Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

A very warm welcome to this lesson, which is all about harmony writing and singing in two or three parts.

My name's Mr. Andrews.

I'm going to be taking you through the lesson today, which is from our unit, Singing for Performance, Discovering Different Ways to Sing in Harmony.

Let's make a start.

By the end of the lesson today, you'll have learned to use solfège to write harmony and performed songs in two or three parts.

Here are some of the key words we're going to need.

The first is harmony.

That's when two or more pictures are played or sung together at the same time.

Stave, these describe the lines on which musical notes can be placed, and solfège, which is a system of naming pictures so we can recognize patterns by ear, for example.

♪ So, mi, and do ♪ Of course, we start every lesson with some warm-up games.

This is so that our voices and minds are ready to sing, learn, and play together.

Our first warm-up today is called "Oh My Aunt Came Back." Watch how it works, and then it'll be your turn to play the game.

♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Budapest ♪ ♪ From Budapest ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A scratchy vest ♪ ♪ A scratchy vest ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Timbuktu ♪ ♪ From Timbuktu ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A wooden shoe ♪ ♪ A wooden shoe ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From my home ♪ ♪ From my home ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A lovely comb ♪ ♪ A lovely comb ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Guadalupe ♪ ♪ From Guadalupe ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A hula hoop ♪ ♪ A hula hoop ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From the County Fair ♪ ♪ From the County Fair ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A rocking chair ♪ ♪ A rocking chair ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From the zoo ♪ ♪ From the zoo ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A monkey like you ♪ ♪ A monkey like you ♪ Now it's your turn.

Copy after me, and don't forget the actions.

♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Budapest ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A scratchy vest ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Timbuktu ♪ ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A wooden shoe ♪ (shoe clicking) ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ From my home ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A lovely comb ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ ♪ From Guadalupe ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A hula hoop ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ From the County Fair ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ And she brought with her ♪ (shoe clicking continues) ♪ A rocking chair ♪ ♪ Oh my aunt came back ♪ (shoe clicking) ♪ From the zoo ♪ (shoe clicking) ♪ And she brought with her ♪ ♪ A monkey like you ♪ Our last warmup game today is called Salibonani.

Watch how it works, and then I'll explain a little bit more.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) <v ->To play Salibonani, listen to me sing the song</v> and then clap at the end of every phrase.

Are you ready? ♪ Salibonani, Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani, Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali Salibonani.

♪ (hands clapping) To play the game, walk the beat in a space and instead of clapping your own hands at the end of each phrase, you clap both hands with a partner.

Try not to clap the same person more than once.

Here's the game again.

Watch it one more time and then play a few rounds where you are.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Sali Sali Salibonani.

♪ (hands clapping) <v ->Hopefully you're now feeling warmed up and ready to go.

</v> Just like Jacob, he says his body feels relaxed, his throat feels warm, and his mind is alert.

We are ready to start.

In our first learning cycle today will be composing and performing a harmony part.

Let's start here.

You might already know that we can use our finger stave to show where, "so, mi and do" live on the five line stave as you can see on the screen here.

But did you know that "so, mi and do" are "copycats." Jacob explains this for us.

He says, "if 'so' sits on a line, then the note 'mi' copies it by sitting on the line below.

Then 'do' copies that by sitting on the line below that." So all three sit on lines below each other.

But 'so' doesn't always have to sit on this line.

It depends on the song that we're singing.

So Sofia asks, "what if 'so' lives in this space, the third space up? Where would 'mi' and 'do' live? Remember that they are copycats.

If 'so' now lives in this space.

then 'mi' takes the space below and 'do' takes the space below that.

As Sofia says, they are copycats.

Now you know that.

Which pattern below shows "so-mi-do?" Pause here to discuss your answer.

Nice work everyone, it is C and you can clearly see the "so, mi and do" are copying each other in the three spaces.

One of the most brilliant things about singing solfège is that it teaches us to read music and sing music by ourselves.

