Lesson video

In progress...

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to this lesson on practicing effectively.

This is from our Playing Together unit, effective rehearsing as part of an ensemble.

My name's Mr. Cron.

I'm very excited to be guiding you through this unit of work where we are now, all of us, an ensemble working together to create brilliant music.

Let's press on.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say that you've learned a vocal melody and developed a range of strategies for practicing effectively.

Let's have a look at today's keywords.

We are gonna start with folk music.

This is music that originates from a particular country, culture, people, and it's usually passed down orally, meaning rather than someone just picking up the sheet music and playing it, it's played or sung aloud, the next person learns it, and it carries on, and people pass it down through generations.

To practice, this is to deliberately make an effort to improve our musical skills, and we'll be doing plenty of that today.

Staccato, this means performing in a short, detached way, whereas legato is performing in a smooth way.

We'll explore both of those today too.

Phrase, a musical thought like a sentence in a story.

There are three learning cycles in today's lesson.

The first one where we warm up so we're ready to play and sing, the second we'll be listening to "Egan's Polka", and then the third one, we are gonna practice the melody for "Egan's Polka." Let's begin with a warmup.

We know how important it is to warm up our bodies, our voices, and our minds, so that we're ready to move and sing and play.

Now, if we warm up our whole body, that's gonna give us a good posture whether we're sat, stood, or seated to help us sing safely.

We also want to warm up our voices so that we protect them from injury.

Just like we would warm up our muscles in PE before they get stretched, it's the same with these tiny muscles in our throat.

Quick true or false then.

Warming up is fun, just don't need to do it every time we practice our singing.

What do we think, is that true or is that false? Give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

What do we think? I'm seeing lots of thumbs down, I'm hoping so.

It is false because warming ups actually really important to prevent our voice from any injury.

It helps us improve our music skills too, which is why we're gonna press on with warming up our bodies first.

It's gonna help our singing posture, helps us either stand or place ourselves at ease when we sing.

I would like you to join in with these whole body warmups.

Make sure you've got a space.

Here they come.

This warmup is called up, down, go, stop.

When you hear up, stretch both arms into the air.

When you hear down, put both hands on your knees.

When you hear go, run on the spot, and when you hear stop, strike a pose.

It looks like this.

Go.

Stop.

Go.

Stop.

Up.

Go.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Go.

Stop.

Once you've got the hang of it, try doing the opposite of what the instructions tell you.

It looks like this.

Down.

Go.

Stop.

Go.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Up, up, up! Stop! Stop.

Stop.

Go.

Breathing exercises help us develop our breath control because sometimes when we sing, we might be singing a long line of a song and we don't want to run out of breath.

When we have good breath control, we can sing those longer phrases safely and musically, ultimately sounding better.

Please now join in with these breathing exercises.

<v ->Join in with these breathing exercises.

</v> Copy me.

(instructor blowing) (instructor hissing) <v ->Next, we're gonna warm up with some vocal exercises.

</v> These gently warm and stretch our vocal cords, helping prevent them from injury.

Have a little sing now as we join in with these vocal warmups.

Off you go.

(gentle upbeat piano music) ♪ 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 ♪ <v ->Now miss out number three.

</v> ♪ One, one, two, one, one, two, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, four, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, four, five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, four, five, six, five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, four, five, six, seven ♪ ♪ Seven, six, five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ One, two, four, five, six, seven ♪ ♪ Eight, seven, six, five, four, two, one ♪ <v ->Warming up all of our mouths with lots of words</v> can help improve our articulation.

That means when we're singing, people can understand the words that we are singing.

I would like to try this tongue twister warmup.

Here comes the video first.

(upbeat piano music) ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four, five, ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three ♪ ♪ Four, five, one, two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four ♪ ♪ Five, one, two, three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two ♪ ♪ Three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five ♪ <v ->Now you've seen how to do it, I'd like to pause here.

</v> There's a backing track there and you could repeat that.

Everyone joining in where you are using your hands, fingers, one, two, three, four, five to help you.

Off you go.

Now we know that we're warmed up and ready to sing when our body feels a bit more awake than it did before we started.

Our muscles might feel a bit more relaxed too.

Our breathing is controlled, our chest feels open, yet relaxed, and we're feeling alert and focused, and if our mouths feel loose and our voice feels warm and ready, we're absolutely ready to sing and make some music together.

