Lesson video

Hi there, everyone.

Welcome to this lesson on characterful singing.

This is from our "Singing for Performance" unit, where we are conveying emotion and character through our performances.

My name is Mr. Croughan and I'm looking forward to guiding you through this lesson where we are acting through our singing.

Are we ready? Let's begin.

In this lesson, we'll be looking at the intention and the meaning in a song so that we can share that with an audience and sing with a sense of character.

Let's look at our keywords for today then.

We'll begin with score, the written form of a composition that shows the notation and the instructions for instruments and, or voices.

Legato, performing in a smooth way.

Sequence.

This is when we have a melodic phrase that can be repeated, maybe at a higher or lower pitch.

Structure, the way the music is organized.

And staging, where we're making decisions about creating a performance of our version of a story.

Let's begin by warming up.

We have Character Roll Call and Spellcasting.

Make sure you have a space and are ready because here they come.

<v ->Let's warm up our voices</v> through an activity called Character Roll Call.

<v ->In this activity, we'll introduce the main characters</v> from our opera, "Hansel and Gretel." <v ->Let's use our voices and movements</v> to act like each character, show their feelings, and learn their special motif, the music that matches them.

The story starts with brother and sister, Hansel and Gretel, who are at home, doing chores.

They are tired and hungry.

Gretel, the most confident of the siblings, says that they should do a dance to cheer themselves up.

She sings ♪ Little brother dance with me ♪ <v ->Gretel is a very good dancer,</v> so let's add a dance move to go with the line, and make sure you're using your most confident voices.

<v ->Yes.

Off we go.

</v> ♪ Little brother dance with me ♪ <v ->Excellent.

Now let's hear from Hansel.

</v> Hansel is Gretel's clumsy, younger brother.

He sings ♪ Which is left and which is right ♪ <v ->That must be hard for Hansel.

</v> Maybe we can hear the confusion in his voice and show that with our bodies like this.

<v ->Off we go.

</v> ♪ Which is left and which is right ♪ <v ->Oh, no.

Poor Hansel.

</v> And even worse, Mother comes home, and catches them not doing their chores, but dancing.

She says angrily, "Hey, you." <v ->Oh, do you think we should add a point</v> for the moment she sees them? <v ->Yes.

Off we go.

</v> <v Singers>Hey, you.

</v> <v ->She chases them out of the house in a rage</v> and sends them off to the forest.

We then meet our next character, Father, who comes home cheerfully with a huge sack of food.

He sings ♪ Tra la la la ♪ ♪ Tra la la la ♪ <v ->Should we do a cheery walk just to show how happy he is?</v> <v ->Off we go.

</v> ♪ Tra la la la ♪ ♪ Tra la la la ♪ <v ->When Father hears that Mother has sent the children</v> to the forest, he is horrified, and tells her of the legend of the gingerbread witch who lives there.

The witch sounds like this.

(hands clap against body) ♪ Watch me fly ♪ <v ->Wow, I love that body percussion.

</v> Maybe we can use that rhythm to cast a spell which helps us fly.

<v ->Off we go.

</v> (hands clap against bodies) ♪ Watch me fly ♪ <v ->The forest is dark and scary,</v> but full of magical creatures, too.

They meet a mysterious figure who is called the Sandman, who sprinkles dust into the eyes of Hansel and Gretel to help them sleep.

The Sandman whispers calmly, "I have not come to harm you.

Sh." <v ->Can you show us that you're a mysterious figure</v> who's sprinkling magic? <v ->Off we go.

</v> <v Singers>I have not come to harm you.

Sh.

</v> <v ->What other magical creatures might be out there?</v> What if Hansel and Gretel encounter the gingerbread witch? I don't think they'll be as kind as the Sandman.

<v ->We'll find out,</v> but first, it's time for the roll call.

Let's remind ourselves of each character.

When I call out their name, I want you to perform their motif, their special music that we've learned.

Mother.

<v Singers>Hey, you.

</v> <v ->Sandman.

</v> <v Singers>I have not come too harm you.

Sh.

</v> <v ->Hansel.

</v> ♪ Which is left and which is right ♪ <v ->Gingerbread Witch.

</v> (hands clap against bodies) ♪ Watch me fly ♪ <v ->Gretel.

</v> ♪ Little brother dance with me ♪ <v ->Father.

</v> ♪ Tra la la la ♪ ♪ Tra la la la ♪ You have just learned the roll call for the main characters in "Hansel and Gretel." <v ->You've used your voices and bodies</v> to explore how you can become a character and tell their story.

<v ->I think that it's time that we put our spell all together.

</v> Remember, it starts over your right shoulder.

Off we go.

<v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Sh sh sh sh.

</v> Ss ss ss ss.

Fsh fsh fsh fsh.

<v ->Again.

</v> <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Sh sh sh sh.

</v> Ss ss ss ss.

Fsh fsh fsh fsh.

<v ->Wiggly newts.

</v> <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Ooh.

</v> <v ->Even wigglier.

</v> <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Ooh.

</v> <v ->Wigglier.

</v> <v ->Woo.

</v> <v ->One last one.

</v> <v ->Woo.

</v> <v ->Give it a stir.

</v> <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Zh zh zh zh.

</v> Take in that smell.

Mm.

Even yummier.

<v ->Mm.

</v> <v ->And again.

</v> <v ->Mm.

</v> <v ->One last one.

</v> <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Mm.

</v> <v ->The steam.

</v> (singer hisses) Take a taste.

