Lesson video

Hi there, everybody.

Welcome to today's lesson on rehearsing as an ensemble.

You are an ensemble of fine musicians.

And this is from our unit, Playing Together, where we're looking at effective rehearsing as part of an ensemble.

You are already doing a fantastic job.

And me, Mr. Croughan, I'm very excited about helping you add that level of finesse and polish to prepare for your performance.

Let's go.

By the end of today, you'll have worked in a small ensemble and used effective rehearsal strategies to prepare for a performance.

Looking at the keywords then, rehearse, we know this is to practice in order to improve, and to prepare for our performance.

tempo, the speed of the music, how fast or how slow the music's played.

Balance, how each part is matched against each other to ensure that no one part overwhelms the others.

And dynamics, how loud or quiet the music is.

We're going to warm up, we know how important that is.

We're gonna warm up our whole body, we're gonna make ourselves feel awake, and being able to give ourselves the opportunity to have good posture for when we sing.

And we want to make sure our voices are warm so we sing safely.

Please follow these warmups, here they come.

<v Instructor>This warmup is called Up, Down, Go, Stop.

</v> 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.

(feet thumping) Stop.

Go.

(feet thumping) Stop.

Up.

Go.

(feet thumping) Down.

Up.

Down.

Go.

(feet thumping) 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.

Cool.

Stop.

(feet thumping) Stop.

(feet thumping) (instructor chuckles) Go.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Up, up, up.

Stop.

(feet thumping) Stop.

(feet thumping) Stop.

(feet thumping) Go.

<v ->Join in with these breathing exercises.

</v> Copy me.

(exhales heavily) (gentle piano music) ♪ 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ <v ->Now, miss out number three.

</v> (gentle piano music) ♪ 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 4, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 4, 5, 4, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 ♪ (bright piano music) ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ (bright upbeat piano music) ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ (fast-paced bright piano music) ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 ♪ ♪ 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ <v ->Well done, there are two more warmups here.

</v> There's "Bungalow" and there's "Elevator." If you are feeling confident to play "Bungalow" maybe in a circle in your classroom, then you can skip over this part of the video, and the same with "Elevator." Both of them will play in sequence.

"Bungalow" is helping us feel the pulse, "Elevator" is helping us with our accurate pitching.

Are you ready? Here they come.

(slow-paced piano music) ♪ Bungalow, bung-bung-a-low ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung-bung-a-low ♪ ♪ 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-bung-a-low ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung-bung-a-low ♪ ♪ Hey, Laurel ♪ ♪ Hey, Laurel ♪ ♪ Let see your bungalow ♪ ♪ Let 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-bung-a-low ♪ ♪ Bungalow, bung-bung-a-low ♪ (lively piano music) ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, three, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, three, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, three, one ♪ (lively piano music) ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me one, two, four, five ♪ ♪ Elevator, why don't you take me five, four, two, one ♪ <v ->Fabulous, fabulous, well done.

</v> If you need to pause here to, you watched them and now you want to play them, that's fine.

Otherwise, I'm hoping that you are now warmed up.

Your muscles are feeling relaxed, your throat's warm, and that you are focused and ready to learn.

Because we are going to be developing our ensemble skills to another level today, and rehearsing for our performance, which we'll do in our final lesson next time.

Let's begin by developing those ensemble skills.

By now, our confidence in our playing, and our singing, and our keeping in time has increased, especially as part of a larger ensemble.

Quite often in many things in life, we feel safety and more reassured in a bigger group.

If we slim that right down to just six, which we're going to do, that would be two people singing, two people on the melodic accompaniment, and two people on a rhythmic accompaniment.

And that means each one of you really has to be as accurate and neat and tight as you possibly can be.

So, to perform successfully as an ensemble, you have to work together as a team.

In a smaller ensemble, fewer players.

Each person has more responsibility.

And if you stop, the music might stop.

Whereas if you're in a whole class, one of you stops playing, that's okay, there's enough other players.

In that small ensemble, you can be more independent, and enjoy working closely together, and listening how the parts interact with each other.

Let's listen to Faith from Paraorchestra reflecting on why she enjoys rehearsing, and why she enjoys performing in an ensemble.

Here comes Faith.

<v ->I like playing with other musicians,</v> first of all, because they're really friendly people and we have a good time together.