Oh, Jacob and Aisha, they've got different schools of thought here.

Jacob says warming up is important.

It's an important opportunity also to practice our musical skills as well as gently warming up our voice safely to prevent injury.

And Aisha slightly differently says, "Warming up is important.

We should warm up when we have time as it helps to protect our voice from injury.

We only really need to do this before a performance." Who do you agree with more, Jacob, Aisha? Point to who you align your thoughts with.

I think you're right too.

I'd go with Jacob.

Every time before we sing, if we're warming up just like we would in PE, it's gonna keep our voices healthy and strong.

Now then, here is a marvelously silly song.

It's "Bungalow." There's a video gonna come on where we can learn the actions of what to do.

Once you've seen it, we're gonna hit pause and there's an audio backing so you can play where you are.

You can use the audio backing or sing without it.

Entirely up to you, but first of all, here comes the clip.

(upbeat lively music) ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ ♪ Hey, Ria, hey Ria, let me see your bungalow ♪ ♪ Let me see your bungalow ♪ ♪ My hands are high, my feet are low ♪ ♪ And this is how I bungalow ♪ ♪ This is how I bungalow ♪ ♪ Her hands are high, her feet are low ♪ ♪ And this is how she bungalows ♪ ♪ This is how she bungalows ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ ♪ Hey Laurel, hey Laurel, let me see your bungalow ♪ ♪ Let me see your bungalow ♪ ♪ My hands are high, my feet are low ♪ ♪ and this is how I bungalow ♪ ♪ This is how I bungalow ♪ ♪ Her hands are high, her feet are low ♪ ♪ And this is how she bungalows ♪ ♪ This is how she bungalows ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung, bungalow ♪ <v ->Great.

</v> Over to you to play that.

Maybe you want to stand in a circle or set yourselves up so that everyone can see each other and see how you bungalow.

Off you go.

All right, you've done it.

You've warmed up good.

You are warmed up when, Jun says, "When your voice feels warm and stretched." Sam says, "When you're standing or you've placed yourselves with your feet slightly apart, your chest open, your body feels relaxed." Izzy says, "You can speak and sing really clearly.

Good stuff." And Jacob says, "You feel ready to learn." So you've got that wonderful focus about us, so let's press on.

We're gonna begin by listening to "Egan's Polka." "Egan's Polka" is a lively dance and it's in two time at one, two, one, two, one, two.

We're gonna hear a track now.

This is played on guitar, on violin, and on castanets by a folk ensemble.

Have a listen.

Here it comes.

("Egan's Polka" plays) Lovely.

Now, folk music is music that originates from a particular country, or culture, or people that's passed down orally.

So that means that we're not just reading sheet music, we are sharing that tradition that folk music is heard, other people learn it, they sing it, and play it.

That's heard and it keeps being passed along.

It's also very commonly played on instruments we can carry about 'cause then we can entertain people wherever we are.

We heard the castanets and violin and guitar in that one, and it's thought to be, "Egan's Polka", a traditional Irish melody.

Question for you, see how much you were listening.

Was the main melody played by a violin, a tin whistle, or a voice in the recording? What do we think, violin, tin whistle, voice? Vote now.

What do we think, A, B, or C? Yes, it is the violin.

Very well done.

Good listening.

Now when music is passed down orally, it can get changed slightly.

We hear it, we remember it differently, we put our own stamp on it.

Here are two different versions of the same music.

Notice the main melody's very similar, but the instrument playing is different.

Here comes the first one.

(tin whistle tooting melodically) And here is the second.

(violin thrumming melodically) We can also listen to "Egan's Polka" performed on instruments we might have available to us in school.

Have a listen.

Here comes the track.

(upbeat guitar music) ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog he also likes my strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog he also likes my strawberry ice cream fun ♪ <v ->I'm gonna be chuffed if you get this one.

</v> Which combination of instruments did you hear in that recording of "Egan's Polka"? Was it A, violin, voice, xylophone, shaker? Or voice, claves, piano? Or violin, guitar, claves? Or voice, xylophone, claves, guitar? Think back.

By process of elimination, which one do you think it most likely is? Give you a couple of moments to decide.

And if you're thinking that it is D, you're absolutely right.

