Lesson video

Hi everyone.

My name is Mrs. Steele.

And I'm really excited that we're going to be learning together today.

Today's lesson is all about syncopation in songs, and there's a lot to do, so let's get started and have fun together.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to sing songs that include syncopated rhythms while keeping a steady beat.

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

Beat, the playing or showing of the steady pulse like the ticking of a clock.

Rhythm, the pattern of sounds and silences that we play and sing.

Syncopation, rhythms that emphasize the offbeat.

Offbeat, weak beats or notes between the beats.

And upbeat, when music begins on any beat except for the first beat, it's also known as anacrusis.

Let's start by warming up so that we are ready for music.

Before every music lesson, it's important to warm up our bodies, our voices, and our minds.

Warming and stretching our vocal chords safely and gently helps to prevent injury to our voice and it helps develop our vocal strength.

Warmups also help develop many other musical skills like singing and playing as part of an ensemble.

We start by warming up our bodies.

warming up our whole body, helps to release tension and helps us find our singing posture.

Using this backing track, choose a leader and copy their movements and stretches.

And there are lots of different movement ideas on the slide here that you could choose from or you could create your own.

Here comes the backing track.

Copy the leader's movements.

(lively music) Next, we warm up our face muscles.

To do this, place your tongue at the front of your mouth between your teeth and lips, then rotate your tongue around your mouth like you're searching for leftovers.

Nice Press pause to try that now.

Now let's gently release our mouths.

And using our fingers or knuckles, massage the hinge all the way down to your chin.

That's this bit here.

(skin rustling) All the way down.

Press pause to try that.

Warming up our face muscles gently will help us hold less tension in our jaw and neck.

After you've completed those two exercises, do your neck and jaw feel relaxed and loose, and does your mouth feel warm and at ease? If it does, you're ready to sing.

Next, it's important to complete breathing exercises.

When our breathing is considered and controlled, we're helping protect the muscles around our voice.

Join in with the breathing exercises in this video.

Remember to keep your shoulders even as you raise your arms and keep your chest broad and open and your breathing nice and controlled.

Here comes the video.

Join in with these breathing exercises.

Copy me.

(hand rustling) (Mrs. Steele blowing) (Mrs. Steele hissing) Next we can warm up our voice.

Vocal exercises like this one safely warm and stretch our vocal chords.

Make sure you do these exercises gently.

Use the backing track and follow the melody, choosing different sounds to sing.

And there are some ideas on the slide here.

Here comes the music.

Join in with your different sounds.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) Chants and tongue-twisters can help us to warm up our mouths and improve our articulation.

Join in with this one.

It's great fun and it's called bananas.

Here's the music.

Ready, steady off we go.

♪ Grow bananas, grow, grow bananas ♪ ♪ Peel bananas, peel, peel bananas ♪ ♪ Slice bananas, slice, slice bananas ♪ ♪ Eat bananas, eat, eat bananas ♪ ♪ Go bananas, go, go bananas ♪ (lively instrumental music) ♪ Sleep bananas, sleep, sleep bananas.

♪ ♪ Shh ♪ Do you feel energetic and focused? Does your mouth feel warm, stretched, and ready to go? Great.

Let's keep going.

Listen to this Kenyan folk song, "Ning Wendete." (singer clapping) (instrument rhythmically thudding) (hollow instrument banging) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) Let's listen again.

This time, feel the pulse and tap a gentle beat.

We need a good sense of pulse to perform together in an ensemble.

Here's the music again.

This time, feel the pulse and tap a gentle beat.

(singer clapping) (instrument rhythmically thudding) (hollow instrument banging) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) Let's listen one more time.

Can you feel the song is in 2-time? This time as a class, choose a gentle body percussion pattern to perform on the beat.

You might like to choose a strong sound followed by a weaker sound to show the 2-time, like this example.

(Mrs. Steele clapping and tapping) Now you are developing your sense of pulse, your coordination, and learning new songs all at the same time.

Listen to this Kenyan folk song again.

This time, add your body percussion and feel the 2-time.

(singer clapping) (instrument rhythmically thudding) (hollow instrument banging) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) (singing singing in foreign language) As we finish our warmups, it's important to check in with our bodies.

Check that your feet are shoulder width apart, that your hands are loosely by your sides with your shoulders nice and relaxed, that your voice feels warm and ready to sing, and that you are ready for music.

Now we can move on to learning about syncopated singing.

Follow along carefully to learn the actions and lyrics to this English folk song, "To Stop the Train." You can pick up and add in more actions and lyrics as you go along.

Here comes the video for "To Stop the Train." Join in.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ Five pounds ♪ ♪ Five pounds ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Five pounds ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Five pounds to stop the train ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Five pounds to stop the train ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Five pounds to stop the train ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train ♪ ♪ Pull down the train ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train ♪ ♪ In cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train ♪ ♪ In cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train ♪ ♪ In cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ <v ->Let's listen again.

