Lesson video

Hi there everybody, and welcome to today's lesson on Singing partner songs.

This is from our Singing for performance unit: holding a second part in rounds and partner songs.

Now, I'm excited about today's lesson because we are going to be singing different songs at the same time and sounding brilliant.

So here we go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to say I can hold my part confidently in a partner song and hear how my part adds to a thicker texture.

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

We'll start with conductor.

The conductor is a person who directs musicians or singers.

Pulse, the regular, steady heartbeat of the music.

Partner songs are when two or more songs that fit together when they're sung at the same time.

Unison.

Unison is singing or playing the same tune at the same time.

Texture, the combination of different layers of sound.

Now we know how important it is to warm up our voices, our minds, and our bodies before we get onto our singing.

We want to be ready to be moving safely, singing safely and engaging our bodies.

So when we warm up, it'll help us stand correctly, and it'll help us feel at ease when we're singing.

We want to warm up gently even those fine little vocal folds in our throats and protect them from injury.

So I would like you to now join in with these warmups.

Here they come.

Ready, steady, off we go.

(instructor clapping) (group clapping) Now we are going to warm up our faces by chewing a toffee.

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.

It's quite tough.

Mm, it's getting a bit softer.

Do some really good chewing.

Oh no, it stuck to my teeth at the back.

I have to use my tongue.

And the other bit, mm.

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.

Mm, 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."</v> Be ready to join in.

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.

Pop.

Very well done, very well done indeed.

There are three more I would like you to do.

The first one is moving to the pulse.

So you'll need to find a space and you'll need to be copying what's happening on screen.

And you'll notice that they're keeping time to a steady pulse, and I'd like you to move your bodies in the same way in time too.

Then you'll sing "Ghost of Tom." Sing that softly.

See what a beautiful sound you can make.

And lastly, have a go at playing Don't Clap This One Back to really tune our ears into listening to the rhythms. So I'd like you to pause here.

Begin with move the pulse, move to the pulse and make sure you have a space.

Off you go.

Marvellous.

Well done.

Are you now ready to sing? If you are, your throat will be feeling warmer 'cause you've done some gentle singing.

You're tuned into feeling and hearing that steady pulse.

And you're concentrating, you've been listening, you've been attentive, and you are ready to learn.

Well done.

There are two learning cycles in today's lesson, and the first one is building texture with a new partner song.

And then we'll move to adding more partner songs for a thicker texture.

So let's start by building texture with a new partner song.

Now, when we all sing the same melody at the same time, we call that unison.

So for example, "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" can be sung in unison, and it follows a steady pulse.

If we are keeping to the steady pulse when we're singing, when we add more partner songs, it's going to sound great.

Have a listen to this sung in unison.

Here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Vinegar, vinegar ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Pepper, pepper, pepper pot ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Vinegar, vinegar ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Pepper, pepper, pepper pot ♪ <v ->Nice.

</v> Now I'd like you to look at this cake, and I'd like you to imagine each layer of the cake is a layer of sound.

For example, singing in unison as we just heard, let's say that's one layer of sound.

Then if we added some body percussion to it, that would become two layers of sound.

And then the more layers of sound we add on top of the other, the thicker the texture.

And so this time we're going to thicken the texture of our music by adding body percussion.

So, on the screen are the lyrics.

When we sing the word fish, I'd like you to add a stomp.

When you sing the word vinegar, I'd like you to tap your thighs each time, and then right at the end, we'll add a click on pot.

And if you can't click, remember just two fingers makes a lovely tap, which is a similar sound, okay? So you'll pause the video here, use that track to help you, and add that body percussion in.

Off you go.

Super duper.

Well done.

Now, a quick check-in.

There are three here, A, B, and C, and I'm asking the question, how thick is the texture for each one? The first one, one group singing in unison.

If we're talking of texture in layers, how many layers thick is one group singing in unison? You can show me on your fingers.

