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Hi, everyone, and welcome to this lesson, called "Partner Songs and Rounds." This is from our unit "Singing for Performance: Discovering Different Ways to Sing in Harmony." My name's Mr. Andrews, and I'll be guiding you through the lesson today.
Let's get started.
By the end of today's lesson, you'll have performed partner songs and a round, singing at the right time with accuracy, and keeping a steady pulse.
Here are some of the keywords we're going to be using throughout the lesson.
The first is harmony.
This is the combination of two or more notes played, or in this case, sung together.
Partner songs, that's two songs that fit together when you sing them at the same time.
And a round, which is a song structure where multiple groups sing the same melody, but start at different times.
As always, we'll warm up first, so we're ready to sing, move and play together.
Here are two warmup games for you.
The first is called "Alabama Gal." Have a look at how the game is played and then try it where you are.
To play the game "Alabama Gal," everyone stands in a circle, one person stands in the middle with their eyes closed.
Then, as we sing the song, the teacher walks around the circle and taps two people, like this.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ <v Mr. Andrews>When the song ends,</v> the person in the middle opens their eyes.
The teacher then claps their hands, and two people who were tapped quickly swap places.
But be careful, when they swap, the middle person will try and steal one of their places.
It looks like this.
(laps smacking) (Mr. Andrews clapping) (child laughing) If the middle person steals your space, then it's your turn in the middle and the game carries on.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ (laps smacking) (Mr. Andrews clapping) <v ->(laughing) Sorry, in you go.
</v> Close your eyes.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ (laps smacking) <v ->Go.
(clapping)</v> <v ->(laughing) No.
</v> (Mr. Andrews laughing) <v ->Oh, I do like that game.
</v> Our last warmup today is called Digga Digga Dong.
Have a listen to how it sounds and how you play, and then you can try it where you are.
To play Digga Digga Dong, one player closes their eyes, as everyone else sings and walks the beat in a space.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Ding-dong, digga-digga-dong ♪ ♪ Digga-digga-dong, the cat she's gone ♪ ♪ Ding-dong, digga-digga-dong ♪ ♪ Digga-digga-ding-dang-dong ♪ <v Mr. Andrews>At the end of the song,</v> everyone sits, and the teacher covers one person with a blanket.
Like the song says, this person is now the cat who's gone.
The player opens their eyes and has 10 seconds to work out who's gone.
<v ->Is it Izzy?</v> <v ->Izzy, well done.
</v> Pick a new player, and the game begins again.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Ding-dong, digga-digga-dong ♪ ♪ Digga-Digga-dong, the cat she's gone ♪ ♪ Ding-dong, digga-digga-dong ♪ ♪ Digga-digga-ding-dang-dong ♪ <v ->Eyes open.
</v> 10 seconds, who's missing? Try playing a few rounds where you are.
Hopefully you're now feeling ready to start, just like Jacob here, who says that his body feels relaxed, his throat feels warm and his mind is alert, ready to start the lesson.
First up today, we're going to be singing some partner songs.
And you might remember from our keywords today that partner songs are a type of harmony where we sing two songs that fit together at the same time.
We'll start with the song "Johnny Caught a Flea," and tap the beat on your beat fingers.
A quick reminder of how to do beat fingers.
Hold up your left hand, give me a wave.
Hi.
Tuck your thumb in, and then turn your four beat fingers to face you.
And then we're ready to tap the beats as we sing.
It goes like this.
♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ Why don't you try it with me? ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ Great singing.
This time, sing it again with your beat fingers, and every time you tap a beat on your fingers, a circle will appear on the screen, a beat circle.
♪ Ready, steady, off you go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ Nicely done.
Sing just the first line, just the first four beats.
Can you tell me which of the four beats is silent? Are you ready? ♪ Ready, steady, off you go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ Did you spot it? Let's find out.
In the first four beats of "Johnny Caught a Flea," which beat is silent? Beat one, beat two, beat three or beat four? Pause here to work out your answer.
If you said beat four, you're absolutely right.
Nicely done.
A silent beat in music is called a rest, and we can show that with a little Z, like you can see on the screen here.
Lucas is absolutely right when he says it's a bit like "That beat has fallen asleep." (Mr. Andrews imitating sleeping) (spluttering) Oh, excuse me.
Here are all of the words and the rests written into the beat circles on the screen here.
Watch the next video clip and see how we can sing the song while pointing at the beat circles.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (wood rhythmically clonking) ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ Can you remember which symbol represents a beat of silence? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here if you need some time.
Well done, if course it's C, that little Z, a bit like the beat has fallen asleep.
Aisha makes a really good point, "To create harmony with a partner song, we're going to need two songs that fit together." So far, we've just been singing one song, "Johnny Caught a Flea." Take a listen to this recording of "Johnny Caught a Flea" and see if you can hear what other song is being sung at the same time as a partner song.