</v> This time, tap along to the beat.

You might have noticed that this song begins with an upbeat.

Here's the music again.

Tap along to the beat.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->It's time for a quick check-in with our learning so far.

</v> how many beats do we count in "To Stop the Train"? Is it a, two, b, three, or c, four? Press pause to choose your answer.

Here comes the right answer.

It's c, four.

This song is in four time.

One is the strongest beat, three is the next strongest, and two and four are the weak beats.

One, two, three, four.

Let's join in with the song.

Add the actions this time making beat one a very strong action.

Here comes the music again.

Join in with the actions and remember to make beat one the strongest.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->Your next challenge is to sing and clap</v> on the weak beats or the offbeats, beats two and four, and you can see them marked with arrows here.

Here comes the music again.

Sing and clap on the weak beats or the offbeats two and four.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->Syncopation is a word used to describe</v> when the rhythm of the music emphasizes the offbeats.

Listen to these short syncopated excerpts.

Let's start with example one.

Can you hear how the beat and rhythm don't align? Here's the first example.

Listen carefully.

(lively music) Here comes example two.

(deep music) And here's example three.

Listen carefully to spot how the beat and rhythm don't align.

(gentle jazz music) Composers will choose which words to place on or off the beat.

Words placed on the beat might feel a little bit more important or feel stronger.

Words placed off the beat might feel more like passing words.

Sometimes important words are placed off the beat and the composer gives the music a syncopated rhythm.

This can help to make the words stand out even more.

Let's sing the song again.

Can you spot a lyric that feels syncopated with important words stressed off the beat? Here comes the music again.

Think about that question as you sing.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->Did you spot it?</v> Down feels like an important word to stress, and this is a syncopated rhythm where we want to stress the offbeat.

Try singing again with this in mind.

♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ Here comes the music again.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->Let's sing the song one last time.

</v> When you sing the syncopated phrase, clap its rhythm with an extra stress on the offbeat.

♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ Let's sing again and clap that syncopated rhythm, stressing the offbeat each time you hear it.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ ♪ To stop the train in cases of emergency ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Pull down the chain ♪ ♪ Penalty for improper use, five pounds ♪ (instrument rhythmically thudding) <v ->Using an upbeat at the beginning of a piece</v> can be another musical tool to help composers emphasize the words they find more important.

We can see the upbeat here.

Why do you think the word 'to' does not fall on the first beat of the bar? Why do you think an upbeat is used here? Press pause now to share your ideas or think about it in your thinking voice.

Did you work out the answer? 'Stop' is one of the most important words in the song, so it needs to be on a strong beat.

♪ To stop the train ♪ Well done if you worked out the answer.

Let's listen to a new song now.

This is a Jamaican folk song called "Mango Walk" and a number 11 is a sweet, juicy mango, native to Jamaica.

Here comes the music for "Mango Walk." Have a listen.

♪ Up we go ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ <v ->This song also begins with an upbeat.

</v> It begins on beat four.

Listen to the song again and whisper, one, two, three, four as you listen.

On every beat one, bring your hand down from high to low like a conductor.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three.

♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ And so on.

Listen again, whisper, one, two, three, four, and do that conductor's motion on every beat one.

Here's the music again.

♪ Up we go ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ <v ->Mango walk has a repeated syncopated rhythm</v> on the repeated lyrics.

Let's listen again.

See if you can identify the syncopated phrase.

On what word or syllable is the offbeat stressed in this phrase? Here comes the music again.

Listen carefully.

♪ Up we go ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ <v ->Did you spot it?</v> In the phrase 'man' of mango, we have that strongest syllable.

♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ Well done if you spotted that.

Now it's your turn to sing "Mango Walk." Here comes the music.

Join in and sing.

♪ Up we go ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ <v ->We've got a new tricky challenge now,</v> or rather two new tricky challenges.

We are going to split into two groups.

Group one, you are going to clap the offbeats, two and four, as you sing.

♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ And so on.

And group two, you're going to tap the syncopated rhythm phrase as you sing, you go mango walk, you go mango walk.

Then swap roles to make sure everybody tries each tricky challenge.

To do this, you'll be successful if: You can sing the syncopated melody with a steady sense of pulse.

If you are able to feel when to clap on the offbeats.

And if you can identify and clap the syncopated rhythmic phrase, you go man go walk, accurately.

Good luck.

Press pause to split into your two groups and then use the music to perform "Mango Walk" in your two teams. Then remember to swap.

I'll meet you back here soon.