But also because it's just a bigger sound world than my instruments on my own.

<v ->And when we rehearse as an ensemble,</v> we're preparing for our performance.

Sometimes a performance could be nerve wracking.

So, with the rehearsal, well, this can settle our nerves more because we're feeling more prepared, more confident.

When we rehearse, we're listening to our sound, and we're making improvements all the while.

When we rehearse together, it helps us understand where our part fits in.

When we play, when we stop, and how we play, how loud or quiet.

We can rehearse our dynamics together.

Because if we are all getting quiet at the same part, we're all playing at the same volume in our section.

It's going to be just right once we've got the balance right for the performance.

And music-making needs to be fun.

It's great fun, we're playing, it's called playing after all.

Have a listen to Faith and Tilly.

They are from Paraorchestra, and they talk what it's like for them rehearsing in an ensemble.

First of all, here comes Faith.

<v ->Rehearsing means, to me, working towards a common goal</v> with a group of people and being part of a big team.

<v ->And now Tilly.

</v> <v ->Rehearsals are an opportunity to try something new.

</v> You can look at new ideas, you can try out different ideas, and things that you wanna play in the music.

You know, and it's an opportunity to work together towards that sort of common goal, whether it's like a performance or a recording.

So, yeah, and also you can work through bits that are too like difficult.

And, you know, you start with something that's not a fully developed idea or something that you've not tried before.

And then at the end, you have something that's more polished and it's got lots of different input from different creative minds and stuff.

So, that, yeah, that's what rehearsing means to me.

<v ->And so, after listening to Faith and Tilly,</v> I'm gonna pose this question to you.

Do you think practicing and rehearsing are the same thing? It's an interesting question, what do you think? Would you consider practicing and rehearsing the same or different? If you think practicing and rehearsing are the same thing, gimme a thumbs up.

If you think practicing and rehearsing aren't the same thing, gimme a thumbs down.

If you're not sure, up to you.

Give you a moment, thumbs at the ready.

Let's see.

And I'm going to reveal to you that it can be really helpful to us to think of practicing as us individually improving our ability in getting better reach time.

So, focusing on what we can do better.

You know, you might practice, if you were learning an instrument, you might practice the guitar, or practice the sitar, or practice the clarinet, whatever it might be.

But the rehearsal is when your ensemble comes together and you are rehearsing to prepare for a performance.

As we are rehearsing, we're gonna concentrate on these things to make our small-group ensemble performances successful.

We're gonna keep a steady beat, we're gonna stay in time with each other, we will begin and end right at the same moment.

So, your ready, stead, off you go, will still be super helpful.

That playing and singing accurately and confidently, you know what you're doing, and you're good at it.

So give it some confidence.

Listening carefully and supporting each other.

We are a unit, we are a great team, an ensemble, as small as we are as our six now.

And you're gonna produce a balanced and well-blended sound, really listening to what the overall sound is to get the right balance so you are happy with it.

Here's Siobhan, and she talks about rehearsing in an ensemble, here she comes.

<v ->There are so many things</v> when we're rehearsing to consider.

I guess, my top priority is really watching the musicians around me and making sure I'm playing in time with them and I'm working with them as a team.

<v ->Thanks, Siobhan.

</v> Now, often smaller ensembles, I mean you are a six now, don't have a conductor.

Someone at the front keeping in time.

But someone in the ensemble could act as a leader.

So they can all start at the same tempo, and they can begin at the same moment.

Now, then one or both of the claves players could take on that role.

They could maybe count in with the, ready, steady, off we go, one.

(claves clanking) And they're really gonna guide everybody to keep in time.

I'd like you to rehearse the very start of "Egan's Polka" in your small sixes, starting at that same moment, all neat and tidy together.

Make sure you're at the same tempo.

How are you gonna get that so neat? That's what I'm looking for.

You might decide to count in with a ready, steady, off we go.

Or you might just be listening, if you've got the backing track on, to the introduction with that leader making a conductor gesture to bring everyone in.

It's entirely up to you how you work it.

It just needs to work for your ensemble.

And if you are thinking, well, we're all in the classroom together.

Each six can rehearse at the same time with the backing track, it's just that you are playing in your groups.

Pause here, and work through that now.

Here's a thought.

Why is playing at the same tempo important? Is it A, 'cause it's important for the group to be able to play fast.

