always taking a moment to ensure that posture is correct before starting to sing, whether in the lesson or in individual practice. Be aware of learners’ individual physical characteristics and make adaptations as appropriate.
Creating effective exercises and drills to enable learners to adopt appropriate posture is invaluable in large-group and whole-class teaching. It promotes independence, giving learners the necessary skills to recreate the desired posture in their individual practice.
Recommend that learners use a mirror to check their posture. Video-recording could also be used for this purpose, but it is vital to check the policy of the school or other organisation you are working in with regards to any form of recording. Children must never be videoed without parental consent and all policies regarding use and storage of recordings must be adhered to.
If learners have photographic permission, encourage them to take photos of themselves and annotate them to identify elements of good posture. This can be done with a photo editing app or presentation programs such as PowerPoint or Google Slides.
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