There was the voice singing the song, there were claves that were keeping that lovely time, there were the xylophone was playing, and there was a guitar too.

Good job.

A task for you then.

You're gonna pause now and listen to two different versions of "Egan's Polka." Those version A that we've heard.

We're gonna listen again, and then you're gonna compare it to a version by the French band Ivy Bush.

Now that band includes a violin, a guitar, and there's another instrument there on the screen, which is a mandolin.

And you are gonna discuss as a class how they are different.

Now that second version, the Ivy Bush version, is quite a different feeling "Egan's Polka" to the one we heard before.

Okay, compare both those and I'll see you when you're done.

What sort of stuff did you say in your class? <v ->Sam says, "Well, this version's faster,</v> the Ivy Bush version, and there's a long introduction with a drone", that constant sound that runs through, "And it sounds exciting." Sophia says, "I can hear different layers of texture.

I can hear a violin playing long notes underneath the melody." And Alex says, "I can hear the melody played on all the different instruments, but it's not the same all the way through." Great listening.

I hope you had a good discussion where you are, and we'll press on now to our practicing "Egan's Polka" melody.

We're going to learn it and we're gonna explore different ways to learn it.

We are going to say it, we are going to tap it, and we are going to sing it.

I'm gonna get you to pause here and work through each of these.

In each audio track, it's call and response.

So if somebody says, I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream sundaes, then there's a gap for you to repeat.

Then there's the tapping of it.

(hand tapping) And the space for you to reply, and then singing it a bit at a time, and each time there's a pause, that's your slot.

So we're singing, and tapping, and speaking in time.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (hand clapping rhythmically) (upbeat music) ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my strawberry ice cream fun ♪ <v ->Next we're gonna break the song into smaller sections.

</v> This is another way we can learn a melody, another tool we are using.

It's singing it in smaller chunks.

You're going to pause and use that track for the call and response of just singing in smaller chunks.

Off you go.

Jolly deed.

Well done.

Right, when we're learning to sing or play a new song, there's a range of techniques we can use to help us practice effectively.

Down the side of the slide is an acronym that says practice.

I'm gonna tell you what each letter is for.

P, we practice with purpose.

What bit do I want to improve? Purposeful practice.

Isolate those tricky parts, make those good.

R, repeat, repeat, repeat those tricky bits until they're not tricky anymore.

They'll become easy.

We can't expect to get things perfectly straight away.

We practice, practice, practice, repeat, repeat, repeat.

And we get better at it.

A, aim for accuracy.

Now that's accuracy in our pitch.

Are we singing in tune or rhythm? Are we keeping that right time and singing at the right rhythm? The phrasing.

Are we singing together? Does it sound right? The dynamics.

How loud or how quiet do we change together? Are we singing at the right volume that we are happy with to suit the piece? And the sound quality is our instrument or our voice making the sound we want it to.

C is for chunking, that's practicing in sections.

We don't need to start in the same place and we don't need to play the whole thing.

We can go, ah, I'll chunk that bit, and then that bit, then that bit.

Dividing it up is really helpful.

Take your time.

Yes, be patient.

We have to give things time.

Even when we make mistakes, that's how we're learning.

We can get frustrated with a mistake, but keep practicing.

Be patient and kind to yourself, and having that time will help you get better.

I is for is the environment right? And that is, can you concentrate? This is what we're talking about.

Is that environment right? Is there a load of noise coming from somewhere else? Is everyone focused in the classroom? Are our desks clear enough so that we can do what we're intending to do? S, one of my favorites, slow it down then speed it up.

We can't play and sing super quickly all the time so we have to begin slowly at a slower tempo, making sure everyone can manage, and then we can increase it gradually to the performance tempo that we want the piece to be played or sung at.

And lastly, explore.

Exploring different ways we can sing it, we can tap it, we can listen to it.

There's loads of different ways of learning.

Can you think which techniques we've already used in this lesson to help our practicing? Have we used chunking where we practiced the music in small sections? Have we used slowing it down then speeding it up? Have we used practicing with purpose where we decide what bit we're gonna improve and isolate those tricky bits? Or have we thought that we're going to explore different ways of learning? Which two of those do you think we've used already in this lesson? Have a little think.

If you're thinking mainly A and D, you are absolutely right.

We did, we chunked it.