Well done, the answer is one layer thick.

B, three groups singing in a three part round.

What will that texture build you? How many layers will we get to create if three groups are singing a three part round? Again, show me on your fingers.

Magic.

Well done.

That's three layers thick.

And lastly, one group singing in unison, adding in body percussion.

How many layers of sound will we create there? Again, show me on your fingers.

So we're singing in unison and we're adding body percussion, that makes two layers thick.

Okay, very well done.

We're now going to layer more partner songs together to create a thicker texture.

Now our tongue twister warmup, that one bottle of pop, two bottles of pop can be sung as a partner song to "Fish and Chips and Vinegar." Have a listen there, Sofia already singing.

I'd like you to listen to "One Bottle of Pop" sung.

Here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ One bottle of pop, two bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Three bottle bottles of pop, four bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Five bottles of pop, six bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Seven bottles of pop, pop ♪ ♪ One bottle of pop, two bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Three bottle bottles of pop, four bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Five bottles of pop, six bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Seven bottles of pop, pop ♪ <v ->Great, nice and easy.

</v> So now I would like you to sing "One Bottle of Pop," and you can add in these percussion actions.

On the odd numbers, we'll have a stomp, and on the even numbers, we'll have a clap.

You can also clap on the last pop as well.

So it goes one bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three and so on.

Okay, you're gonna pause the video, and I would like you to find a space, and I would like you to sing that through with the body percussion.

You might sing it through once, then sing a second time, adding the body percussion in, creating that second layer of sound.

Off you go.

Great stuff.

Well done.

So we know that partner songs can fit together when they're sung to the same steady beat.

Now, on the screen, we've got "One Bottle of Pop" and we've got "Fish and Chips and Vinegar." So if I keep a steady pulse, you can see one bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three bottles of pop, four.

And then you'll also feel that pulse with fish and chips and vinegar, vinegar, vinegar.

So the pulse doesn't change as we sing.

So if both groups are feeling that same steady pulse, those partner songs will fit together.

What I'd like you to do now is play the track, and you don't have to sing, but you do need to do the body percussion.

So I'd like two groups, one group are the "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" group, the other group is the "One Bottle of Pop" group.

And I would like, as you're listening, that the "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" group are marking that pulse with their body percussion with the fish and chips and vinegar, vinegar, vinegar and so on.

And then the second group with their one bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three bottles of pop, four and so on, okay? You can face each other.

Each group can face each other while you're doing it, because I think, it shouldn't put you off, you'll be able to see that you're both marking the steady pulse as you go.

Okay, so I'd like to pause the video here, use the track to help you and give that a try, both sets of body percussion in those two groups.

And if you like, you can always swap over afterwards.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

Well done.

Let's have a quick check in to make sure we're all doing the right actions.

If you're group one, you've got the stomp on fish, the thigh slap on vinegar, and the click right at the end or the tap on pot.

If you are group two, you should be stomping on those odd numbers and clapping on the even numbers and pop.

If you need to practise that again, you can pause here to make sure everyone's doing the same movements, otherwise we're ready to move on.

Because your first task of this lesson is to, in both groups, you're now going to sing both songs.

Now just to begin, we'll sing them in unison, okay? So everyone will sing "Fish and Chips and Vinegar," and everyone will sing "One Bottle of Pop." Okay, then your second task, sing both songs at the same time as partner songs, okay? So one group will sing "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" whilst the other group sings "One Bottle of Pop." And remember feeling that steady pulse will really help you both.

Your success criteria, there is a track there for you to use.

I would like you to use that to sing along to.

I'd like you to sing confidently, but you don't need to be too loud, because then we can hear how both groups sound when they fit together.

And just try and listen to both groups as you are singing, so that you're not going out of time.

You can really feel how keeping that steady pulse helps you make that work together, okay? And then the third task is adding the body percussion in.

This gives us another layer of sound.