Are you ready? (upbeat music) ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ Which partner song did you hear being sung at the same time as "Johnny Caught a Flea?" Was it A? ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ B? ♪ Ding-dong, digga-digga-dong ♪ Or was it C? ♪ Double-double this, this ♪ You can wind back and have another listen if you need to.
If you said.
♪ Alabama Gal ♪ You're absolutely right, well done.
For today's task, see if you can sing "Johnny Caught a Flea" and "Alabama Gal" together as partner songs, so you're singing them at the same time.
You can either do this in pairs, one person singing a song each, or even two people sing one song and two people sing the other.
On the worksheet are some beats that you can point to help stay in time.
And Alex has a good tip, "Remember to swap with your partner or swap groups so you've tried singing both songs." The worksheet looks a little bit like this.
And if you need to, you can use the backing track to stay in time.
This is what it should look like.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ You can pause here to try the task where you are.
Nice work, everyone.
A top tip for me, remember to sing really gently and up in your high voice.
♪ One, two, three ♪ Or.
♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ So we can hear both songs really beautifully fitting together.
Maybe someone could record you singing it and you could listen back to how nice it sounds.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ Flea died, Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Come through in a hurry ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ Alabama gal ♪ For our last learning cycle today, we're going to be singing a round in two parts.
Sofia starts with a question, "Do you recognize this mystery song?" ♪ Doo, doo-doo, doo, doo-doo ♪ ♪ Doo-doo, doo-doo ♪ ♪ Doo, doo-doo, doo, doo-doo ♪ ♪ Doo-doo, doo-doo ♪ ♪ Sorida, Sorida ♪ Did you spot it? Watch this performance of "Sorida." Can you describe what's happening this time? ♪ Sorida ♪ ♪ Sorida ♪ ♪ Sorida ♪ ♪ Rida ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ ♪ Sori, sori ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ ♪ Sori, sorida ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ ♪ Rida, rida ♪ So in that performance, there were two voices, but starting at different times.
And that type of harmony is called a round.
And because there were two voices, we say it's a round in two parts.
Which of these images do you think best shows a round being sung in two parts? A, B, or C? Pause here if you want to discuss.
If you said B, you are spot on.
You can see Sam starts singing first, and then Jacob sings the same song a little moment later.
Well done.
Another song that works as a round is the "Bubblegum" song.
That's the one that starts.
♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ You can see here it's been written in rhythms. Sing it with me if you can, or just listen first and then wind the video back to sing it with me.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ Can you sing and play the clapping game with a partner? For every rhythm, there's a special action.
On, "Taka-di," you high five a partner with your right hand.
For, "Ta-di," you tap the palm of your left hand.
And for any, "Ta," rhythms, tap the back of your hand.
Here's a video showing how it works.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (children clapping) ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di, ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->This song is great fun</v> when you sing it as a round.
Have a look at this video to see how it works.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (children clapping) ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->It looks complicated,</v> but actually each pair is just singing the song and doing the rhythm actions.
If you do it correctly, no one's hands crash in the middle.
Izzy has a good point though.
"When performing around, it's important to know when to start singing.
Otherwise it could fall apart." So watch the video again.
Do you notice when the second pair start to sing? ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->When "Bubblegum" is performed as a round,</v> when do the second pair start singing? Is it A, after the first pair sing? ♪ Taka-di ♪ B, after the first pair sing? ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ Or C, after the first pair sing? ♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di ♪ If you need to wind back and have a look, please do.
Did you spot it? The second pair starts singing after the first pair sing.
♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ It's your turn.
You might have guessed that today's task is to sing "Bubblegum" as a round in two parts.
Just like you saw in the video.
Remember to sing in rhythm names and use those clapping actions that we've been practicing.
A final tip from Jun, "Remember, the first pair sings." ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ "And then the second pair start." My top tip, if you find it tricky as a round, practice in pairs separately first before you put it together as a round.
That usually works.
Best of luck.
Pause here to have a go.
♪ Taka-di, taka-di, ta-di, at ♪ Ooh, sorry, I was practicing.
How did you get on? Aisha says, "Let's check by singing the round all together." We're going to play the video again.
Sing with the first pair or with the second pair.
Up to you.
Are you ready? ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ (children clapping) ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Taka-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, taka-di ♪ ♪ Ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->Ooh, I bet that looked really cool.
</v> Sam has some suggestions, "If there's time, you could stop to watch other groups perform, you could even film your group to watch it back, or perform for other people." Before we finish, let's just summarize everything we've learnt today.
Partner songs, first of all, these are a type of harmony where two songs are performed at the same time.
A bit like you did in Task 1 today, "Alabama Gal" and "Johnny Caught a Flea." Rounds are another type of harmony, singing the same song, but starting at different times, like we did with the "Bubblegum" song today.
And finally, a beat of silence is called a rest, and we show that with a little Z.
Great job today, everyone.
Can't wait to see you in our next lesson.