Syng & Betsy The Buzzing Bee

The Adventures Of Syng And Betsy The Buzzing Bee

The Adventures Of Syng is an educational adventure series, following an Alien, Syng, as he encounters new sounds and songs throughout his travels around the Universe. The books are designed to be an entertaining, highly accessible introduction to singing and music. We explore simple sounds and exercises that teach the brain and the body the mechanical requirements for good singing technique, whilst starting to build cognitive and neurological enrichment.

In this book, The Adventures Of Syng And Betsy The Buzzing Bee, Syng encounters a wonderful buzzing bee called Betsy. We explore all the buzzing sounds Betsy makes whilst watching her interact with flowers in the garden, which helps us to learn how to engage our breathing muscles when singing.

The Sounds Of This Book

The Sounds Of This Book

This book features a buzzing bee sound: “zzzzzz” - also known as a ‘voiced fricative’.

For young and developing voices, this type of sound is really good for engaging the breathing muscles for breath control, as well as connecting and coordinating the breathing and sound production systems together. We teach the body how to feel all the necessary components of sound production in a really fun way.

Another cool benefit of these fricative buzzy sounds, is that they actually make it a little easier to sing in general. This is as a result of an effect called “back pressure” - which basically means that some of the air and acoustic energy generated when we sing gets sent back down to the sound production ‘factory’ instead of exiting through the mouth. Think of it like recycling sound and air, making it easier for the voice to make those same sounds again.

Throughout this book, we explore different levels of energy and different pitches in order to learn how the breath and sounds feel in different states, helping develop awareness of the body, as well as efficient sound production. Plus, it’s SUPER fun!

Energy Levels

Energy Levels

Sound energy levels are determined by the size of the lettering. Think of this kind of like “excitedness” or effort. The bigger the letters, the more energy you should encourage when making the sound, which generally makes the sounds a bit louder, whereas smaller letters should be much quieter and softer.
If the letters gradually get larger or smaller, you should smoothly transition between energy states.

Pitch Levels

Pitch Levels

Pitch is represented by colour. If the lettering is black, you should encourage a neutral pitch (same as speaking voice). If the lettering is blue, the pitch should be lower than your speaking voice, and higher if it’s red. The darker the colour, the more neural the pitch should be.

If the colour is a gradient, you should SLIDE smoothly from one pitch to another, and if the colour is a harsh change, then JUMP from one pitch to another instead.

Page Specific Audio Guides

Please note, the vocalisations below are just examples and should be used as a guide only. Don't try and copy them exactly, instead, place the sounds relative to you/your child's speaking voice. There's no need to go higher or lower than what they're capable of. Keep it comfortable and fun!