Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to today's lesson on creating and rehearsing a syncopated performance.

We are building a tight ensemble.

This is from our Singing for Performance unit, "Syncopation in Songs".

My name's Mr. Croughan, and I'm excited today because we are putting all of our learning together and trying to assemble a performance of syncopation of our own.

Let's go.

By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say that you can rehearse effectively to make sure a performance is tight, accurate, and well prepared.

Let's look at today's keywords then.

We'll begin with rehearsal.

Now, this is a session in which a performance is prepared.

The pulse: the regular, steady heartbeat of the music.

Kuku: that rhythm from Guinea in West Africa, that can be played on two or more drums. And scat singing: that vocal jazz technique where singers improvise melodies and rhythms using wordless syllables instead of lyrics.

Now, we know how important it is to warm up, and especially today, when we are rehearsing together as an ensemble, we all want to be able to feel that steady pulse and we all want to make sure our voices are warm and ready to use.

So first up will come "Cookie Jar".

♪ Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ We are playing this game to a steady pulse.

Then "Don't Clap This One Back".

We are keeping in time as we respond.

Then Fruit Canon, where you are layering up those three lines of song to create a syncopated feel.

If you are confident with playing "Cookie Jar" and "Don't Clap This One Back", feel free to skip over these videos, but I'll play them for you now if you need them.

Here they come.

♪ Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ ♪ Alex stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ ♪ Who me ♪ ♪ Yes you ♪ ♪ Couldn't have been ♪ ♪ Then who ♪ ♪ Lucas stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ ♪ Who me ♪ ♪ Yes you ♪ ♪ Couldn't have been ♪ ♪ Then who ♪ ♪ Jacob stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ ♪ Who me ♪ ♪ Yes you ♪ ♪ Couldn't have been ♪ ♪ Then who ♪ ♪ Andeep stole the cookie from the cookie jar ♪ ♪ Who me ♪ ♪ Yes you ♪ ♪ Couldn't have been ♪ ♪ Then who ♪ ♪ Izzy stole the cookie- ♪ This is a game called "Don't Clap This One Back".

You will hear me clapping different rhythms like this one.

(Croughan hands clapping) And that rhythm is actually our secret rhythm that we are never going to clap because that rhythm says, "Don't clap this one back." So if you hear it, you do nothing.

Any other rhythm you hear, we all clap together.

Let's try a couple.

(Croughan hands clapping) Very, very good.

Now, you're going to listen super carefully because if you hear, (Croughan hands clapping) we don't clap that rhythm back.

Okay, let's play.

(Croughan hands clapping) Did I catch any of you out? Let's try one more time.

Here we go.

(Croughan hands clapping) Very well done.

Now, you can practice that where you are.

And finally, Fruit Canon, use the audio track there, and make sure you're in three groups, maybe different to how you've done it before so not everyone's always singing the same line, and create those three layers of texture, adding in that syncopation.

Off you go.

Are you now feeling more warm and ready to rehearse? Aisha says, "Well, my voice feels warmer." And Lucas says, "Yes, we're feeling the steady pulse as an ensemble." Hope you are too.

There are two learning cycles, the first one is where we are putting our performance together.

And, secondly, rehearsing instrumental and vocal syncopation.

Let's begin by putting our performance together.

We're gonna assemble a performance and it's gonna show off our skills in playing and singing syncopated rhythms. So your performance can include Babethandaza, that we sing and we play that syncopated ostinato underneath.

The Kuku rhythm, which is played in four parts, including the drum break added in.

Dawda Sanneh, which is sung with a syncopated accompaniment.

And then scat singing, that vocal improvisation using the backing track.

As you rehearse today, I want you to concentrate on developing a cohesive and well-synchronized ensemble performance.

What does that mean? Well, musicians might describe this as being tight.

It's neat, it's tight together, the sound is tight because you're playing accurately all together.

So a tight ensemble will be keeping a steady beat, they're staying in time.

And they begin and end at the same moment.

When they play their rhythms they're played accurately and confidently.

We're listening carefully to each other 'cause we want to stay together as a group.

And a tight ensemble produces a balanced, well-blended sound, so we're aware of how loud and quiet vocals and accompaniment are, and everything else.

First, we're gonna recap by singing Babethandaza.

I'm gonna pause here so you can play that track and sing both verses through.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

You are getting better and, importantly, more confident every time you sing.

So really well done.

We're now gonna look more closely at the second verse.

Remember our rhythmic ostinato, which is that: ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ♪ That is easier on the first verse, and we're really getting that well.

