'Sing Up' helps children learn through song

LONDON - "I'd like to (.....) the world to sing in (.......) harmony. I'd like to (....) it in my arms and (....) it company."

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to learn things when you sing them?

Education experts have, and now a new national singing programme called Sing Up has been launched in primary schools to help young children learn through song.

"Young people who are lucky enough to learn music and sing from an early age develop better social skills, memory, ability to listen and have more confidence," Howard Goodall, a composer and one of the country's top music experts, said as the project was launched.

Experts say that as well as helping language development, action and counting, songs can also improve motor-skills and maths abilities in very young children.

Sing Up's Web site (www.singup.org) went live last month and has already built up a wealthy "song bank" of traditional and new songs for teachers, parents and carers to use with young children.

"Warning," it declares. "Singing can seriously improve your child's life!". It jokingly describes "symptoms" of "the singing bug" as "extra brain power, self expression, self-confidence and emotional, spiritual and social development."

This week, the group is running advertisements in British newspapers which feature well-known songs with words missing, challenging the reader to recognise how much easier it is to learn things if you sing them.

The Sing Up Web Site also features a "song of the week" and aims to use singing to investigate different cultures and religions as well as different areas of skill.

"Chanukkah Chanukkah", a song for the Jewish Festival of Lights in December, is this week's song, and the site also features "Under the Lemon Tree", a Bengali song which it says is "a useful way of approaching the Hindu culture".

For help with maths and learning foreign languages, it has "A Douze" for counting up to 12 in French, and for learning more about geography and culture, it has a Namibian folk song called "Halima Pakasholo".

"Singing ... builds a child's self-esteem, promotes teamwork irrespective of age, gender, and background, celebrates diversity, facilitates self-expression," said Goodall. "And it's just plain fun."