Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mr. Pate.

I'm looking forward to doing lots of singing with you in today's lesson.

This unit is called "Singing for performance: Changing tempo and dynamics in our songs." And today's lesson is called "Following a conductor to create a musical mood." By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to follow a conductor to change the mood of a song.

Some of the words we'll be using in today's lesson are tempo, which is one of our elements of music, and it means how fast or slow the music is played.

Dynamics is another one of our elements of music, and it means how loudly or quietly the music is played or sung.

A conductor is a person who directs musicians or singers.

And gestures are the hand actions that will be used by the conductor to lead the singing or playing.

Before we start though, it's important to warm up our voices and our body for every music lesson.

This helps make sure that all of our muscles, even those teeny tiny ones in your throat, are ready to sing.

This will help keep our voices strong and healthy.

Join in with these warmups.

Let's warm up our bodies.

We're gonna start by giving our hands a good shake.

So put your hand in the air.

We're gonna shake it 16 times.

Then we're gonna move over to the other one.

Then we're gonna go down low, and on the other side.

Ready? Here we go.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, now down low, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and the other one.

Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

Now we'll do eight.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

A-one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

A-one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

A-one, two, three, four, five, now four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, two! One, two.

One, two.

One, two.

One, two.

One, one, one, one, hey! Let's warm up our faces.

This warmup is called big face, small face.

When I shout big face, I want you to make the biggest face you can.

That means eyes open wide, open mouth.

(moans) Big, big, big.

And when I shout small face, I want you to make the smallest face you can.

Closed eyes, closed mouth, everything really small.

Like that.

Ready? Here we go.

And big face! And small face.

And big face.

And small face.

Now let's do big happy face.

And now let's do small cross face.

Now let's do some breathing exercises.

We're gonna pretend that we've got a birthday cake in front of us, and we're gonna breathe in deeply and then blow out the candles.

For this first one, we're gonna pretend we're four years old, and when we breathe in, we're gonna breathe in for four counts, and then we're gonna blow out four times for each of the four candles.

Bit like this.

In, two, three, four, and (blows).

Let's give it a try.

Ready? And breathe in, two, three, four, and blow! (blows) Great.

Now, let's pretend that you're a year older.

You're five now.

We're gonna breathe in for five, and then blow out five candles.

Here we go.

Ready? And.

In, two, three, four, five, and (blows).

Now let's start warming up our voices.

We're gonna pretend that we're at a fireworks display.

We're gonna imagine seeing an amazing firework, and then we're gonna say, "Ooh!" Ready? Here it comes! (firework bangs) Ooh! Now this next one's really impressive.

We're gonna go, "Aah!" Ready? Here it comes.

(firework bangs) Aah! Great.

Finally, this one's amazing.

I want you to do a, "Wow!" Ready? Here we go.

Here comes the firework! (firework bangs) Wow! These chants and songs will help us warm up even more by using our voices in different ways.

Let's start by singing the alphabet song.

(piano plays bright introduction) ♪ A B C D E F G ♪ ♪ H I J K L M N O P ♪ ♪ Q R S T U and V ♪ ♪ W X Y Z ♪ (piano plays bright melody) ♪ A B C D E F G ♪ ♪ H I J K L M N O P ♪ ♪ Q R S T U and V ♪ ♪ W X Y Z ♪ (piano plays bright melody) ♪ A B C D E F G ♪ ♪ H I J K L M N O P ♪ ♪ Q R S T U and V ♪ ♪ W X Y Z ♪ <v ->Now let's sing the song "Knock On The Door".

