Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

My name is Mrs. Steele and I'm really excited that we're going to be learning together today.

Today, I'm going to be guiding you through your music lesson, called United by Song in the Sports Arena.

But before we begin, there are some listening examples that don't feature in today's video.

So, before we start, you'll need to take a moment to find those listening examples for yourselves.

There's a teacher guidance slide at the beginning of the slide deck to help you with this.

Press pause now to find those listening examples if you haven't already done so.

Great, now that you're ready, let's start together.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to hear musical influences and understand how music can unite a crowd.

Here are the keywords that will be important in our learning today.

Unison, the same tune sung or played at the same time.

Social bonding, developing connections and relationships with friends, family and community.

And tempo, how fast or slow the music is played.

Let's begin by learning about hearing influences in music and we're going to start off with our first listening example.

It's called "Thaxted", named after the town in Essex in which the composer Gustav Holst wrote it.

And it's the central theme to "Jupiter", one of the seven pieces in his composition, "The Planets", which Holst composed in 1916.

Press pause to find the listening example and listen to the clip.

Holst himself adapted this tune to form a hymn, called "I Vow to Thee My Country".

You may have heard it before.

The piece was played more recently at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and again, at the coronation of King Charles III.

It's time to press pause and find and listen to the hymn, "I Vow to Thee My Country".

Can you hear the "Thaxted" theme within it? As you listen, think carefully about these two questions.

Why was this theme a good choice to adapt for a hymn and why might this hymn be chosen for a royal occasion? Press pause to find and listen to this clip and think carefully about those two big questions.

Hello, again.

What did you think about the answers to our two questions here? Izzy says she thinks this theme was a good choice to adapt for hymn, because it was a popular tune, which might have made it easier to learn.

That's a good idea.

And Alex says, "The tune sounds quite majestic and grand, so, that's why it might have been chosen for a royal occasion." Also a great answer.

I wonder if you thought something similar.

"Thaxted" has influenced many other musicians and artists.

The tune's been used by Swedish heavy metal band, Bathory and it features in a "Bluey" episode called "Sleepytime".

And it's even been used in a Sega video game too.

I wonder if you recognize the theme.

Let's learn about another piece of music.

This piece has perhaps most famously, been a Rugby World Cup theme since 1991 and it's called "World in Union".

Singing is a powerful tool for social bonding.

When people sing together, this shared experience gives us a sense of closeness or togetherness.

One of the most important reasons for that is we can't all talk at the same time and be heard, but we can all sing at the same time.

Our voices can come together as one.

When people sing together at sporting events, it's often in support of their favorite team.

It's about time we listened to "World in Union".

In 1991, World Rugby asked the composer Charlie Skarbek to write an anthem that would capture the spirit and ethos of the game.

And the values of World Rugby are integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect.

I wonder if you think the composer managed to capture these enormous ideas in his composition.

Press pause now to find and listen to the listening example, "World in Union".

I'll see you in a bit.

Could you hear the "Thaxted" theme in "World in Union"? What could you identify in the music and lyrics that makes this song ideal for a sports theme? You could press pause to share your ideas about that now, or you could ponder them for a bit in your own thinking voice.

Here are some of our Oak friends' ideas about why the music and lyrics makes this song ideal for a sports theme.

Sam noticed that the lyrics talk about gathering together and that there's a winner in us all.

And Jun noticed that the percussion gives the feeling of running or striving for success and the song has a feel-good factor too.

I wonder if you shared similar ideas, or perhaps you thought something different.

Let's explore another listening example together now.

Carousel is a piece of musical theater by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

And we are going to listen to a song from Carousel, called "You'll Never Walk Alone." I wonder if you've heard it anywhere before.

Press pause to find and listen to "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Do you recognize it? This song was further popularized in 1963 by Liverpudlian Merseybeat Group, Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Have a listen to this version.

You'll need to press pause and find your own listening example.

Liverpool Football Club adopted the song as their anthem and it's still sung in unison on the terraces of Anfield today.

I wonder if any of you recognized it from there.

Its lyric, "You'll never walk alone," is the official motto of the Liverpool Football Club.

This song has become important to many people and can have many different layers of meaning.

Following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when a crush developed at the football stadium, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, "You'll Never Walk Alone" took on an additional meaning for lots of people.

And it's now sung in unison at the Hillsborough memorial services each year.

Let's listen once more to "You'll Never Walk Alone".

As you listen this time, think carefully, why do you think these lyrics, can bring a crowd together so successfully? Do you think it's a useful song for social bonding and why? As you listen, try to find lyrics that stand out to you that give feelings of solidarity, passion and determination.

You could try to remember your ideas in your thinking voice, or perhaps even better, you could jot down any of the important lyrics you hear on a sticky note, a whiteboard or a piece of paper.

Press pause to find and listen to "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Lucas particularly picked out the lyric, "Don't be afraid of the dark." And he noticed it's about staying tough when things get hard.

And even when it's hard, having hope in your heart will keep you going.

I wonder what lyrics you identified that give feelings of solidarity, passion and determination, even when things are tough.

Your next challenge is to think of a song you sing in school, or somewhere else that you enjoy singing and have a think.