On the second verse, it just takes a bit more practice.

We want that to get into our muscle memory so we feel more confident when we perform it, and it will sound super impressive because you are singing one rhythm whilst playing another syncopated rhythm.

I would like you to clap this rhythm.

I'm gonna give you a one and two and three and four and.

And we'll be ready with our: ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ Okay? Have your hands ready? One and two and three and four and, ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ Fantastic, we're gonna do it one more time.

We really wanna get this into our bodies.

Have your hands ready to clap, here it comes.

One and two and three and four and, ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ ♪ Than zo ngemi ♪ Brilliant, well done.

Now we want to see where it fits in the song, so I'm gonna sing and you are going to play or clap the rhythm.

So when I sing, ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ You are gonna start on the than, don't start on the babe.

♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ Okay, have your hands ready.

I'm singing.

You be clapping, then you know where it fits into the song.

Here we go, I'm gonna give myself a one and two and three, and babe than.

Okay, you ready? Have your hands ready.

One and two and three and, ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ Fantastic, we'll do that one more time.

If you feel like you are able to join in the singing, then please do.

But you're focusing on getting that rhythm in the right place, okay? Here it comes.

It's gonna be one and two and three and babe than, all right? One and two and three and, ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ Very good, super.

Now, we are going to do the same but we're all going to sing, and we're gonna clap that rhythm confidently, all right? Here it comes with a one and two and three, and babe than.

Are you ready, hands ready? Good posture, relaxed and chill.

Ready to do this.

You've got this, here it comes.

One and two and three and, ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ ♪ Babethandaza babethandaza ♪ Fantastic.

Now, we've warmed up, we know that rhythm, that rhythm is in our bodies.

We are going to put it to the first two lines.

Now, we know the first two lines are on the beat, that, ♪ Oo mama bagudale babe ♪ But our rhythm that we are accompanying is syncopated.

We are gonna go on the oo, and on the gu.

The oo and the gu.

So we get, ♪ Oo mama bagudale ♪ I would like to just simply clap that.

I'm going to sing, ♪ Oo mama bagudale ♪ and you are gonna clap both of those things.

One, two, and three and four and, ♪ Oo mama bagudale ♪ Let's do it again.

One and two and three and four and, ♪ Oo mama bagudale ♪ Fantastic.

Then we get to do the full line, so it sounds like, ♪ Oo mama bagudale babethandaza ♪ We're just gonna do that once through to begin with.

So you're gonna get, ♪ Oo mama bagudale babethandaza ♪ So we've played our ostinato once through.

All right, ready to clap? I'll sing, you clap.

Remember, oo and the gu.

One and two and three and four and, ♪ Oo mama bagudale babethandaza ♪ Fantastic.

Let's now repeat it.

So we're gonna clap it twice.

One and two and three and four and, ♪ Oo mama bagudale babethandaza ♪ ♪ Oo mama bagudale babethandaza ♪ Very good.

You can pause here and practice that where you are until you are confident that you can put that rhythmic ostinato with the whole verse.

Pause, off you go.

See you in a moment.

Fantastic, well done.

To solidify this rehearsal, you are going to split into two groups.

One group's gonna sing and just keep a steady pulse, the other group's gonna sing and play the than zo ngemi rhythmic ostinato.

This is the whole song through.

We've rehearsed that second verse, we're putting it all together.

So pause here and use the track.

If you'd like to, if you want to move on from claps to claves or something similar, then you can do, all right? Pause, rehearse, off you go.

Fantastic.

Next, in your groups of five or six that you were in in the previous lesson, you are going to recap your scat improvisations.

Those suggestions are there on the board if you still need them.

I would like to pause now, and in your group make sure you know how your piece begins, what happens in the middle, and how it ends.

You can still use that freeform improvisation, we just need to know the structure of your piece.

Pause and rehearse that now, off you go.

Amazing.

Now, if you think back, we started off in pairs.

We then built up to a group of five or six, we're now gonna create a whole class scat piece.

That means we're simply gonna structure the order in which each group goes.

You can try different orders, see what sounds best, "Oh, we should definitely start with that group, or we should end with that one," whichever.

If you're feeling adventurous, why not try layering two groups together? If they both, in their independent groups, are feeling that steady pulse, then they can feel that steady pulse together, and then we get this additional syncopation.

You can try it if you are feeling confident in that respect.

Make sure, please, there is that steady pulse while you rehearse.

Using the track will help keep your ensemble tight.