</v> (piano plays bright intro) ♪ Hello ♪ ♪ Knock knock knock ♪ ♪ On the door ♪ ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ There's a little baby ♪ ♪ With a song for me ♪ ♪ Hi little baby ♪ ♪ Let's hear your song ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa wa ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa ♪ ♪ Wa wa wa wa ♪ ♪ That was lovely ♪ ♪ Bye ♪ (door shuts) ♪ Knock knock knock ♪ ♪ On the door ♪ ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ There's a cheeky monkey ♪ ♪ With a song for me ♪ ♪ Hi monkey ♪ ♪ Let's hear your song ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ah ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ah ♪ ♪ Aw thank you very much ♪ ♪ Bye ♪ (door shuts) ♪ Knock knock knock ♪ ♪ On the door ♪ ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ There's a spooky ghost ♪ ♪ With a song for me ♪ ♪ Ooh hello ♪ ♪ Let's hear your song ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Oh that was scary ♪ ♪ Thanks bye ♪ (door shuts) ♪ Knock knock knock ♪ ♪ On the door ♪ ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ There's a tiny mouse ♪ ♪ With a song for me ♪ ♪ Hi little mouse ♪ ♪ Let's hear your song ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Ee ee ee ee ♪ ♪ Lovely ♪ ♪ Thanks bye ♪ (door shuts) ♪ Knock knock knock ♪ ♪ On the door ♪ ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ There's an opera singer ♪ ♪ With a song for me ♪ ♪ Hi ♪ ♪ Let's hear that song ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ Ah that's enough visitors for one day ♪ (door shuts) (music concludes) <v ->Now let's sing the song "Bunny Boogie".

</v> (bright acoustic music) ♪ Bunny's feeling sad today ♪ ♪ Let's help her sway those clouds away ♪ ♪ We'll sing a happy song ♪ ♪ To make her smile ♪ ♪ Listen to that happy tune ♪ ♪ Soon she'll bounce around the room ♪ ♪ Let's all dance together ♪ ♪ Bunny style ♪ ♪ So wiggle those ears as the music plays ♪ ♪ Shake your paws and start to sway ♪ ♪ We'll make that bunny dance today ♪ ♪ Let's groove ♪ ♪ Hop hop hop ♪ ♪ Let's jump around ♪ ♪ Tap those bunny feet on the ground ♪ ♪ Wiggle wiggle wiggle ♪ ♪ To the funky sound ♪ ♪ Let's groove ♪ (yawns) (music slows down) ♪ Bunny's feeling tired today ♪ ♪ Let's help her sway those clouds away ♪ ♪ We'll sing a happy song to make her smile ♪ ♪ Listen to that happy tune ♪ ♪ Soon she'll bounce around the room ♪ ♪ Let's all dance together ♪ ♪ Bunny style ♪ ♪ So wiggle those ears as the music plays ♪ ♪ Shake your paws and start to sway ♪ ♪ We'll make that bunny dance today ♪ ♪ Let's groove ♪ ♪ Hop hop hop ♪ ♪ Let's jump around ♪ ♪ Tap those bunny feet on the ground ♪ ♪ Wiggle wiggle wiggle to the funky sound ♪ ♪ And let's groove ♪ ♪ Bunny's feeling cross today ♪ ♪ Let's help her sway those clouds away ♪ ♪ We'll sing a happy song to make her smile ♪ ♪ Listen to that happy tune ♪ ♪ Soon she'll bounce around the room ♪ ♪ Let's all dance together ♪ ♪ Bunny style ♪ ♪ So wiggle those ears as the music plays ♪ ♪ Shake your paws and start to sway ♪ ♪ We'll make that bunny dance today ♪ ♪ Let's groove ♪ ♪ Hop hop hop ♪ ♪ Let's jump around ♪ ♪ Tap those bunny feet on the ground ♪ ♪ Wiggle wiggle wiggle to the funky sound ♪ ♪ And let's groove ♪ (music concludes) <v ->Are you feeling ready to sing?</v> If so, your body will feel relaxed and ready, your voice will feel nice and warm, and you'll feel focused and ready to make music.

In today's lesson, we're gonna be looking at changing tempo and dynamics in our songs, and then we'll look at following a conductor to create a musical mood.

Let's practice our song, "The Walking Song." When you're singing this song, think about how you can use dynamics, which is the volume, loud or soft, and tempo, which is the speed, fast or slow, to sing with character and feeling.

