Lesson video

Hi there, everybody, and welcome to this unit on playing together.

We are going to be making music by building texture, and we're going to be exploring that right throughout this unit with melody, drone, and ostinato.

And I'm here to help us discover how all those will fit together.

This is our first lesson.

It's identifying different accompaniments within a piece of music.

My name's Mr. Croughan, and I'll be working with you today.

I'm excited to get going.

Here we go.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say that you can identify different layers of sounds under songs and in music.

We'll begin by looking at today's keywords.

We start with texture.

Texture is the combination of different layers of sounds.

Pulse, the regular steady heartbeat of the music.

Timbre, that's a description of the sound or tone of an instrument or our voice.

And ostinato, a repeating musical pattern that can be rhythmic or melodic, and we'll discover more about each of these keywords as we go through.

There are three learning cycles.

The first one is where we warm up so that we are ready for music, then we will hear how instruments build texture, and then we're going to add our own texture to a song.

Let's start by warming up so that we're ready for music.

We know how important it is before each lesson to warm up our minds and our voices, that helps us play music and sing together.

Rhythm warmups, they really help us develop our sense of timing when we're playing and when we're singing together, and warming up pitch helps us to sing in tune together.

Now, this first one is Don't Clap This One Back.

I'll pop the video on in a moment and you can follow along where you are.

If you feel super confident, you can also play this with a leader from your class.

Here comes the clip.

This is a game called Don't Clap This one Back.

You'll hear me clapping different rhythms like this one.

(Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) And that rhythm is actually our secret rhythm that we are never going to clap because that rhythm says.

♪ Don't clap this one back ♪ So if you hear it, you do nothing.

Any other rhythm you hear, we all clap together.

Let's try a couple.

(Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) Very, very good.

Now, you're going to listen super carefully because if you hear (clapping rhythmically) we don't clap that rhythm back.

Okay, let's play.

(Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) Did I catch any of you out? Let's try one more time.

Here we go.

(Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) Very well done.

Now you can practice that where you are.

Very good listening and concentrating, good stuff.

We'll now turn our focus to pitch.

And we're going to sing this song, and if you look carefully in that speech bubble, you can see that a number is added in each time.

So we begin with.

♪ One ♪ Then we add.

♪ One, two, one ♪ And add three next.

♪ One, two, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, three, two, one ♪ And so on.

I will put the track on and I would like you to sing along.

Here it comes.

(piano music playing) ♪ One, one, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, six ♪ ♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven ♪ ♪ Six, five, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ Eight, eight, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, four, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ <v ->We know that we're warmed-up and ready for music</v> because we're feeling calm and focused and ready, and we can feel that steady pulse.

We're following a set of musical instructions, and we can hear if we're in tune with those around us.

A quick check, Aisha says, "Warming up in music is just about making sure our singing voices are warmed up and working." And Sophia says, "Warming up in music also warms up our listening skills, our sense of rhythm, and pitching the right notes." Who do you agree with? Point at the screen if you think Aisha or Sophia.

Yes, I think so too, Sophia.

As well as warming up our singing voice.

Aisha's not wrong, warming up our singing voice is important, but if we can also warm up our sense of rhythm and our pitch, getting those notes right, it's really helpful too.

We are going to sing a song which is a children's folk song from Ghana.

It has two words, one word is senwa and the other word is dedende.

The track will come on in a moment.

I would like you to listen the first time and join in the second.

Are you ready? Here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ <v ->Beautiful singing, well done,</v> and I think we're all now warmed up and ready for music.

Are you, check in with yourself, feeling focused and ready? Have you been feeling the steady pulse? Are you singing more in tune now with those others around you? Is your voice feeling warm and safe and you are listening well to the music that we're hearing and that we're making? And you are ready to follow musical instructions.

If you are ready, then let's crack on.

Our second learning cycle is hearing how instruments build texture.

So think of some music that you like.

Maybe there was something playing on the radio this morning.

Maybe it's a song that's one of your current favorites.

How many types of those songs can you think of where you hear many different instruments at the same time? There might be a singing voice, maybe there's some guitar and a bass guitar, might be some keyboards or synthesizers.

There's some drums in there perhaps, and there might be lots of other instruments too.

Now, those instruments are playing at the same time creating texture.

So when many different sounds played at the same time happen, we describe that texture as thick or dense because there's lots of layers happening at once.

If a violin was playing alone, just one sound, that would be a pretty thin texture.

And if a range of different instruments were added, each doing something different, all playing at the same time, then the texture would become thicker.