So we have our group singing "Fish and Chips and Vinegar," our group singing "One Bottle of Pop," and you're both adding in your respective body percussion, okay? The track's there to help you.

I'd like you to begin by singing in unison.

You're gonna pause the video here, work through those three steps, and I'll see you in a moment.

Good luck.

Nice.

How did you do? What I'd like you to do is I've got an example of some children doing this very thing, exactly what you've just done, and I'd like to have a little watch of the video and see if there's anything you can learn from them.

Is there anything that they did neater? Is there anything that you did better? What do you feel proud of? Have a look at the video and see how your performance compared, and I hope you feel pretty proud of yourselves.

Here it comes.

(timer clicking) ♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ One bottle of pop ♪ ♪ Two bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Vinegar, vinegar ♪ ♪ Three bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Four bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Five bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Six bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Pepper, pepper, pepper pot ♪ ♪ Seven bottles of pop, pop ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ One bottle of pop ♪ ♪ Two bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Vinegar, vinegar ♪ ♪ Three bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Four bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Fish and chips and vinegar ♪ ♪ Five bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Six bottles of pop ♪ ♪ Pepper, pepper, pepper pot ♪ ♪ Seven bottles of pop, pop ♪ <v ->Nice.

</v> So Jun says, "We can sing confidently and we can remember not to sing too loudly." That was his takeaway from watching the video.

And Sofia said, "Well, we can make sure our body percussion is definitely on the steady beat," which is great.

If you'd like to have another go, you can pause the video here and give each group another go at that, or you could swap groups and try it the other way, that's up to you.

Well done everyone.

We are now moving on to our second learning cycle, which is adding more partner songs to create a thicker texture.

So we remember that partner songs work together when we sing to the same steady beat.

And we know we can layer partner songs together to create a thicker musical texture.

And partner songs work together when they're the same length or the same duration, they take the same amount of time as each other.

We are all going to be conductors now and show a clear gesture for keeping the steady pulse while we sing.

So in a moment, the track will come on and I would like you to beat that steady pulse.

Imagine you've got a little button underneath here and you are tapping why shouldn't my goose sing as well as your goose, okay? Are you ready? Have your hand ready.

Here comes the track.

Be ready to tap the pulse and sing.

Here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Why shouldn't my goose ♪ ♪ Sing as well as your goose ♪ ♪ When I paid for my goose ♪ ♪ Twice as much as yours ♪ ♪ Why shouldn't my goose ♪ ♪ Sing as well as your goose ♪ ♪ When I paid for my goose ♪ ♪ Twice as much as yours ♪ <v ->Marvellous, well done.

</v> We're now going to keep feeling that same steady pulse while we sing "Muffin Man." This needs to be sung at the same tempo to fit with "Why Shouldn't My Goose?" So, same thing, imagine your buttons there, and you're tapping ready to show the steady pulse and singing "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" Here comes the track to sing along to.

Be ready.

Here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Do you know the muffin man ♪ ♪ The muffin man ♪ ♪ The muffin man ♪ ♪ Do you know the muffin man ♪ ♪ Who lives on Drury lane ♪ ♪ Do you know the muffin man ♪ ♪ The muffin man ♪ ♪ The muffin man ♪ ♪ Do you know the muffin man ♪ ♪ Who lives on Drury lane ♪ <v ->Okay, brilliant, well done.

</v> Now, I would like you in a moment to be in two groups, okay? One group is gonna be singing ♪ Why shouldn't my goose ♪ whilst the other group at the same time will be singing ♪ Do you know the muffin man ♪ Okay? I would like you to choose one conductor who will work across both groups.

That conductor, who everyone must be looking at will give a ♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ Okay, and then both groups will start singing the same time.

If it helps you, you can mark the steady pulse by tapping along.

If you're all doing it at the same time, those songs will fit together because they're the same duration.

Okay, so you can pause the video here to give you an opportunity to get into those two groups and choose one conductor, then please use the track or have a ♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ sung by your conductor, and you will all start at the same time.