We don't need someone else like a teacher to demonstrate it for us first.

So let's practice.

There are three patterns on the screen here.

Take a look at number one, it starts on a 'so.

' Can you work out the next three pictures? Should we try singing it together? Here is our ♪ So, ready, off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Mi, mi ♪ Nice work.

Have a look at number two, take a moment to work out what pitches we need to sing.

Try this one on your own.

It starts on ♪ So, off you go ♪ Nice, let's check together.

♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ So, mi ♪ ♪ Do, do ♪ Get you reading music.

Number three is a little trickier.

There's a bit of a jump between notes here.

Take a moment to see if you can work out what we need to sing.

It starts on a ♪ So ♪ Are you ready? ♪ Off you go ♪ Let's check.

♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ Brilliant, well done.

That last pattern works as an ostinato.

That's a repeating pattern along with the music Fogo Foguinho which is by a Brazilian composer called Chiquinha Gonzaga.

See if you can sing the ostinato three times with the recording.

It's on the right hand side of the screen here.

If you can, try and use your hand signs as well.

Are you ready? (piano music playing) ♪ Mmh, mmh, mmh ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ So ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ So ♪ (piano music playing) Instead of an ostinato, we can create a longer harmony part by singing through the pitches on the screen.

Lucas has a concern.

"What happens when there are three notes at once? You can't sing three notes at the same time." Well, at least I can't.

You can see about halfway through there's a "so, mi and a do" on top of each other, but we can't sing them at the same time so what do we do? Well, Sofia has an answer.

"You can decide the pitches you'd like to sing." One possible pathway is written on the screen now.

Listen to the recording or sing along yourself if you like.

(piano music playing) ♪ Mmh mmh mmh ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ Mi, so ♪ ♪ Do ♪ (piano music playing) Sam has chosen another possible pathway.

Let's try singing this one together without the recording first.

It starts on a 'so' are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ So ♪ ♪ one more time ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ Do, so, so ♪ Let's listen to the recording to check.

(piano music playing) ♪ Mmh mmh mmh ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ So ♪ (piano music playing) Which pathway through the harmony did you prefer? The first one or the second one? If you didn't like either, you can choose your own.

In a moment, you can use the worksheet to write down your chosen harmony pathway and then you can sing it using hand signs.

Adding an extra layer of harmony to the music creates a thicker texture.

Practice singing your chosen harmony pathway with a partner.

And then when you are ready, you can sing it with this backing track.

(piano music playing) ♪ Mmh mmh mmh ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ So, so ♪ ♪ Do, so ♪ ♪ Do ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ And repeat.

♪ ♪ So so ♪ ♪ Do so ♪ ♪ Do so ♪ (piano music playing) When we listen to the whole of Fogo, you'll hear that it has alternating sections A and B all the way through.

The harmony that you've just been practicing can be sung during the B section.

So what can we do during the A section.

Jun says, "let's use our rhythm skills." In the A-sections, clap the rhythm you can see on the screen.

It uses Ta, Taka-di and sh.

Are you ready? Oh, Izzy has some advice for us.

"Say the rhythm names as you clap." Okay, here we go.

One, two, off, we read.

Ta taka-di ta sh Ta taka-di ta sh Ta taka-di ta sh Ta taka-di ta sh Nice work.

Here's today's task.

With a partner, prepare for a performance of Fogo.

First of all, practice the rhythm on screen, which will clap during the A sections.

Saying the rhythm names in your head will help you stay in time.

For the B sections, practice singing your chosen harmony pathway using "so, mi and do." Pause here to practice your rhythm and your harmony singing.

And when you are ready, you can perform Fogo with the guide track.

If you're ready, let's try performing Fogo with the guide track.

Ready, steady, off you clap.

♪ Clap, taka-di clap sh ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ Ready, steady, off you sing ♪ ♪ So so ♪ ♪ Do so ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ Ready, steady, off you clap ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ Ready, steady, off you sing ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ Ready, steady, off you clap ♪ (piano music playing) ♪ Ready, Austin, off you sing ♪ (piano music playing) I am sure that sounded amazing, well done.