We are going to have a listen to a piece of music of a full orchestra and it has a very thick texture because many different instruments which will have different timbres, the different quality of sound that they make, are all playing together.

Now the instruments often playing different notes, they fit together musically too, and sometimes you can add a choir in as well for good measure.

Have a listen to this clip.

(orchestra music playing) That was a piece of music called "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven, and it was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Did you hear how many layers of sound were all happening at the same time? Quick check for you then, I'd like you to match the keywords to their definitions.

The first one is pulse, the second is texture, and the third, timbre.

Have a look at the descriptions on the other side of the screen and match A, B, and C to their correct definitions.

I'll give you a moment.

Very well done, let's see if you are right.

The first one, A, pulse is the regular, steady heartbeat of the music, and B, texture, the combination of different layers of sounds, and C, timbre, that's the description of the sound or tone of an instrument or voice.

Really well done if you've got those correct.

Paraorchestra are a collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians who really push the boundaries in music making.

There are tremendously exciting music ensemble, and some of the instruments that they play are called adaptive instruments and that makes them playable for musicians who have a whole range of physical differences.

We're going to see some of those in action in this clip.

It's a piece of music called "Spring's Embrace," and it's played by seven musicians from Paraorchestra.

Have a watch and see if you notice how the texture gets thicker each time an instrument is added.

Maybe see if you can count how many layers there are and see if you recognize any of the instruments.

Here it comes.

(violin music playing) Wonderful stuff, perhaps you notice the way those instruments built texture one by one.

There was a violin, a shaker, there was an electric viola.

Now a viola is slightly larger than a violin, and it was an electric one being played there.

There were synthesizers, a French horn, snare and bass drums, a clarinet, and an instrument called headspace, which is a virtual computer-based instrument controlled by breath and head movement.

So at the beginning of that piece then, how would you describe the texture? Have a think.

Think back to the beginning of that piece and what happened what you've heard, how would you describe the texture at the beginning? Yeah, I agree, you would describe it as thin.

And then thinking how you might describe the texture at the end of that clip, how did it sound then? You might describe the texture as thick.

Really well done, great understanding.

Now I've put four clips here that you are going to listen to in turn.

See if you can identify which instrument, or instruments, you can hear in the clip, then what words would you use to describe their sound? This is describing it's timbre.

Now, there's no strict right or wrong answer to describing timbre, it's the words that come to mind for you to describe that sound.

And then, I'd like you to describe the texture of the piece in one of these ways.

You can either say it's thick, it's thin, it's getting thicker, or it's getting thinner, and you'll complete that grid.

So pause the video here and listen to each of those in turn.

Off you go and we'll see you in a moment with some answers.

Super, let's share some answers together.

The first one, it was strings that we heard and in fact, specifically a cello.

If you've got cello, that's amazing, but certainly a string instrument.

I've described the timbre as warm, smooth, buzzy, intense.

You might have used some of those words, and you might have used plenty of your own.

Texture in that one was thin, a single line of music being played.

In the second clip, we heard some beatboxing.

You might have put beatboxing or percussion or vocal percussion.

The timbre was spiky, sharp, clicky, buzzy.

You may have described it in many other words too.

The texture on that was getting thicker because a layer of sound was added each time.

In the third piece, we heard a full orchestra and choir that has a very thick texture, so I'm hoping you got texture as thick, and you might have described the timbre as perhaps rich, dramatic, piercing, warm, generous, and many other words besides.

In the last clip, we heard drums, strings, synths, brass, French horn.

This was a clip that we heard, an excerpt from Paraorchestra playing "Spring's Embrace." And this was dry and bright and warm, smooth and calm.

You might have described the timbre a bit like that.

And the texture this time was getting thinner each time one of those instruments was dropping out.

Really well done, it's time to move on to our third learning cycle today.

We are going to be adding texture to a song.

The Paraorchestra piece that we heard uses something called a melodic ostinato.

So an ostinato, or repeating pattern, a melodic because it was a tune that kept repeating.

We heard this repeating musical pattern on a violin, and I would like you to listen carefully as it comes.

Can you hear? (violin music playing) Now, an ostinato can be rhythmic, so you could clap it (clapping), or it could be melodic, so you can sing it.

Now, it can be played on any instrument, and that is one way of us adding texture to music.

So when we're thinking about texture, one of our options is an ostinato, rhythmic or melodic.

Our warmup song has an ostinato too.

The ostinato here is the rhythm of the words, that sound of.

(clapping rhythmically) ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ And it repeats throughout the song.

Have a listen.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ <v ->Now, I would like you to say</v> and then clap the rhythm of "Senwa Dedende" like this.