Is it B, 'cause otherwise the music won't sound together.

Is it C, ah, some instruments might sound better, they're faster.

And D, tempo, that's not important, playing at the same tempo, that's not important.

What do we think A, B, C, or D? Have a think, decide on your answer.

And there is certainly one clear answer, which is B, their music wouldn't sound good together if someone's singing slower, someone's playing quicker, someone's changing tempo.

Simply doesn't work.

By keeping to the same tempo as an ensemble, our music sounds neat and pleasing.

Now, here is your task.

In your six-piece ensemble, you are going to rehearse Section A and Section B, making sure you all start at the same time and you play and sing your notes and rhythms accurately.

Remember, there's just two people singing.

Make sure your pitches are accurate, your lyrics are sung clearly.

With the people on the melodic accompaniment, you are focusing on that accuracy of playing your instrument as well as making sure that between A and B Sections, it continues smoothly.

Rhythmic accompaniment, you two have got an important job because you are keeping everybody in time.

Make sure that you are silent on those rests and playing those rhythms really clearly.

On the next slide is Section A, and the following slide is Section B.

Rehearse in your six so that you can provide a performance as a small ensemble of six.

Off you go.

Fantastic, almost performance-ready, really well done.

Reflecting on your work so far then, were you listening to the other parts even though you were a six? While you were playing or singing your part, was it tight together? And how do you think listening, really listening to your group, how did that help your group stay together? Did you keep that steady beat? Did it rush a bit, did it slow down when people were unsure? Was there something that helped you with the steady pulse? How was your rhythm section? Hope everyone managed to keep in time.

Did you start together with that ready, steady, off we go, or hearing the introduction knowing that now is when we come in all together? Anything you can do to make it neater, have a think, can someone be keeping that pulse? Is there anything else the rhythm section can do to support you? And then the ending, boom, did it finish neatly? Did you all stop playing at the right time? How do you know, is there a leader there? Maybe someone from the rhythm section or a singer or someone that can make sure that you know it's the last time and we're stopping altogether.

Are you confident with your part today? And is there resection in your part that you'd like to work on again? Think about these things.

If you'd like to, you can pause and polish.

Otherwise, we're ready to move on to the second half, where we are rehearsing now for a performance.

Next week we will perform this.

We could perform it to another class or in an assembly, even to the folks at home.

But the idea is if we can record it and watch it back, then we can really feel proud of the skills we've developed.

So, we're gonna prepare for that right now, here we go.

I'm gonna play for you now the folk recording of "Egan's Polka." And you can clearly hear how each layer of the texture, guitar, violin, castanet, you can hear them all, but no part overwhelming the other.

They're balanced.

So, this means the musicians have thought about the appropriate dynamics, have a listen.

(Egan's Polka playing) So, our rhythmic accompaniment and our melodic accompaniment which is the claves, and our pitched percussion, whatever we're playing on, xylophones, or glockenspiel, whatever, are an important accompaniment to the song.

Now, accompaniment parts support the main melody.

Sofia describes it like this, she says, "We should play the accompaniment parts a little bit quieter, so that the melody and the words of the song can be heard." I think this is good advice.

When we play in an ensemble, we want all the parts to fit like a jigsaw.

It is about balance, how loud or quiet each part is compared to the others.

And what we call blending is when players on the same part match their sound so it feels more like one voice.

Remember, we're playing as a team.

Even if your team is two and two and two in your ensemble, you still need to be united to create a smooth and balance sound.

And when we balance it and we blend it well, our music just sounds clear and neat.

It's not messy, it's not even, it's really good.

June says we need to listen carefully to each other, yes, and the overall sound, yes, keep an ear on both.

This is really developing your musicianship, and I'm really proud of you for really developing this.

Sam says, "In our parts, we need to have the same dynamics and timing." Yes, we do.

We can't go out of time in our part or with the ensemble.

And we should, in our section, be playing at the same dynamic.

Izzy says, "We need to breathe the phrases of the song together." And that means making sense of the song so that those lines come across clearly.

And Jacob says, "We'll let the melody lead and the accompaniment parts support." So we're hearing the lyrics of the song while there's other supportive parts of the percussion, and the tune percussion support it.