Let's sing "The Walking Song." (piano plays fast-paced melody) ♪ Walking walking round we go ♪ ♪ Loud or quiet ♪ ♪ Fast or slow ♪ ♪ Walking walking to the beat ♪ ♪ Sing our song and move your feet ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're walking walking walking ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're walking to the beat ♪ (piano plays fast-paced melody) ♪ Stomping stomping round we go ♪ ♪ Loud or quiet ♪ ♪ Fast or slow ♪ ♪ Stomping stomping to the beat ♪ ♪ Sing our song and move your feet ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're stomping stomping stomping ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're stomping to the beat ♪ (piano plays fast-paced melody) ♪ Sneaking sneaking round we go ♪ ♪ Loud or quiet ♪ ♪ Fast or slow ♪ ♪ Sneaking sneaking to the beat ♪ ♪ Sing our song and move your feet ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're sneaking sneaking sneaking ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're sneaking to the beat ♪ (piano plays fast-paced melody) ♪ Jumping jumping round we go ♪ ♪ Loud or quiet ♪ ♪ Fast or slow ♪ ♪ Jumping jumping to the beat ♪ ♪ Sing our song and move your feet ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're jumping jumping jumping ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're jumping to the beat ♪ (melody tempo increases) ♪ Running running round we go ♪ ♪ Loud or quiet ♪ ♪ Fast or slow ♪ ♪ Running running to the beat ♪ ♪ Sing our song and move your feet ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're running running running ♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ We're running to the beat ♪ (music concludes) <v ->Well done for singing with changing tempo and dynamics.

</v> What does tempo mean? Does it mean how loud or quiet the music is? Does it mean how fast or slow the music is? Or does it mean how high or low the music is? The answer is B.

Tempo means how fast or slow the music is.

Now let's listen to our song, "Ocean Explorers." While you're listening, think about, how do the dynamics change to suit the words of each verse? And when does the tempo change in the song? Let's listen to "Ocean Explorers." (waves splash) (racing music) ♪ Our submarine is diving ♪ ♪ Beneath the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ We search for sparkling treasures ♪ ♪ And new discoveries ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think we'll find some treasure ♪ ♪ We spy an ancient shipwreck ♪ ♪ Beside the broken mast ♪ ♪ A chest full of treasure ♪ ♪ From pirates of the past ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think we'll find some animals ♪ ♪ Dolphins leap into the air ♪ ♪ They splash and spin and play ♪ ♪ A school of silver fish is there ♪ ♪ They flash and dart away ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think it's time to go home ♪ (bubbles pop) ♪ Now our adventure's over ♪ ♪ But there's still more to see ♪ ♪ We'll sail again tomorrow ♪ ♪ For more discovery ♪ (music concludes) <v ->Now you've listened to "Ocean Explorers,"</v> which part of the song changed dynamics, and which part changed tempo? Aisha says, "The second part of the chorus, when we sing, ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ is louder," and you're absolutely right, it is, to show these ocean explorers being really happy about their job.

Laura says, "I can hear it get gradually louder on the words, 'Something moves beneath the hull.

'" And you're absolutely right, Laura.

It does.

That shows building excitement, as we find out about the dramatic goings on under the sea.

Alex says, "I can hear it change to a slower tempo in the last verse." And yes, in the last verse, when the explorers talk about going home, the song slows down to make it feel more calm.

Let's perform "Ocean Explorers." When we perform, change the dynamics and the tempo to give the song character.

Think, which parts of the song will you sing quieter or louder to give the song character? And how will you change the tempo for the last verse as the explorers are going home? Let's sing "Ocean Explorers".

(waves splash) (racing music) ♪ Our submarine is diving ♪ ♪ Beneath the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ We search for sparkling treasures ♪ ♪ And new discoveries ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think we'll find some treasure ♪ ♪ We spy an ancient shipwreck ♪ ♪ Beside the broken mast ♪ ♪ A chest full of treasure ♪ ♪ From pirates of the past ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think we'll find some animals ♪ ♪ Dolphins leap into the air ♪ ♪ They splash and spin and play ♪ ♪ A school of silver fish is there ♪ ♪ They flash and dart away ♪ ♪ The water swirls ♪ ♪ The currents pull ♪ ♪ Something moves beneath the hull ♪ ♪ Hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ Adventure's down below ♪ ♪ Oh we love to be ♪ ♪ Explorers of the sea ♪ ♪ We'll leave the land behind ♪ ♪ But what do you think we'll find ♪ ♪ I think it's time to go home ♪ (bubbles pop) ♪ Now our adventure's over ♪ ♪ But there's still more to see ♪ ♪ We'll sail again tomorrow ♪ ♪ For more discovery ♪ (music concludes) <v ->So how did you do?</v> You will have performed with character and feeling if you started quietly and then gradually got louder to build the excitement in the lyrics, "The water swirls, the currents pull, Something moves beneath the hull." When you sung, "Oh we love to be explorers of the sea," hopefully you sung that louder, to show how happy these lyrics are.