So take a short bit of time to choose the order of how your whole class scat ensemble will work.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

I want you to make sure you feel confident in your structure.

This is what I put as a suggestion.

It could be group one, they scat for eight bars.

Group two and three, we've put them together.

They're gonna scat for eight bars.

Group four and five, the same.

And then group six, they're gonna finish it off on their own.

When I say eight bars, it's how many bars are in the music.

And if you listen in the music, for each time you hear, (Croughan vocalizing) you hear that sort of feels like the end of a phrase.

That marks eight bars, that's how long you've got to fill.

That's my suggestion, doesn't have to be exactly like that.

And then, if you want to make your piece longer, you can run that twice through, okay? So just pause to make sure, even if it's noted down on a flip chart or whatever, you know which group's going when, and if there are any groups going together.

Pause and check.

Fantastic.

Well done, everyone.

So your practice task now is simply to design your performance.

You set the running order, "Which order are we gonna put these pieces in? Who's standing where?" And think about when you'll need your instruments.

We want to make this look good so that if an audience is watching, it's neat and tight.

We are creating that tight ensemble, remember.

Considerations: your vocal scat and improvisations, they don't need any instruments.

Babethandaza may need instruments if you decided that you wanted to use something like claves to make it sound better, or maybe you're keeping to your claps.

(Croughan hands clapping) Dawda Sanneh is in three groups.

How are they gonna be positioned? Remember, two of those groups use percussion, and one of them is the singing group.

Where are those instruments going to be set? I know we've not rehearsed Dawda Sanneh in detail yet, we'll get to it.

But I want you to be thinking about, "As I need more instruments, where are they in our performance space?" Kuku is in four groups.

It kind of might need the most staging because you are all with instruments and there's someone on a djembe leading the drum break, so we want to make sure that when you are positioning it, it's gonna be neat.

Do you start with all the instruments and then leave them? Do you start without instruments and build up, or any order? Up to you, but I'd like you to design that performance now.

Off you go.

Wonderful, really well done.

Lucas says that, "We chose to put our pieces with the instruments at the end of the performance, 'cause he thought that'd be neater." Laura said, "When we work in groups, we want to stand in neat, clear parts so it's clear to the audience, the listener." And Aisha says, "All our instruments are placed neatly, and they're towards the front of the performance space so that we can calmly walk to collect them without having to stop the show." I hope, however you've designed it, you're keeping a tight ensemble.

Well done.

The second part is now rehearsing our instrumental and our vocal syncopation.

Remind yourself of the rhythm of these lines, which is, ♪ Dawda Sanneh koloo bwtei ♪ ♪ And ninkynankoo binoo ba la ♪ If you remember that rhythm, it's the same one as our drum break we use to start the Kuku rhythm.

Let's all clap it, I'm gonna give you a five and six and seven and eight and, (Croughan imitates drumming) Okay, here it comes.

Have your hands ready.

Five and six and seven and eight and, (claves tapping rhythmically) Wonderful, well done.

Now you're gonna sing along with the track, remembering those two lines that also share the same rhythm.

♪ Koloo bwtei n'ta ben doonaa ♪ ♪ And binoo ba la n'te mo so la ♪ Coming before the beat, if you remember.

So be ready to sing along to the track, here it comes.

♪ Dawda sanneh koloo bwtei ♪ ♪ Koloo bwtei n'ta ben doonaa ♪ ♪ Ninkynakoo binoo ba la ♪ ♪ Binoo ba la n'te mo so la ♪ When you perform "Dawda Sanneh", it's without the track because the accompaniment are your rhythms. And so we need to keep a steady pulse and make sure we're all at the same tempo so that the accompaniment fits neatly.

So to help us, we're going to sing unaccompanied, tapping a steady pulse like this.

♪ Dawda sanneh koloo bwtei ♪ ♪ Koloo bwtei n'ta ben doonaa ♪ Okay, I would like you to tap the pulse so it's obvious and clear.

And if you are watching each other and you're all doing it at the same time, then it's really clear you're definitely feeling that steady pulse.

Pause and do that now.

This is brilliant and great, the fact that you are a tight ensemble and feeling the steady pulse is gonna elevate and tighten your performance.

Good stuff.

You're now going to decide on your three groups for the performance of this piece.

Remember, group one's going to sing, group two will play the kenkeni rhythm, and group three the sangban rhythm.

So if we recap those, the kenkeni rhythm is, ♪ Five and six and seven and eight ♪ ♪ And one and two and three and four ♪ ♪ And five and six and seven eight and one ♪ So on.