♪ Up we go ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ (lively music) ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ You go mango walk ♪ ♪ My mother deed-a tell me that you go mango walk ♪ ♪ And eat all the number 'leven ♪ <v ->Well done everyone.

</v> Now it's time to move on to some syncopated singing games.

Listen to this Jamaican folk song.

It's called "Lost my Gold Ring." Feel the Pulse and tap a gentle beat as you listen.

Here it comes.

(lively music) ♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ (lively music) ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ (lively music) <v ->Let's listen again.

</v> This time, gently count to four as you listen because this song is in 4-time/ "Lost My Gold Ring" has a syncopated phrase which emphasizes one of the words.

Can you identify the lyrics with a syncopated rhythm? Listen again.

(lively music) ♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ (lively music) ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ ♪ Biddy biddy hold on, lost my gold ring ♪ ♪ One go to London, come back again ♪ (lively music) <v ->Did you spot it?</v> ♪ Come back again ♪ ♪ Come back again ♪ In this phrase, back is the strongest word.

Well done if you spotted it.

This song makes a fun singing game.

I'll explain how to play, then you can press pause and try it where you are.

To play, stand in a circle with your hands held out in front of you, palms loosely together, thumbs pointing up like this.

Then choose one person to stand in the middle with a small object like the gold ring from the song clenched in their hand.

Sing the song and on the offbeat, have the chosen person tap down on each set of hands going round the circle on the beat.

They will choose one person secretly to try to drop the item into their hands and then carry on.

At the end of the song, the class need to guess who has the ring now.

As you sing and play, tap your feet on the offbeat feeling the pulse, the 4-beat time, and hearing how the syncopated rhythm fits into the song.

Good luck and have fun.

Press pause to play "Lost My Gold Ring." And you can use the audio to help you if you need it.

Let's listen to another folk song.

This one's called "Four White Horses" and it originates from the Virgin Islands.

It's usually played as a hand clapping game.

A ripe banana means everything is good.

Here comes the music.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ Four white horses on the river ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow ♪ ♪ Up tomorrow is a rainy day ♪ ♪ Come on and join our shadow play ♪ ♪ Shadow play is a ripe banana ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow ♪ ♪ Up tomorrow is a rainy day ♪ <v ->This song uses a lot of syncopated rhythms.</v> With a partner, sound the beat as you listen by alternating tapping your partner's hands and then clapping.

Here comes the music again.

Press pause to organize yourselves into partners, then meet me back here and I'll play it.

Ready partners? Here comes "Four White Horses" again.

♪ Ready, steady off we go ♪ ♪ Four white horses on the river ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow ♪ ♪ Up tomorrow is a rainy day ♪ ♪ Come on and join our shadow play ♪ ♪ Shadow play is a ripe banana ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow ♪ ♪ Up tomorrow is a rainy day ♪ <v ->The stronger our sense of pulse,</v> the more we will hear and feel the syncopated rhythms. Let's practice that.

We're going to stand in a circle.

As you listen, turn and clap the hands of the person on one side, then clap, then turn and tap the hands of the person on the other side and then clap.

This might take some practice.

It's quite tricky, so there's a slightly slower recording audio button to use if you'd like it.

Press pause to try that circle challenge now, choosing the original recording or the slightly slower one if you need it.

It's time for our final and ultra tricky challenge of this lesson.

This one's great fun, but put your concentrating ears on while I explain it.

Here it comes.

So with a partner, you're going to find another pair to form a group of four.

Then create a circle and face your partner in that circle.

Then this time, every time you hear four white horses, you're going to tap your partner's hands and then clap, but you're going to need to alternate which pair in the circle needs to tap their hands high or low, otherwise, all your hands will crash in the middle in a big muddle.

So for example, pair one will need to do.

♪ Four white horses ♪ And that means that pair two will need to do.

♪ Four white horses ♪ This takes a bit of practice and it's great fun.

You could choose the slower version to start, I think I'd recommend that, then you could have great fun using the slightly faster version too once you've mastered it.

Let's take a look at what you'll need to be successful in this challenge, then you can press pause and have a go.

You'll be successful if your body percussion actions are all on the beat.

If you're alternating patting and clapping with your partner across the circle without crashing into the other pair.

And you might even be able to hum or sing a syncopated melody while still moving on the beat.

It's time to press pause and give that challenge a try using the slower audio or slightly faster audio when you are ready.

Have fun.

See you in a bit.

We've reached the end of our learning today all about syncopation in songs.

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

We know that warming up for music lessons protects and strengthens our voice as well as helping us to develop other musical skills.

And we know that clapping on the offbeat or weak beats is a form of syncopation.

We know that having a strong sense of pulse helps us to perform syncopated rhythms more successfully.

And songs can contain syncopated rhythms to help emphasize the lyrics.

Great musical learning this time everyone.

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

Bye.