Pause here and I'll see you in a bit.

Lovely stuff.

So question for you, could both groups feel the steady pulse? And are both groups singing at the same tempo? If you are, those songs will work together and you'll have started and finished at the same time.

So really well done.

Now we're talking about texture and thickening the texture by adding more partner songs, and so to make our musical texture thicker, we're going to add this song, "Shinkansen." You might know it as "Little Train," but shinkansen is the Japanese word for the bullet trains that travel right across the country of Japan.

And this Japanese song tells the story of a train travelling up and down a mountain.

Have a listen, here it comes.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Yama o noboru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Mata kudaru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Yama o noboru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Mata kudaru ♪ Great, now we're gonna have a first go at trying to sing that song.

And again, if we have our button to tap in front of us to keep our steady pulse, you will notice we're keeping to the same pulse as "Goose" and "Muffin Man," okay? I'm gonna pop the track on, I'd like you to sing.

The first time you sing, you'll feel a bit confident, and when you do it again, you'll feel more confident each time.

Here comes the track.

♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Yama o noboru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Mata kudaru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Yama o noboru ♪ ♪ Shinkansen, shinkansen ♪ ♪ Mata kudaru ♪ And there we go, this is going to become our third partner song because it's sung to the same steady beat as "Why Shouldn't my Goose?" and "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" So a quick check, just in terms of our texture, how many layers of sound will we create if we split into three groups, one group sings, "Why Shouldn't my Goose?" the second group sings "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" and a third group sings our new song "Shinkansen." Just show me on your fingers, how many layers of sound will we create? Very well done, we'll create three layers of sound by singing three songs at the same time.

You are all doing so well at this that it means we're now ready to sing those three partner songs together.

So we'll be in three groups in a moment, one group will sing, "Why Shouldn't my Goose?" the second group will sing "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" and the third group will sing our "Shinkansen" song, okay.

So three groups singing those three songs at the same time, making our texture three layers of sound thick.

Okay, your success criteria, this is how you're going to be amazing.

Use the backing track, or if you would rather not to, you can sing unaccompanied, but have a conductor give you your ♪ Ready, steady ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ And that's going to set the pitch that we're singing at and the tempo, okay.

If everybody taps the steady beat while we sing, we can see that we're all tapping in time to feel the steady pulse.

That might really help us.

Don't just sing them once through, sing them twice through, and you should start to hear how they fit together.

After you sung them the first time, you'll think, did we finish at the same time? Are we gonna start again at the same time? See how neat and in time you are.

You're gonna sing confidently, but we don't wanna sing too loudly so that we can't hear the other parts.

We want to notice how those songs fit together.

You can try and listen to those other parts as you sing, and you'll recognise how each time your part helps them all fit together.

Okay, so pause here, choose a conductor if you need one.

Remember to keep the same steady pulse, and I will see you in a moment after your three groups have sung those three songs together.

Good luck.

All right, well done.

How was it in your classroom? How did those three groups manage to stay in time together? When I asked the Oak class, they said, "Well, we tapped the steady pulse and that helped us keep in time." And they also said that by "singing confidently, but not too loudly, we could hear the other group singing, and that helped us feel how the song fitted together." Now remember, if you need to, you can pause and have another go.

We might need a bit of practise to check that we're all keeping in time.

You could even have a go at recording and listening to your class singing it back, and then you'll identify all the things you're doing brilliantly and any bits you need to work on.

Really well done.

And that's almost all we have time for for today, so let's have a quick recap on our learning.

We know we can add more partner songs to a piece to make the musical texture thicker.

Each partner song must be sung to the same steady beat in order for them to fit together.

Following the conductor shows us a visual pulse to follow, and we've all been conductors today.

And lastly, by singing confidently but not too loudly helps us to keep focused on our partner song and not become distracted, but we can hear how the piece fits together.

Really well done for today, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.

Bye for now.