Lesson video

Hi there, everybody, and welcome to the final lesson in this Singing for Performance Unit, holding a second part in rounds and partner songs.

Today we are performing our rounds and partner songs, and I'm really excited because we get to share all of that wonderful hard work that you've been up to.

By the end of today's lesson, we want you to be able to say that you can hold your part confidently in a performance, singing at the right time with accuracy and a steady pulse.

And I'm here to guide you through it.

Let's begin by looking through today's keywords.

We start with rehearse, to practise in order to improve and prepare for a performance.

Then pulse, the regular, steady heartbeat of the music.

Performance, presenting our work in front of others.

A conductor, a person who directs musicians or singers.

And the audience, a group of people listening or watching to our performance.

We know how important it is to warm up our voices, our bodies, and our minds before we begin singing and before we start to perform.

If we warm up our whole body, it's gonna help us stand correctly.

It's gonna help us feel at ease when we sing.

We want to gently warm and stretch our vocal cords to prevent our voices from injury.

So I would like you to begin by preparing to join in with these warmups.

Here they come.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (performers clapping rhythmically) <v ->Now we are going to warm up our faces by chewing a toffee.

</v> Find yours.

Mine's in my pocket right here, and it's this big, and when we put it in our mouth, we're going to begin to chew.

Let's all do it together.

Quite tough.

It's getting a bit softer.

Do some really good chewing.

It stuck to my teeth at the back.

I have to use my tongue.

I'm really, really big chewing now.

And now, we're going to do something horrible and chew with our mouth open.

Don't tell the folks at home.

Hmm, delicious.

We'll begin by breathing.

We'll breathe in for four, hold for one, and out for five.

Watch first.

You'll notice we breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth.

Let's now join in altogether.

Well done.

We're going to do that two more times.

Here we go.

Make sure we're feeling nice and relaxed and.

That's great, we should be feeling quite relaxed and the air should be flowing quite calmly.

This time, we're going to breathe in for four, hold for one, and we're going to breathe out for six, imagining we're blowing out through a straw.

Watch first.

Okay, let's all do that together.

Feeling relaxed, shoulders relaxed, off we go.

Let's do that two more times.

And one more.

Well done.

(upbeat music) ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, three, one ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, won't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ <v ->One bottle of pop.

Be ready to join in.

</v> And one bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three bottles of pop, four bottles of pop, five bottles of pop, six bottles of pop, seven bottles of pop pop.

Super duper well done.

These next three warmups are designed to help us all feel the steady pulse together.

This is really gonna tune us in and keep us in time.

So the first one is move to the beat.

Simply follow the video, and when you've got a space in your classroom, copy that so you're all moving at the same time, keeping in time with that steady pulse.

The second one is playing "don't clap this one back." There's a video there as an example and you can play that in your classroom with different leaders if you would like to.

And finally, the body percussion to a steady pulse.

There's an example video that you can play, or you could choose a leader to lead this where you are.

Okay, so pause the video, play those three, and as a whole group, all try and keep to the steady pulse.

Off you go.

And now, the question we always ask, are you ready to sing? And if you are, your throat will be feeling warmer than it was before, you are listening and feeling that steady pulse as a group, and you're concentrating, you're focused and ready to learn.

There are two learning cycles in today's lesson.

The first one is preparing for a performance, and then the second one, creating an engaging and accurate performance.

So we're gonna start with preparation.

Let's prepare for our performance.

When we perform, we're sharing our work with others and we want to feel proud of ourselves.

We've worked hard, and so to help us feel successful, we are going to be practising some calm breathing, feeling the steady pulse, standing and moving well, and remembering to look at the conductor.

How we stand or how we present ourselves is important because this is gonna help us support our breathing and our singing.

I would like you to begin, if you can find a space, with your hands by your side, your feet slightly apart, and your shoulders relaxed.

Check in with yourself.

Check your posture.

You could try this: if you put your feet together and then point your toes to 10 and two on a clock, and then bring your heels out in line with your toes so your feet are in parallel, then your feet are just the right amount apart and it should help you have a good grounding to stand calmly and sing well.

Breathing is important too, so if you've taken a moment to make sure you're standing well, we're now ready to breathe, and that deeper breathing is really key to helping us feel calm.

Fills our lungs as well with plenty of breath to support our voice.

