I Love My Voice!

As my voice changed, my life changed too.

世界的オペラ歌手の田村麻子さんが、美声の秘密をお伝えするクラスを受講して参りましたので、その Before ・Afterをお伝えします。
I attended Ms. Asako Tamura’s classes, world-renowned opera singer, where she taught the secrets of her beautiful voice, and I would like to share my experiences with you, of before and after the classes. 

レッスン初日、麻子さん曰く、「これを勉強されると、大勢の中でも、そこにいる全員が一発で、話した事を理解してくれますよ」と言われるのに衝撃を受けました。

そんなことが可能なのかと半信半疑でしたが、そんな私の気持ちとは裏腹に、 レッスンでは、脳と体のメカニズム、口の形や舌の位置等の勉強から始まり、想像していた発声練習とは違い、新鮮だなと思いました。

3回目のレッスンの後、試しに、反抗期の私の子供に、この用法を使って(日本語で)話すと、我が子が私の言うことを聞くようになったのです。ガミガミお母さんから一変した私に、実は、主人が、一番驚いていたと思います。

さらに。。。

On the first day of the lesson, I was shocked to hear Asako say, “If you study this, Everyone will understand what you say, with just one shot, even in crowds.” 

At first, I was skeptical that such a thing was possible. When we began, contrary to what I was expecting, the lessons started with us studying things such as how the brain and body were connected when you used voice, how to open your mouth, and how to position your tongue, which I thought was something new and different from the vocal exercises I had imagined beforehand.

So after the third lesson, I tried out my newfound techniques (in Japanese) with my child, and she started listening to me right away, and a lot more frequently. My husband was very, very surprised about this. 

What’s more…

結果として色々と効果が現れましたが、とくには英語の発音だと思います。今までは、私の会社の上司、同僚、はたまた、義母は、私との会話の途中に、”What did you say?” と、英語が聞き取れないと聞いてきます。それがあまりにも頻繁なので、私は、自分の発音はなんとかならないかと悩みの種でした。ところが、麻子さんのレッスンにて、たった一つ、「し」の発音の練習をしただけで、次の日から、本当に次の日から、会話がスムーズに弾むようになったのです。

この時は、『IPAチャート』で発音の練習をし、さらに、麻子さんが続けて、「色々な国の言語で歌う経験から、どんな些細な音の違いでも、大きな違いで聞こえてます。」と、優しく間違いを修正してくれました。レッスン中は、ただただ、彼女の優れた聴力に本当に驚嘆しておりました。結果、分かったことは、無意識で使っていた発声を、意識して発声するという練習をすることで、間違って使っていた発音の習慣を変えることができるということです。そして、一番重要なのは、麻子さんの、温かい心からの励ましがあったからこそできたことと思っています。

A lot of things have changed as a result, but most prominently, while people sometimes used to ask me in the middle of conversations, “What did you just say?”, or “Could you repeat that for me?”, after practicing just one of the many pronunciations, “shi”, the next day, my conversations drastically started becoming smoother.

After practicing the many pronunciations with the IPA(International Phonetics Alphabet) Chart, Asako continued, “Having sung in many different languages, when I hear even the smallest differences in sound, I can sense a big difference. With that, she gently corrected my mistakes.

During the lesson, I was just really amazed at her excellent hearing. What I found out is that by practicing vocalization with consciousness, we can change the pronunciation habits we have been using incorrectly. It was thanks to Asako’s warm encouragement that I was able to do such a task.

こうして麻子さんのレッスンを得て、私は発音の大切さ、自然で美しい声の技術を習得する意味を、目のあたりにしたという訳です。お陰様で私のような一般人でも、美声の勉強をすることで、人間味溢れる、きれいな日本語で喋るという事に自信が持てるようになりました。今後、プログラミング教育の情報発信をする際に、この用法を使うことで、聞きやすくて、解りやすい、そして、元気のでるクラスを、お子様方へお届けできると信じています。

Asako’s lessons have made me realize the importance of pronunciation, and the essence of having a natural and beautiful voice. Thanks to her, even an ordinary person like me can now have confidence in speaking with a beautiful and harmonic Japanese. I believe that by using her techniques, I will be able to deliver easy-to-hear, easy-to-understand, and uplifting classes to children in the future, when educating them on programming.