♪ Senwa dedende ♪ (Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) Let's do that all together.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ (Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) And we'll do it one more time, make sure everyone's speaking and clapping.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ (Mr. Croughan clapping rhythmically) Thrilled, now, you are going to transfer that rhythm onto something like claves or shaker eggs or some other untuned percussion you have available to you, okay? What your task is is to count yourselves in with a one, two, three, four, or a.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (claves beating rhythmically) And play that a few times to a steady pulse in your classroom.

When you are confident playing it correctly on those instruments, you'll put the track on.

Play that rhythmic ostinato over the top of the track.

You'll be playing at the same time as the drum you can hear on the track.

And if you've mastered that and you think "I'm totally ready for a super challenge," then try singing along at the same time as playing your ostinato.

(claves beating rhythmically) Okay, so pause here, run through those points, and I'll catch you in a moment.

Great, you've added a rhythmic ostinato to a song as a way of adding texture.

Another way we can add texture is by playing a drone.

A drone is a constant pitch sound that runs through the music.

We can hear drones played on things like bagpipes, harmoniums, and the Indian tanpura are all instruments that play a drone.

Can you hear one playing now? (drone music playing) I'd like you to pause the video now and listen to this piece of music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

It's a piece called "Music For A Found Harmonium." There is a constant drone that plays throughout this piece.

It's the first sound you hear and it continues all the way through.

I'd like to listen out for it, and we'll come back together in just a moment.

Off you go.

Now we can create drones in our classroom.

There might be instruments available to us, such as chime bars or glockenspiels, xylophones, or even percussion tubes that can make a note ring out.

If there was anyone in your classroom who played an instrument like a flute or a violin or a clarinet or recorder or an ocarina or anything like that that can hold a C, constant sound, then that's an option to play a drone too.

Choose an instrument that works for you in your classroom, you can have a few of them, and then use that same instrument.

So say if there was one on each table, so six people were all playing a xylophone, taken in turns to play the notes, you're gonna play a C, and then when you play it, it will ring out for a certain amount of time and then that sound dies out.

So you'll need to strike the bar again.

So it might be.

♪ Senwa dedende, senwa ♪ ♪ Senwa dedende ♪ Something like that, so that that sound feels like a constant drone sound.

I would like you to pause, put the track on, sing "Senwa Dedende" accompanied with your drone.

Off you go.

Fantastic, you've now explored adding texture using a drone.

We're now ready to put our three components together.

There'll be three groups in your classroom.

One group will play the drone on a C on the instruments you have available to you.

The second group will play the rhythmic ostinato on claves or shaker eggs.

(claves beating rhythmically) And then the third group will be singing "Senwa Dedende." You'll put the track on.

You are making sure you are listening to the steady pulse.

The drone players will play smoothly.

The ostinato players keeping in time, not getting quicker.

And the third group singing.

If you have time, each group can swap around so you get to play and sing a different part.

Enjoy, and I'll see you when you're done.

Off you go.

Brilliant, what beautiful playing.

And with a bit of practice, we stay more and more in time with each other.

It's those listening skills and feeling the steady pulse meaning we can sing and play together.

Question for you, how would you describe the texture? How would you describe the texture of what you played together? And what did you do to thicken that texture? If you did something to make your texture thicker.

And then the last question, if you included the backing track as one layer, how many layers of sound were there altogether? I'd like to pause here and run through those three questions.

You've completed the first part of the task by playing, but two, three, and four are describing your texture that you made, what you did to thicken it, and if you add the backing track, too, how many layers of sound were there altogether.

Pause now, and we'll come back together with those answers in just a moment.

Very good, so with describing the texture.

You may have said, "The more layers we added, the thicker the texture became." And what did you do specifically to thicken the texture? Well, you added a rhythmic ostinato, a drone, and your singing voices.

And if you include the backing track as one layer, there's a total of four layers of sound, and each one has a different timbre.

If you have time and you would like an extra challenge, you can add more layers by singing "Senwa Dedende" as a round.

There's a clip there to help you.

Good luck if you're doing that, have a pause now, and reflect on your answers and perhaps sing as a round.

Wonderful learning today, everyone.

Really well done.

Let's look at the summary of what we've learned.

We know that instruments can be identified by their timbre, by what they sound like, the quality of sound that they produce.

The more instruments or layers of sound we add, the thicker that texture becomes.

We can add ostinati, that's more than one ostinato, and drones to songs to thicken the texture.

And feeling the steady pulse that helps us to play and sing in time.

Great work, everyone, today, and I will look forward to seeing you next time.

Bye for now.