You should have sung the last verse slower, to show that the adventure is coming to an end.

Now let's look at following a conductor to create a musical mood.

Watch this video of the National Children's Orchestra performing.

The person at the front wearing black is the conductor.

What do you think the conductor does? What is the conductor's role, and what are they trying to tell the other musicians? Let's watch.

(orchestra plays dark melody) (music builds) (orchestra plays dramatic floating music) (music swells) (music continues) (music continues) So what do you think? What's the conductor's role, and what are they trying to tell the other musicians? Sam says, "The conductor is helping the orchestra to stay in time together, and giving them signals about how the music should sound." We can follow a conductor when we sing, so we know when to start and stop singing.

A conductor can also tell us to change our dynamics, singing quieter or louder, and to change the tempo, singing faster or slower.

The conductor can change the feeling or the mood of the song by changing the dynamics and the tempo.

Now, let's watch some videos of the London Symphony Orchestra performing.

Can you spot the conductor? In this first clip, the conductor is telling the musicians to play with quiet dynamics.

(orchestra plays Beethoven's "Ode to Joy") ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) In this next clip, the conductor is telling the musicians to play loudly.

How are his movements different when he's asking the musicians to play loudly? (orchestra and choir perform Beethoven's "Ode to Joy") ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) ("Ode to Joy" continues) So what do you think? How does the conductor's movements change when they want the orchestra to play louder or quieter? Sam says, "When he wants the orchestra to play loudly, the conductor has wider arms and looks more dramatic." So we can be the conductor for our songs.

The basic conductor gestures for changing dynamics are putting your arms open wide for strong, loud singing, and holding your arms close together for soft singing.

We can also use gestures to change the tempo of the music.

We can roll our arms quickly to tell our musicians to sing quickly, and we can roll our arms slowly to tell our musicians to sing slowly, and that will change the tempo.

So which of these gestures would mean strong singing or loud dynamics? Would it be A, B, or C? The answer is B.

When we want to change the dynamics, wide open arms mean strong singing or singing with loud dynamics.

Let's sing our song "Haida", and we're going to use a conductor to change the tempo.

Choose someone from your group to be the conductor.

When you're singing, the conductor can roll their arms slowly to make the tempo slower, and quickly to make the tempo quicker.

Let's sing "Haida" with a conductor to change our tempo.

You could pause the video now to sing along just with your group, or you can keep going to sing along with the recording.

Let's sing "Haida".

♪ Ready steady off we go ♪ ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ (metronome clicks) ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ (metronome clicks) ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Haida haida ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ ♪ Hai-da ♪ ♪ Hai di-di haida ♪ ♪ Haida ♪ ♪ Haidi haida ♪ <v ->In our song, "A Keelie Makolay",</v> the conductor also uses their voice to set the dynamics and tempo, because they sing the call.

If they sing the call loudly and quickly, the group will respond loudly and quickly.

But if they sing quietly and slowly, that's how the group will respond.

Choose someone in your group to be the conductor.

The conductor needs to use their voice and the conductor gestures to set the dynamics and tempo.

Everyone else has to respond to the conductor by following their instructions carefully.

Let's sing "A Keelie Makolay".

You could pause the video now to sing it with your group, or keep going and sing it along with the recording.

(metronome clicks) ♪ Ready steady off we go ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ A Keelie Makolay ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ Mo paco meeno sway ♪ ♪ O mo paco meeno sway ♪ <v ->So how did you find both being a conductor</v> and following a conductor? Laura says, "Sometimes I found it tricky to get everyone to sing at the same tempo." Conducting a big group of musicians is difficult, and takes practice.

Aisha says, "I enjoyed controlling the tempo and dynamics of the music using my hands and voice." It's fun being a conductor.

Jacob says, "Having the conductor made it easier for us all to sing the response as a team." And that's exactly what a conductor's for, to help all the musicians work together as a team.

In today's lesson, we've learned that we can sing with character and feeling by considering the use of tempo and dynamics in our performance.

We've learned that a conductor is a person who directs musicians and singers, and we've learned that a conductor can show a group of musicians that they want the tempo or the dynamics to change using gestures.

Well done for some lovely singing and great conducting in today's lesson.

I'll see you in the next one.

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