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Hi, everyone, and welcome to this lesson, Preparing for part work, where we'll be singing songs in rhythm names and solfege today.
This is from our unit on Singing for performance: discovering different ways to sing in harmony.
Let's get started.
By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to sing songs in rhythm names and in solfege, hopefully from memory as well.
Here are some of the key words we're going to need.
Beat, which is the playing or showing of a steady pulse, a bit like the ticking of a clock.
Rhythm, which is the pattern of sounds that we play or sing.
Melodic shape, the up and down movement of pitches in music or in a song, and solfege, this is a way of naming pitches so that we can recognize patterns of notes by ear.
Of course, before we start, it's important we warm up properly so that we are ready to move, play, and sing together.
Here are some of my favorite warmup games.
We're going to start today with Up, Down, Go, Stop.
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.
Ooh.
Stop.
Stop.
(instructor laughs) Go.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Up, up, up.
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Go.
Our second warmup today is called Johnny Caught a Flea.
Listen to how the song sounds and then play the game where you are.
To play Johnny Caught a Flea, stand facing a partner with your fist on your hand like this.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) <v ->At the end of the song</v> show Rock, Paper, or Scissors in your hands, and the person who loses sits down, When you play again, if you win, you get to stand back up.
If you draw, you stay as you are.
Nothing changes here.
It is played as a whole class.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) <v ->Aw, yes.
</v> ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ ♪ Johnny caught a flea ♪ (fists smack) ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Flea died ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ Johnny cried ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ ♪ One, two, three ♪ (fists smack) <v ->Yes!</v> <v Instructor>Try playing a few rounds where you are.
</v> Our last warmup today is called Alabama Gal.
It's one of my favorites.
Have a listen and see if you can play the game 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 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ <v Instructor>When the song ends,</v> the person in the middle opens their eyes.
The teacher then claps their hands, and two people who are 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.
(hands tapping) (instructor claps) (students rustling) (student laughs) 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 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ (hands tapping) (instructor claps) (students rustling) <v ->(laughs) Sorry, in you go.
</v> Close your eyes.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Come through 'na hurry ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ ♪ Alabama Gal ♪ (hands tapping) <v ->Go! (instructor claps)</v> (students rustling) (students and instructor laughing) Hopefully, now you're feeling ready to go.
Jacob says that his body feels relaxed, his throat feels warm, and his mind is alert, ready to start the lesson.
For our first learning cycle today, we'll be identifying and singing rhythm names.
Let's with a song that you might know.
While I sing, why don't you see if you can find the beat and tap it on your shoulders? I'll sing the song.
You show the beat.
Are you ready? ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ Did you find the beat? Let's check together.
Are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ Nice work.
Bubblegum is in four-time.
That means we feel a pattern of four beats as we sing the song.
One, two, three, four, or strong, weak, medium, weak, all the way through.
This time, can we show the beats another way, using our fingers? First of all, with your left hand, give me a wave.
Hello.
Now tuck your thumb in and turn your hand around to face you.
Here are our four beats, one, two, three, four.
Can you count and point with me? Off we go.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Let's try adding the song now.
Are you ready? Starting on beat one.
♪ 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 ♪ Remember, you can wind back to have another practice of that if you need.
We can use our beat fingers to work out the rhythms of the song.
"Bubblegum" has three kinds of rhythm, ta, ta-di, takadi.
Start by singing just the first line of the song on your beat fingers.
I'll do it with you.
Are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ This time, can you tell me which beat finger has just one sound or one syllable? Are you ready? ♪ Off we go.
♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ Did you spot it? Pause here to have another go or wind back if you need.
Nicely done.
Hopefully you worked out that beat four has just one sound on the word blow, so we can put in a ta on Beat 4.
A ta is just one sound on one beat.
Two even sounds on a beat is ta-di.
Which beat finger has two sounds? Are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum, chew and blow ♪ Pause here if you need to have another go.
I'm sure you spotted it.
Beat 3 had two sounds, chew and, so we can put in a ta-di on Beat 3.
Nice work.
And finally, how many sounds are in the word bubblegum? Bub-ble-gum.
Nice work.
Of course, it's three sounds, short-short-long.
So which rhythm are we going to need on the word bubblegum, ta, ta-di, takadi? Pause here if you need to work it out.
I knew you'd get it, takadi.
So we can put in the word takadi instead of the word bubblegum.
Can you sing the whole of the first line now using rhythm names on your fingers.
It goes like this.
♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ Try it with me.
♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ Great job.
Alex has very kindly given us the rhythms to the whole song.
By following the rhythms on screen, can you sing the whole song in rhythm names? Try it with me.
It starts ♪ Takadi ♪ ♪ 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 ♪ Great singing.
Remember, you can wind back to have another go if you need.
This time, see if you can sing.
Oh, what is that? Oh, it's bubblegum.
(instructor sniffing) Strawberry bubblegum.
Sorry, folks.
Someone's been blowing bubbles on the screen.
Can you still see the rhythm? MM, not really.
Can you still remember the song? The bottom line, we can see, and we know it starts ♪ Takadi ♪ ♪ Ready, steady, let's just try ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ Oh, well done.