We want to make sure our shoulders don't rise as we're breathing deeply.

So we're going to do this, we're gonna practise breathing in for a count of four, we'll hold for one, and breathe out slowly for a count of five.

So ready, check in, feet slightly apart, hands by your side, shoulders relaxed, and follow me breathing in, two, three, four, hold for one, breathing out, two, three, four, five.

Let's do it again, in two with our nose, three, four, hold for one and out, two, three, four, five.

Check that your jaw feels relaxed.

Just let go.

Let go of your jaw.

Ah, nice and relaxed.

And with our voices away, one more time we'll breathe.

Are we ready? Breathing in.

Two, three, four, hold for one, breathing out, two, three, four, five.

Well done.

This is something that you can practise anytime you'd like to feel calm.

Just check in.

Are your shoulders still relaxed or not rising? If so, you're doing great.

These are our rounds.

We'll be singing "Bele Mama," "Round and Round," and "Have you Seen the Ghost of Tom?" And then our partner songs that fit together neatly.

"Little Red Waggon," goes with "A Ram Sam Sam," "Why shouldn't My Goose," fits with "Do You Know The Muffin Man" and "Shinkansen," and thirdly, "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" goes with "One Bottle of Pop" and "My Dustbin." This is what we are going to prepare to perform today.

We need to know which group we're in for each of those songs so that when we're on stage, we can move neatly about and our performance is slick.

So with that first partner song, "Little Red Waggon" and "A Ram Sam Sam," you're in two groups.

Two songs, two groups.

"Round and Round", we're in three groups, same as the partner songs of "Why Shouldn't My Goose," "Muffin Man" and "Shinkansen" And for "Fish, Chips and Vinegar," "one Bottle of Pop" and "My Dustin," all those, you'll be in three groups.

And then lastly, the last section if you like, we're in four groups for "Have you Seen The Ghost of Tom" as a four part round and "Bele Mama." In our performance, that means we're going to be in different number of groups for each song.

So we need to be able to move neatly, and when we've moved, ensure we're still standing well and we're ready to sing.

So here's a little exercise we're going to do.

In a moment, you're going to walk around the room, and when your teacher calls out each song name in that order, I'd like you to find the group you need to be in without talking, quietly and sensibly, as if you're on stage, and then stand with your singing posture ready to sing.

So you're going to pause the video here.

It might not be perfectly neat the first time, but if you are focused, you'll get it very, very quickly.

Remember, the first songs, we're in two groups, then three, and finally four.

Pause the video here and rehearse that where you are.

Off you go.

Well done.

Good.

It takes some work, it takes some concentration, and it takes some effort, and you're putting it in, which is great.

It's now time to rehearse and stage our performance.

So we're going to begin off stage as it were, where the audience almost couldn't see us.

Now, it could be just to the sides of your room.

And when your teacher signals, you're going to walk confidently and quietly and calmly into your two groups for "Little Red Waggon" and "A Ram Sam Sam," okay? And you're going to remember to stand with your feet slightly apart and just breathe calmly.

I'm going to ask you to pause the video so that you have time to do that.

So you're going to be starting off stage, and then you're going to move into those two groups calmly and neatly.

And when you're ready, press play, and we'll be ready to rehearse our first song.

Pause here.

Off you go.

Wonderful, looking very neat.

We're standing, we're relaxed, our feet are slightly apart, our shoulders are relaxed, and our hands are by our side, and hopefully there's a smile on your faces.

So now we're going to rehearse our first song, which is "A Ram Sam Sam" partnered with "Little Red Waggon." There is a backing track there for you to use if you'd like to.

I would like you to pause the video.

I would like to check there is a conductor in place and that you can all see that conductor and that you maintain your good posture, your calm smiles, and your arms by your sides.

Pause the video here and be ready to rehearse your first song.

Off you go.

Already sounding great.

Your focus is good.

You're maintaining that performance element.

The fact that you know you want it to look good as well as sound it, this is great.

We're now going to rehearse moving into new groups.

We're gonna practise calmly moving quietly into three groups because we are in three groups for "Round and Round&lt;" and then those partner songs, "Goose," "Muffin Man" and "Shinkansen," and "Fish and Chips," "One Bottle of Pop," and "My Dustbin." Okay, you still want to make sure the conductor's facing you, whether that's the same conductor or a different one, and you can all still see them.