田村麻子さんの クラスはこちらから (Ms. Asako Tamura’s classes )

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Happy Coding with Brittany-

GRADES 1-2 STARTS DECEMBER 15. EVERY TUESDAY AT 6 PM FOR 4 WEEKS. FREE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, HOMESCHOOLS.

GRADES K

Hello everyone! My name is Brittany, and I am a Co-founder and instructor for Happy Code Club. In this class, we are going to learn the basics of Scratch to start your coding journey! We will break down coding concepts in a way that is easier to understand through a series of fun, creative, and engaging projects that are all created the way you want! It is your creative masterpiece. Students will have access to a recording for each class in case they want to rewatch the class or weren’t able to attend on a specific day. We will all learn coding together!
Technology required: Wifi, Chromebook, pc, or mac, two button mouse is recommended. (no tablets please). Registration is open through Dec 13 so don’t hesitate and register now. Please feel free to email brittany@happycodeclub.com if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Happy Coding with Brittany-

GRADES K STARTS DECEMBER 15. EVERY TUESDAY AT 5 PM FOR 4 WEEKS. FREE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, HOMESCHOOLS

GRADES K

Hello everyone! My name is Brittany, and I am a Co-founder and instructor for Happy Code Club. In this class, we are going to learn programming through a very kid-friendly app and other resources to get their brains thinking about code. We will create a variety of projects using basic block codes and play games that focus on problem solving and critical thinking. This program is designed to be the very first step in their coding journey without being overwhelming or too
advanced! We will all learn coding together!
Technology required: Tablet only. Registration is open through Dec 13 so don’t hesitate and register now. Please feel free to email brittany@happycodeclub.com if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Happy Coding with Brittany-

Game Design with Scratch Jr.

Grades: 3-5

Introduction to programming with Scratch will show you around the interface and have you making a fun project in minutes. This easy to learn program is super fun as it allows you to create artistic characters, scenes, and objects and animate them with computer code.
If you are curious about what coding is or simply want to try something new, this is a fun class to try. See why millions of students from around the world are sharing their awesome creations on the Scratch platform. The creations students make range from Stories, Games, animations, music and more! Get your creativity hats on and come and check this out!

Technology Requirements: Chromebooks or PC or Mac with wifi and a two button mouse recommended.

Links to class tools used Scratch Zoom Client installation

Prerequisites: No previous experience necessary. Ability to use a two button mouse; ability to hold objects on the screen and move them with left mouse button and keyboarding isrecommended.

Happy Coding with Fernando-

Intro to Game Design in Scratch

Grades: 3-5

Introduction to programming with Scratch will show you around the interface and have you making a fun project in minutes. This easy to learn program is super fun as it allows you to create artistic characters, scenes, and objects and animate them with computer code.
If you are curious about what coding is or simply want to try something new, this is a fun class to try. See why millions of students from around the world are sharing their awesome creations on the Scratch platform. The creations students make range from Stories, Games, animations, music and more! Get your creativity hats on and come and check this out!
Technology Requirements: Chromebooks or PC or Mac with wifi and a two button mouse recommended. Links to class tools used Scratch Zoom Client installation
Prerequisites: No previous experience necessary. Ability to use a two button mouse; ability to hold objects on the screen and move them with left mouse button and keyboarding is recommended.

Happy Coding

Winter Dates: Nov 30 – Jan 28

This winter join students from other schools in a zoom class that you can take from your school or home.
This after school club is free for public schools classrooms Grades 3-5 and it will be run for 6-8 weeks in Winter and Spring of 2021 Taught by Happy Code Club teachers with experience in various subjects including Scratch, Python, codehs.com, code.org, Robotics and more.
Winter Dates: Nov 30 – Jan 28