(pronounced ‘gree-oh’) a West African storyteller and musician

how a song or piece of music conveys a story through lyrics and/or melody

a form of narrative verse, often put to music

Whole-body warm-ups

Face warm-up

Breathing warm-up

Hey Ho 

The Diggers' Song 

Sir Eglamore

Storytelling through song

Music

How songs tell stories in theatre

Using opera to tell a story

Building and staging a song to tell a story

Ensemble storytelling through song

Sharing stories through performance

This unit develops the skill of storytelling through song. Pupils listen to a range of song styles that have a clear narrative or reveal how a character is feeling. Pupils explore how dynamics, tempo and pitch contribute to how meaning is conveyed using songs from theatre and opera.

Singing together: how stories are shared through song

a type of theatre with songs, acting and dance

a piece performed by one person - an Italian word meaning 'alone'

a chorus of people on stage sharing the plot or mood

a character sharing their thoughts and feelings with the audience

Verse 1 with echos

Verse 2 with echos

When I Was a Lad - full song

When I Was a Lad - piano track

Warm-ups

a form of storytelling using dramatic singing, acting, costume and design and sometimes dance

a book containing the words (and sometimes stage directions) that the opera performers will use

a performance by two singers, musicians or dancers

a large musical ensemble, combining instruments from the string, woodwind and percussion families

Hansel and Gretel

Mirror game

What Is Opera?

Hansel and Gretel 

Opera House artist showing how to convey character

Sing along to the track

You! Me? You! 

 Hey Ho Nobody Home

a song structure where multiple groups sing the same melody but start at different times

the combination of different layers of sounds

making decisions about creating a performance of our version of a story

the reasons behind what a character might say or do to achieve their goal or get what they want

Have a go at singing the round

Little Brother Dance with Me - Round

Learn the round

Perform this section

Ideas for staging Little Brother Dance with Me

Example staging

You! Me? You!

a strong structure where mltiplegroups sing the same melody but start at different times

the same tune sung or played at the same time

a practice session in which a performance is prepared

Hey Ho Nobody Home

Little Brother Dance with Me - full song with vocals

Little Brother Dance with Me- Round Section

Little Brother Dance with Me - full song, just backing track

rehearse the round

rehearse the whole piece - backing track

Children performing the round section

the written text containing the story of a play, musical or film

Hey Ho backing track

Little Brother - full performance Instrumental only

Breathing excercise

Little Brother - Full performance with vocal support 

Rubber Chicken

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Singing together: how stories are shared through song

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