What do we think? A performance is well balanced if, there's an equal number of instruments on each part, each part can be heard but non overwhelm the performance, or you can hear one person that leads everybody else? What do you think, do you think it's A, or B, or C? Equal number of instruments, is that most important for a well-balanced performance? Each part being heard, but nothing overwhelming the overall performance or one person that leads everyone with their sound? What do you think A, B, or C? Of course it is, its B.

We want to be able to hear everybody, but we don't want one area to overwhelm the rest.

So, when we're playing, if someone did speed up or got quieter or made a mistake, we just can can adjust our singing and playing 'cause we can actually help the group to stay together.

Just imagine that the rhythm section did get a bit quicker.

Not too much, but if our singing did try to match it and the melodic accompaniment did try to match it so that we are now still staying together, that's a technique in itself.

If someone started singing just a little bit slower and that rhythmic accompaniment was able to match it, it's that constant listening to each other and adjusting that professional musicians do whenever they need to.

Sam says, "We need to notice any changes so we can react quickly." Sofia says, if we're watching each other, especially if it starts and stops in any tricky part, that looking at that communication's really useful.

And Alex says, if something goes wrong, we can support each other.

Yes, you can.

So, here's some effective ways for you to rehearse together.

The idea of in your six, put it in a different layout.

What's gonna work best? Could you try it where you are all jumbled up or where you're absolutely in your sections? Do it in a circle, do it in a line, what works well.

Working on this specific bits, please.

This bit needs to work, I'm not gonna run start to finish, we'll neaten that bit.

Experiment with the music.

Should this be a bit louder, should we try? Can you have a listen? Choose one person not to play.

They can stand out and give you a response and say, yeah, actually, the voice can be a bit louder, or whatever it might be.

And then following that leader, then you can all change dynamics together.

Maybe there's a bit where you would all like to get a bit louder or get a bit quieter.

And also making sure your sound is balanced so one part doesn't overwhelm another.

Stopping sometimes is just good.

When you keep going, keep going, keep going, we just start frazzling.

Whereas when you pause and think right, everyone, what bit should we do? What's gonna be the most useful? All of this is really helpful.

Aisha says, when we're rehearsing, no keep repeating the piece until we get it right.

And Lucas says, when we're rehearsing, we should keep stopping to think about what's the next best bit to improve, and then we'll work on that.

That's more important than just running the whole piece through.

Who more do you think? I reckon you know exactly who you were line up with.

Yeah, I agree too, it is Lucas, because it helps focus our rehearsal time.

We've got this much time and we want to focus on getting stuff right.

In your ensembles now, I'd like you to rehearse "Egan's Polka" and prepare it for a performance.

You're going to use the rehearsal techniques we've discussed to improve the sound of your piece.

Remember, we're blending those parts.

So, are the percussion players playing at that right dynamic? Is the melodic accompaniment supporting the melody? Is the singing clear? And is there a balance of sound? Listen carefully.

And you can also be practicing adjusting your part to ensure that your ensemble is performing as a team.

Now, depending how you rehearse, it could be that the backing track goes on when everyone's ready and you will rehearse, but you are rehearsing in your groups of six, okay? And it's your groups that you are listening to.

Best of luck, and I'll see you when you're done.

Well, I hope you're all feeling good.

If you do, you're probably feeling confident, ready, and maybe even excited to perform this piece, to share it with others, well, I've put a lot of work into this, I'm looking forward to sharing it.

And if you're understanding your part in the ensemble, then clearly, you're gonna feel a bit more confident 'cause you know what's going on.

If you can play your part with ease and can concentrate on hearing the whole ensemble, what a fantastic musician you are.

And if you are happy about those musical decisions you've made together about how you want the music to sound, then this is super.

And if you are working as a team, communicating with others as you're playing and singing, well, I'm very impressed with all of you, very well done for today.

A summary of our learning then because we are fresh outta time.

We can play and sing our part accurately and confidently as part of an ensemble.

If you choose an ensemble leader, that can help you play in time together too, and begin and end at the same moment.

In an ensemble, it's really important to listen to that overall sound.

And the balance, we make sure we're blending in each individual part and balancing the sound as a whole.

Part of playing in an ensemble is adjusting our own bit when needed to help the whole group stay together.

So, when you are confident in your part and you are listening, that will happen more and more.

And we can use a range of rehearsal strategies to help us prepare for a performance as an ensemble.

Fantastic work, ensemble.

And I will look forward to seeing you next time.

Bye for now.