Combining rhythm and singing skills in one piece.

Good for you.

Try recording your performance and watching it back.

Here are some questions.

Andy asks, "could you clap the rhythm in time?" Sam asks, "were you singing gently?" And Alex asks, "did you swap between sections without hesitating?" It can be tricky to go from tapping the rhythms to singing the sol-fa smoothly.

For our last learning cycle today, we'll combine partner songs to sing in harmony.

This is the last learning cycle for the whole unit.

So let's put together songs that we know to create harmony as partner songs.

Aisha starts by asking, can you sing the "Bubblegum" song? Have a listen.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ Here are the rhythms to that song.

Can you listen and sing along in rhythm names? ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ Before we combine this song with another partner song, we need to learn the actions.

Each rhythm has a specific action.

Takadi is a high five.

Your right hand with your partner's right hand.

Ta-di, you tap your left hand on the palm and Ta, you tap the back of your left hand.

If you have permission, you could also write the rhythms onto your hand with a washable marker.

Take a moment to perform the actions with a partner.

It looks like this.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Ta-di Takadi Ta-di ta ♪ (hands clapping) <v ->Feel free to pause here to have a little practice.

</v> What's it called when we sing two songs at the same time and they fit together in harmony? Is it A, partner songs, B, an ostinato or C, a round? Pause here to discuss your answer.

Nicely done.

Of course it's A, partner songs.

Our partner song today is 'Double Double' sung in solfège.

Can you perform it using these actions? ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ so, so, so, so, ♪ ♪ Mi mi ♪ ♪ So, so, so, so ♪ ♪ Do, do ♪ ♪ So, so, mi ♪ ♪ So, so, do ♪ ♪ So, so, so, so ♪ ♪ Mi, do ♪ <v ->Again, pause here if you need to do a little practice.

</v> So as you might have guessed, 'Bubblegum' and 'Double Double' are partner songs.

And as Laura points out, "one is sung in rhythm names, and the other in solfège.

For our final task in this unit, you need to stand in a four-square and you can see a photo of that here.

One pair sings Bubblegum in rhythm names and the other pair sing Double Double in solfège at the same time.

Take a look at this clip to see how those actions fit together.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Takadi Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di Takadi Ta-di Ta ♪ It might be a good idea to practice those songs separately first.

So here are the actions on the screen if you'd like to do that before you combine the songs together as partner songs.

Only if you want to, you can try an extra challenge and I'll leave you with this one.

If you add another pair to your group, they can sing the first half of the song 'Salibonani.

' That was one of the warm-up songs that we did, and at the end of every phrase they do a high-10 over the top of the other two pairs.

This is three songs at once, which is a little bit crazy, but it does work.

So practice carefully and take a look at this video to see how it works.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) ♪ Salibonani ♪ (hands clapping) Good luck with that one, remember to sing gently and stay in time together.

Feel free to pause here to practice today's task.

How did you get on? Were you successful? Here is Andeep's experience.

He says, "at first it kept falling apart.

We practiced the song separately before putting them together and it worked much better." Jacob says, "we put two songs together and it sounded amazing, but three songs was difficult.

We want to get it right, so we're going to practice at break time." And that's the good thing about singing is that you are carrying your voice with you wherever you go.

So feel free to have a go of that task whenever you can.

Before we finish, let's summarize what we've learned today.

We learned that "so, me and do" create pleasing harmony when sung at the same time.

We also learned that we can layer a harmony part and a rhythmic ostinato to add a thicker texture to our songs just like you did with the song Fogo Foguinho.

And singing partner songs together can create harmony a bit like we did with the Bubblegum song, Double Double and Salibonani.

This was the last lesson in this particular unit of work.

I've loved singing with you all.

I hope you've had a great time with all of our activities and that you've learned something as well.

See you soon.