We did a little bit of the line, then the other half.

We broke it down into chunks in small sections.

That's really helpful, and then exploring different ways to learn that.

Tapping it, chanting it, singing it, listening to it really helps us learn and gives that accuracy.

When we practice, we are aiming for accuracy, and the rhythms in the second half of each line are interesting.

Now we can practice them because when we sing as an ensemble, we want it to sound good.

We want those rhythms to be tight and accurate.

So let's have a go of my turn, your turn.

I'm gonna tap strawberry ice cream sundaes.

Ready, steady, all together.

♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ Now my turn for strawberry ice cream fun.

It goes like this.

♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ Lets it all do it together.

Are we ready? Ready, steady, off we go.

♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ Now then, you can clap it, you can chant it.

There's lots of ways we can practice, and the rhythm is ta ta mi ta di.

That's strawberry ice cream.

So ta mi, this is a rhythm that has a longer bit and a shorter bit.

So Ta mi, ta takes up three quarters and mi just a little quarter.

So if we're thinking one, two, three, four, Ta mi, Ta mi, Ta mi.

This second one, ta di, nice and even.

So, one, two, three, four.

Ta di, ta di, ta di, ta di.

When we put them together, the first one is a ta, that takes the whole beat.

Ta, ta, ta, ta.

I can mix those up in ta, ta mi, ta di to create strawberry ice cream.

Let's clap it.

Ready, steady, off we go.

Strawberry ice cream.

One more time, ready, steady, off we go.

Strawberry ice cream.

Super duper well done.

I'd like you to practice these phrases.

I'd like to focus on singing the rhythms accurately.

So you have strawberry ice cream sundaes, and then strawberry ice cream fun.

Pause now and just have a practice at clapping those, chanting those, and singing those 'til you think it's super tight that everyone is singing really neatly together.

Off you go.

You lot are marvelous.

Really well done.

Okay, here's another way we can practice the song.

As Lucas describes it, "A phrase is like a musical thought and it can be like a sentence in a story." So we wanna make sense of it.

We wanna sing through that line.

You are gonna echo each line indicating each phrase with what you'll see in the video described as a phrase rainbow.

What a beautiful idea.

So, I'll pop the track on.

The person in the video will sing, and then you sing back by showing that full phrase, and when you start, your hand is here and it goes all the way around like a rainbow singing the full phrase.

Are we ready? Here comes the clip.

</v> Another thing we can think about is how are we gonna sing this song? And what I mean by that is our articulation of it.

We could sing it in a very short, staccato, clipped way.

Staccato, short detached sound.

Something like this.

♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ Or we could choose to sing in a legato smooth way ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ You can decide.

They both sound good for different reasons.

It's up to you.

I'd like you to pause here and explore singing it in different ways.

Off you go.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ I like eating, I like eating ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream sundaes ♪ ♪ And my dog, he also likes my ♪ ♪ Strawberry ice cream fun ♪ <v ->Nice.

How was that for you?</v> You're welcome to pause at any time to reflect on how that went.

In the Oak class, Izzy says, "Singing parts of the melody legato and other parts staccato helped her to remember the song." Brilliant.

We're putting it into the body and our voice, we're putting it into our brains, that repetition's helping, and singing it in different ways is really useful.

Great.

Laura says, "Well, I think showing those phrases", like with those phrase rainbows as they were described, "is an effective way of practicing 'cause it helped her really listen to the melody." Also, when you're singing a full phrase, you're kind of making sense of the lyrics as well, which it makes it easier for the audience or the listener to understand.

And Lucas says, "Repeating the vocal lines, that helped me start to feel really confident with the rhythm and the notes." So he was in time at the right rhythm and in pitch the right notes when he sang.

Fantastic.

Really well done everybody.

It's all we have time for today so we're gonna summarize what we've learned.

We've learned that music that originates from a particular country, culture, or people that's usually passed down by that oral tradition of hearing it played, learning it, and singing it, or playing it yourself is called folk music, and that we can use a range of techniques to help us practice effectively.

A song can be internalized more by learning it in different ways.

We can speak the lyrics, tap the rhythm, perform different sections in different styles using things like staccato and legato.

Really well done.

We are looking forward to building on this next time, and I will see you then.

All the best.

Bye for now.

I've finished the video