And then the sangban rhythm is the, ♪ One and two and three and four ♪ ♪ And five and six and seven and eight and ♪ So when you rehearse those, it's gonna be really useful if, for now, the singing group, if they are keeping a steady pulse that you can see; that's gonna help keep you in time too.

And then, crucially, choose one person who's going to set the tempo.

Don't go too quickly, you wanna set a steady, ♪ Five and six and seven and eight and ♪ If you start off too quick, we fall into trouble.

If we pull it back a bit and we start off at that slower tempo, even if we think we might play a tiny bit faster later, we're gonna make our rehearsal neater, okay.

So singing group for now, not singing, just keeping a steady pulse.

With that, someone who's gonna start you with a, ♪ Five and six and seven and eight and ♪ Remember, the kenkeni rhythm's gonna come in on the eight.

And just rehearse that rhythm, off you go.

Brilliant.

Now, that's neat.

We'll have the singing group in, so singing group.

It may be still useful for one or more of you to tap that steady pulse, maybe it's the person that's giving you the five and six and seven and eight and.

Up to you, see what's gonna be really effective to help you be a tight ensemble.

So in those three groups, now rehearse both rhythm parts with the singing.

Off you go.

Fantastic, you are working hard today.

Well done.

You're now going to set your instruments for the Kuku rhythm.

Remember, there's four groups.

There's the kenkeni.

We're suggesting claves, and if you're without instruments you can use your body percussion.

Djembe: if you have djembes or a similar drum, fantastic, or we can use claps.

The sangban, a medium drum, something like a tambo or similar; Or, on body percussion, a chest tap.

And then the dununba, a larger drum like a gathering drum if you have something like that, or even a bass drum, whatever's available to you; or without that, using a stomp.

I want you to set those up ready, decide where they are in your performance space so you can walk to them and collect them.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

Now confirm which group is playing which instrument.

And in addition, which person, probably from the djembe group, is going to give that djembe break of the, (Croughan vocalizing) Okay.

Pause now, just to make sure you clearly know which group is which.

And then please rehearse each line in turn.

Not all together, just each one in turn.

Remember, you give yourself that five and six and seven and eight, one line at a time.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So now we're able to assemble this together, adding in that drum break.

So one person, probably from the djembe group, is going to play the- (vocalizing) And if you think it goes one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and, the kenkeni rhythm is coming in on that eight.

So you hear- (vocalizing) (claves ticking) All right.

If you are playing the kenkeni rhythm, just be really listening to make sure that all of you on that kenkeni rhythm come in tight together.

All right? If you need to pause here, you can do, just to make sure that those kenkeni rhythms are coming in in time and that the person playing the djembe, that break, to start us off, is going at the right tempo.

Just have a quick check of that.

Fantastic.

So, last task of the day then.

Rehearse playing the Kuku rhythm with the drum break.

So we start a, (vocalizing) and then all of those four rhythms come together.

Decide, for your running order, which one's gonna come first.

Is it Kuku or Dawda Sanneh? How are you gonna build it up? Or essentially, are you collecting more instruments or are you putting instruments down? Which order is it going to work in? Just work out how neatly, ready for your performance, you can collect those instruments so that it looks neat in those pieces.

And lastly, the last thing that you'll do after you've rehearsed that Kuku rhythm and you're happy with it, rehearse Kuku and Dawda Sanneh in the order you've decided, using the drum break to set the tempo.

Have a great time.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

I hope that was a really successful rehearsal for you.

I hope you are working really well as an ensemble, and I hope that you are proud of how neat and tight you are making it.

Alex says, "The drum break helped set the tempo.

It actually took us a few tries to feel the steady pulse of the drum break, and it kind of came over time.

We wanted to come in, some of us maybe were coming in a bit soon, but once we were definitely feeling that pulse, we kept rehearsing and it became neat." Andeep says, "I played the kenkeni rhythm.

I remembered to come in on the eighth before the first bar." Really well done.

You can pause here if you need to chat about your successes or which bits you want to focus on next time, and then we'll have our summary at the end.

Have a pause.

What a thorough rehearsal today.

Really well done, each and every one of you.

In summary, today we've been feeling the pulse 'cause that helps us play the syncopated rhythms accurately and precisely.

We can prepare for a performance by thinking, "How will we present our music to an audience so that it is neat and organized? And how can we improve our ensemble skills while we've been rehearsing together, focusing on accuracy, synchronization, and balance, to make sure we have a tight ensemble?" Really well done for today, I'll look forward to seeing you next time.

Bye, for now.