You still remember that your feet are slightly apart, your hands are by your sides, your head is held high and there is a smile on your face.

Okay, so pause the video here and practise moving into the three groups calmly, quietly, and with great focus.

Off you go.

Well, you're all looking very neat in those three groups.

Well done.

Now, we're not going to sing through those songs in three groups right now.

Instead, we are going to do our rehearsal of moving into four groups.

So you're going to, in a moment, pause the video and practise calmly and quietly moving, as you did before, this time into four groups, ready for "Have you Seen the Ghost of Tom" and "Bele Mama," those four-part rounds.

So pause the video here and calmly move into four groups, remembering you're on stage and there's an audience ready to look at you and hear you, and we want it to look neat and slick.

Off you go.

Well done, everyone.

This is good.

This is good stagecraft.

So let's have a check in.

Did we move into our groups calmly? And did we remember our correct singing posture, feet slightly apart, arms by our sides, face smiling, head held high, feeling pretty relaxed? And did you know which group to move into each time? Oh yes, for this song, I'm in part two, so I need to be in that group.

Let's check you've worked that out smoothly.

And as a team, we're working together to make sure everyone knows where they are.

The rehearsal process helps this.

It helps us really cement that we know where we're walking and what we're doing.

It takes practise.

Were you breathing calmly? We are gonna continue to practise that deeper breathing and calm breathing.

It helps us stay relaxed, it helps us stay focused, and it prepares our lungs with plenty of air to support our singing.

And lastly, could you see the conductor? Was that conductor there at the front? And were you in such formation that you could certainly see them? If so, well done, and we're ready to move on.

The second part of this lesson is creating our engaging and accurate performance.

So we're gonna do two final warmups.

Now, I know we did warmups at the start, but these are more to help us feel like a strong team altogether.

We're not performing as individuals, we're performing as a unit, as an ensemble, as a team, as a class, so these warmups help us feel stronger as a team.

Laura says, "If we're feeling connected and are working as a team, it helps us to feel like we're singing as a choir rather than individuals." I think what's really important for our performance.

So the first warmup we're going to do is pass the pulse.

So what we do is we stand in a circle if we can, everyone hold hands, and the conductor will begin by gently squeezing the hand of the person on their left.

And that pulse, that gentle hand squeeze, will get passed all around the circle clockwise.

So what you are feeling is when's that pulse going to get to me? It helps us pay attention to each other and it's calm, quiet, and focused.

If you'd like to, there is a track there that you could use to squeeze in time to the steady pulse.

So it keeps it in a strict rhythm.

Okay, so pause the video here, set yourself up in a circle, calm and focused, and pass the pulse.

Off you go.

Lovely.

Hopefully the activity helped you to focus and to feel ready.

Now, the second one we're going to do is a more vocal warmup, and it's gentle humming.

Now, instead of singing the lyrics to "Have you Seen the Ghost of Tom," we're going to hum it, still in your four groups, so we'll set ourselves up in a moment in those four groups calmly and neatly following our conductor, but instead of singing, we're simply going to hum.

Now, the backing track here starts that we all sing once through in unison, then each part comes in at the right time.

Okay, so I'd like you to pause here and I'd like you to gently hum.

This is going to really calmly continue our warmup and help with our feeling calm and our focus.

Off you go.

Really well done.

Good.

It should feel quite calm to do, and it's also helping with our listening skills.

It's quiet and it helps our voices warm and safe whilst we are maintaining our focus.

Good job.

It is performance time, and so you're going to sing each song.

Now, this could be either to an audience, maybe you've invited in the other class, maybe you are sharing this as part of a bigger celebration, or you might simply be recording it on a camera or a tablet so you can watch it back at another time.

When we get feedback from our performance, it's great because it helps us evaluate how well we did.

We can do our best on that day, our present best.

It's never going to always be perfect.

We just want to make it the best that we can with the best focus we can bring for that performance.

And then afterwards, we can look back and think, "Well, that was really good, but I might do that a bit different next time." Now, when we perform, we keep going, even if we make a mistake.

It might not be perfect every time.

It's just the best we can do on the day.

And as Lucas reminds us, "It's important to smile." Shows us we're relaxed, that shows that audience that we're relaxed, and that we're enjoying ourselves.

And if we're enjoying ourselves, the audience will enjoy themselves too.