Why do you like that song? Think about the people you are with when you sing it, the lyrics, the tune, the tempo and the feel of the song, what or who it reminds you of, and the music or ideas that might have influenced the songwriter.

You might want to discuss your ideas as a class, or write a reflective piece about your song choice.

Press pause to try that challenge now.

Hello, again.

During that challenge, did you learn something new about any of your classmates? Here are some sentence stems that you might have used.

"In school, I enjoy it when we sing," something, "Because," something.

I wonder what songs you chose that you like singing at school.

You might have written about your favorite song and why it's your favorite, or chosen a particular song, because it reminds you of something special.

Now, let's move on to thinking about how singing in larger groups can make us feel.

One of the special things about singing is that it's universal.

It's brought humans together since our early history.

Singing can improve our mood.

And when we sing in larger groups, we share that positive feeling and it grows further.

We can achieve social bonding through singing together.

Let's have a think about where we might sing together.

We might sing in a choir or in school, to celebrate a birthday, in a faith setting, around a campfire, a magical place to sing, a parent might sing to their infant, perhaps a soft lullaby to help them get to sleep.

You might sing at a sports stadium, or at a live-music concert or festival.

I wonder if you've ever sung in any of these places, or for any of these reasons.

Have a go at listing all the times that you sing.

You might be surprised how many there are.

Try two lists, one for singing by myself and another for singing in groups.

Think about the kind of songs you like to sing in groups.

How does singing together make you feel afterwards? There's real power in singing together as a group.

Press pause to list all of the places that you like to sing and you might like to share your ideas with your classmates too.

One of the special things about singing is that it can improve our wellbeing.

Breathing, standing well, being aware of any tension in our bodies and doing an activity together in unison are all things that can boost our wellbeing.

Singing achieves every single one of those.

When we sing, we think about breathing and posture, as well as remembering the lyrics.

And all these things are good for our minds and our bodies.

When we breathe in, our lungs fill up with air.

Our ribcage swings open as we breathe in more deeply to allow space for our lungs to fill with air.

And if you place your hands on the side of your ribcage as you breathe in, you can feel the moving.

Let's check in with our posture.

Make sure that your feet are slightly apart, arms relaxed and shoulders relaxed and a smile is a big help too.

Try this breathing exercise.

You're going to breathe in for a count of four, hold for one and then breathe out for five and repeat that three times.

Press pause to try that challenge now.

Make sure your shoulders stay down and relaxed as you breathe in for a count of four.

Press pause to try that breathing exercise where you are.

This next piece is a perfect example to illustrate the power of singing together in a larger group.

In 2014, Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games.

And one of the most memorable pieces of music from the opening ceremony was called "What If" by Composer Eric Whitacre.

2,292 young people aged 18 and under from 80 countries all over the world joined together to sing it in an enormous virtual youth choir.

We are going to press pause in a moment to listen to "What If" and later, we are going to be singing some of it too.

As you listen to the piece, listen carefully to the lyrics and you might decide to jot down some as you listen.

Think about these questions.

How do the lyrics suit a big sporting event, such as the Commonwealth Games? How do you think the lyrics convey hope, empowerment and possibility? And is the tempo important to the way the song makes you feel? Press pause now to find and listen to the virtual choir singing "What If" by Eric Whitacre.

And jot down your ideas about these three questions.

Hello, again.

Here are some of the ideas you might have said.

You might have spotted the words gathering together, every creed, every color.

Because it's a positive message to unite the world in sport.

Maybe, you spotted that the lyrics talk about hope and positivity by saying, "If I win, lose or draw, there's a winner in us all." And did you spot that the tempo feels steady and upbeat? It doesn't rush, but it feels determined, which makes it a really motivating, uplifting song.

Your next challenge is to join in with the virtual choir yourselves in Eric Whitacre's "What If".

Join in with the aah section each time that you hear it.

Press pause now to find the listening example again and join in with your singing.

Your next challenge is to choose either to learn and sing the whole song "What If", or choose a different song that you are singing together in school.

It should be a song that brings you together and feels good being sung in unison.

As you sing that song together, check that you've got a good, relaxed posture, that you breathe together before you begin and allow it to help you feel calm and focused before you start to sing.

And remember that you are singing as a collective, not as individuals, have open ears and listen to each other and become one voice.

Press pause now to sing either the whole of "What If", or a song of your choice that feels good in unison.

I'll see you on the other side.

It's time to discuss as a class how you feel after singing together.

You might share some of the ideas, like you can see on the screen, or you might have some different thoughts.

Press pause now to discuss how do you feel as a class after singing together as one? We've reached the end of our lesson today, all about being united by song.

But before we go, let's take a moment to think about everything we've been learning together as a united team.

We know that singing in unison can bring people together on an emotional level and that social bonding is about making positive connections with others and it can be achieved with singing.

We know that musicians are often influenced by previous generations of artists and that singing is a strong tradition, amongst many sports fans.

And finally, we know that the tempo and the feel of the music can rouse a crowd.

Great musical learning, everyone.

I can't wait to see you again sometime soon for another music lesson.

Bye, everybody.