Oh, for goodness sake, more bubblegum.
Who is doing that? Sorry, folks.
I will get that cleaned, I promise.
It starts ♪ Takadi ♪ And you can sort of see a takadi down the bottom.
I'm sure you can still remember it.
Are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ Oh, well done, everyone.
Sorry about that.
Moving swiftly on, here is today's task.
Perform "Bubblegum" in rhythm names with a partner.
Each rhythm has its own action.
If you're singing a takadi, high five your partner's right hand with your right hand.
♪ Takadi ♪ If you're singing a ta-di, tap your left hand with your right hand.
♪ Ta-di ♪ And if you're singing a ta, tap the back of your left hand.
♪ Ta ♪ If you have permission, you could write the rhythms onto your hands with a washable marker.
Here is a video demonstration.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->Pause the video here</v> and try the task with a partner.
How did you get on? Izzy asks, "Did you perform the song correctly?" And Jun asks, "Did you do the actions while singing the rhythms?" I hope you didn't get too tangled up.
Let's check by singing the song altogether.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Takadi, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ ♪ Ta-di, takadi, ta-di, ta ♪ <v ->Great singing.
Well done.
</v> For our last learning cycle today, we're going to practice a song using solfege.
Here's a mystery song.
Take a listen and see if you recognize it.
♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do ♪ Well done.
Of course, it's "Double Double." ♪ Double double this this ♪ ♪ Double double that that ♪ ♪ Double this ♪ ♪ Double that ♪ ♪ Double double this that ♪ Can you perform the song with actions showing the melodic shape? The high pitches can be tapped on your shoulder, middle pitches clap with a friend, and low pitches on your lap.
Join in with this video.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Double double this this ♪ ♪ Double double this this ♪ ♪ Double double that that ♪ ♪ Double double that that ♪ ♪ Double this ♪ ♪ Double this ♪ ♪ Double that ♪ ♪ Double that ♪ ♪ Double double this that ♪ ♪ Double double this that ♪ <v ->"Double Double" has three pitches.
</v> We could swap the words of the song to ♪ high, middle, and low ♪ to better describe the pitches in the song.
See if you can join in with this video.
♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ Mid, mid ♪ ♪ Mid, mid ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ Low, low ♪ ♪ Low, low ♪ ♪ High, high, mid ♪ ♪ High, high, mid ♪ ♪ High, high, low ♪ ♪ High, high, low ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ High, high, high, high ♪ ♪ Mid, low ♪ ♪ Mid, low ♪ <v ->Izzy has a good question.
</v> "How high is the high pitch exactly.
And how low is low?" Well, we can be more specific by using solfege names.
Each pitch has a special hand sign to help us sing in tune.
The high pitch we can call ♪ So ♪ And the hand sign looks like this.
Make sure your palm is facing you.
♪ The middle pitch we call mi ♪ And it's a straight hand.
Don't forget to keep your elbow straight as well.
And do is the low pitch, which is a fist.
Let's practice some ♪ So, mi, and do ♪ patterns.
Try copying some of these patterns with the hand signs.
I'll sing with this hand.
You sing when I use this hand.
♪ So, mi, do, do, do, ♪ ♪ So, mi, mi, do, do ♪ ♪ So, mi, do, so ♪ Great job.
This time, I'll hand sign a pattern, but won't sing some of the notes.
When you sing back, can you fill in the blanks? Are you ready? ♪ So ♪ ♪ Do, do, do ♪ Let's check.
♪ So, mi, do, do, do ♪ Good job.
Here's another.
♪ So, mi ♪ (instructor's tongue clicks) Let's check.
♪ So, mi, do, do, do ♪ Last one.
I'm not gonna sing anything at all.
Can you hear my hand signs in your head and sing it back? It starts on ♪ So ♪ Here we go.
Go.
Let's check.
♪ So, mi, do, so ♪ Let's check.
Which pattern of solfege below shows pitches moving from highest to lowest? Is it A, ♪ Do, mi, so ♪ B, ♪ Mi, do, so ♪ C, ♪ Do, so, mi ♪ or D, ♪ So, mi, do ♪ Pause here if you need to work out your answer.
Well done.
It's D.
♪ So, mi, do ♪ Moving highest to lowest.
Good job.
Here's your last task today.
Can you work out the solfege for "Double Double" and perform it with hand signs.
For some extra help, watch the clip of "Double Double" being sung with the words ♪ High, middle, and low ♪ All you need to do is swap the word ♪ High ♪ for ♪ So ♪ Middle is ♪ Mi ♪ And low is ♪ Do ♪ Pause here to practice.
Nice singing, everyone.
Did you work out the solfege correctly? The answer is on the screen now.
You could also watch this video to check you got it right, ♪ 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 ->Here's a summary of everything we learned today.
</v> Rhythm names, like ta and ta-di, can be worked out using beat fingers, listening for how many sounds are on each beat.
Pitch actions can help us recognize melodic shape, and we can use solfege, ♪ Like so, mi, and do ♪ to identify specific pitches.
Great work today, folks.
See you again soon.