Quick check in for you.

Who do you agree with most? Jun says, "Performing is sharing our best work, and if we feel relaxed and confident, the audience will feel relaxed and confident too.

And we keep going, even if we make a mistake." And Izzy says, "Performing has to be perfect, so if we get it wrong, we should stop and we start again because we want to show the audience our best work." Where do your thoughts lie? Who do you most agree with, Jun or Izzy? Have a little think, then you can point to the person you agree with the most and see if we agree too.

Yeah, I agree with Jun.

It's sharing our best work.

It's the best we can do on the day.

Feeling relaxed and confident's important, and that's gonna help our audience feel relaxed.

And remember if we make a little mistake, we carry on.

We keep smiling.

We smile and carry on.

Here are some top tips for your performance success.

Relax.

Relax.

You've got this.

We know how to stand calmly with our hands by our side.

Relaxed breathing.

We want to make sure we can see that conductor 'cause they are beating the steady pulse for us.

We remember that we sing confidently, but not too loudly.

Hearing all of those parts together as we've rehearsed will help you keep in time.

And remember when you are changing groups, we move calmly and confidently, and it will look neat and slick.

Then after we've performed, we're gonna check in, see what went well, see what we might do even better next time.

And as Alex reminds us, evaluating our work's important 'cause it helps us improve every time we perform.

We're gonna check in to see what we remembered to do, and then if what we remembered really helped us to perform at our best.

One last check-in for you.

True or false, see what you think.

Evaluating our work is only useful in rehearsals.

So evaluating, see how well we did, it's only useful in rehearsals.

Is that true or is that false? You can give me a thumbs up if you think, "Yep, we only evaluate our work in rehearsal 'cause then it's performance time," or is it false, we continue to evaluate? You are right.

It is false.

Really well done.

When we evaluate our work, that helps us improve, ready for our next performance.

We always want to get better.

We always want to learn from our last performance so that we can improve on the next one.

So it's now time for you to perform your songs and engage your audience with your smiles and a confident but not too loud singing voice.

Remember, when you change groups from the two groups to the three to the four, you're moving calmly and confidently when you change groups.

We remember to stand well with our shoulders relaxed, our hands by our sides, and a smile and our face.

We're gonna pause the video here, and you are going to have a fantastic time sharing the wonderful work that you've done singing those songs in the order written out on the screen for you.

So go on, go and enjoy yourself, have a wonderful time, keep smiling, and do the best that you can do today.

Off you go.

Woo, yay, woo, brilliant, yeah! Well, I hope that where you are, I hope your audience was full of joy for the wonderful work that you've created.

And if you did it in front of a camera, then I hope that you were pleased with your performance too.

I hope your teacher felt proud of you, and I hope that you felt proud of yourself.

So now to finish off, we're going to just look at that recording back, or maybe we might get some feedback from our audience.

Maybe you already have what people said about it, what they liked, and what you and your group and your class thought about it too.

What was wonderful? What might you do different next time? What did you feel proud of? What techniques did you use that really helped? Keeping the steady pulse, watching the conductor, your wonderful singing posture, what was good for you? Aisha says, "Our singing went a little bit out of time actually in "Round and Round," but remembering to smile and to keep breathing and following in the conductor, that's gonna help us work even better on that next time." And Jacob said, "Well, we followed the conductor's steady pulse, and by looking at their hand and keeping in time, that helped us all keep together." So I'd like you to pause and I'd like you to have a little class discussion.

See what you really liked, chat about what went well, what techniques you use to make your performance shine and sparkle and what you might do different next time.

Have a little pause and a class chat.

Off you go.

Well done, you marvellous lot, absolutely super duper.

You've worked hard and you should all be feeling proud of yourself, what you've achieved.

Let's have a little quick recap on our learning before we finish for today.

We've remembered that it's important to warm up for performance.

It helps us feel like we're performing together, as an ensemble.

And that rehearsal process, it helps us feel confident and it helps us feel prepared so that we know what we're doing and we're ready to perform at our best on the day.

Watching the conductor is important 'cause they give us that steady pulse to keep in time with.

And lastly, performances should be engaging and accurate 'cause we want the audience to see the best work that we can do, and we want 'em to enjoy themselves and feel relaxed.

So I hope you're all smiling where you are, and I look forward to seeing you next time.

All the best.

Bye for now.