(singer and children breathe quickly) <v ->[Singer &amp; Children] Woo woo woo woo.

</v> <v ->You've used Spellcasting to explore</v> the full range of your voices and energize your bodies so you are ready to sing.

<v ->And now we're warmed up and more ready to explore.

</v> Hopefully, your voice is feeling warmer and perhaps you have a clearer understanding of the way your characters within the story move.

There are two learning cycles, the first of which is following a score to rehearse a song, and then we'll move on to making creative staging choices in a rehearsal.

Let's begin by following a score.

We're building on these techniques when we're reading music notation from a score.

What we're doing is following that melodic shape of a sung phrase and we're noticing the rise and fall in pitch, any words that are sung at the same pitch, notes that have a longer duration that we hold and musical phrases that are sequences.

Let's look at pitch, first of all.

Following the score can help us sing the rise and fall in the pitch, so we notice where the pitch rises and we notice those points where the pitch falls.

Also, we can see where the pitch stays the same.

Can you spot as many words as you can where they're sung at the same pitch, where two or more words are sung at the same pitch? Have a read through.

Yep.

Spotted a few of you.

Keep looking.

Let's see if we've got them all.

One second.

Yes.

Ah, and very usefully, the "two stand there to guide me" where there's three notes for two stand there is really useful to help us sing that legato, that feeling of ♪ Two stand there to guide me ♪ ♪ When it's all on one note ♪ It can flow smoothly and this helps emphasize that sleepy atmosphere of the song.

We're also looking out for sequences.

We know there's some in the part of the song where we sing in harmony.

I'd like you to have a look at the music on the board and see if you can spot any sequences.

I'll give you a clue where I'm looking.

I'm looking towards the end.

Now, a sequence that you are now looking for will have the same or very, very similar melodic shape and it might be a pitch higher or lower.

See if you can spot it.

And I'll show you.

You can see there, "two are on my right hand," and then the same melodic shape just a little bit higher in pitch, "two are on my left hand." These are really useful to help us read the music as we are following a score.

"As We Close Our Sleepy Eyes" also has long phrases that require good breath control.

Now, we are applying the technique of using these long, slow controlled gestures to sing our lines in a clear and legato way.

We can also use these gestures to be part of the storytelling, too.

For example, using those slow, clear gestures for "two are on my left hand, two are on my right hand." Have a watch of this clip of the children just to remind you.

♪ Two are on my right hand ♪ ♪ Two are on my left hand ♪ ♪ Two will give me warning ♪ ♪ When the day is dawning ♪ ♪ Two more gently beckon ♪ ♪ Two more light the path ♪ ♪ And light the path to heaven ♪ (serene music) Super.

What I'd like you to do is to rehearse just this part of the song.

I'd like you to sing through the full phrases.

Remember, we are breathing only at the commas and the full stops.

We want to make sense of the sentence we're singing.

I'll ask you to pause here as you sing this using the track.

Off you go.

Lovely.

We're now going to sing the full song and we're going to do it following an animated score, so the score will move as we are singing.

Remember the characters you are portraying.

You're not singing as you.

You could be singing as Hansel or as Gretel or as a part of the woodland or an angel or whatever.

So there's that element of the spell and the mysterious or the sleepy about it.

Use those gestures you've tried so far to show that musical phrasing.

Remember, we're not doing the full staging.

We're just going to be following the score, but using those gestures will help with those long phrases.

And also in the harmony section, remember to balance your singing so that everyone can hear that polyphonic texture.

Make sure we have a space.

Make sure our posture is good, but also thinking about how our characters might be standing or in whatever position you're in.

And here comes the animated score.

(peaceful orchestral music) ♪ As we close our sleepy eyes ♪ ♪ Angels watch us from the skies ♪ ♪ Two are here beside me ♪ ♪ Two stand there to guide me ♪ ♪ Two are on my right hand ♪ ♪ Two are on my left hand ♪ ♪ Two will give me warning ♪ ♪ When the day is dawning ♪ ♪ Two more gently beckon ♪ ♪ Two more light the path ♪ ♪ And light the path to heaven ♪ (peaceful orchestral music) <v ->Brilliant.

</v> I really want to know how many things you were able to achieve whilst following the score.

For example, were you able to follow the melodic shapes in the written music, and were you able to show your character's intentions and motivation in your singing style? How did your gestures, these long, elongated gestures, support your singing, and did they help show what the lyrics mean? And lastly, what strategies did you use to balance the singing so part one and part two sounded great together and we can hear that polyphonic texture? And now we'll move on to making our creative staging choices in our rehearsal.

The music to "As We Close Our Sleepy Eyes," follows a slow tempo and has a legato, smooth feel throughout.

However, the tempo or the energy levels of Hansel and Gretel, that changes as they respond to the spell that the Sandman is putting them under.

And so we're going to be thinking about quality of movement for these characters.

I'd like you all to follow the exercise in this video to remind you of that transformation.

So make sure you have a space.

Here comes the clip.

<v ->In this activity,</v> we're going to explore the Sandman's magic spell and its effects on our actions and the quality of our movement.

So in a moment, we're gonna introduce the music and I'm gonna count down from ten to zero.

And as we count down, I want you to respond to what I'm saying and that will help you figure out how to move your bodies as the spell takes hold of Hansel and Gretel.

Off we go.

So keep that frantic energy at level ten.

Good.

Really good.

And we're gonna bring it to a nine, which means we might move a little bit less, but keep that high energy 'cause we're still on alert as to what might be going on around us.

Bring it to an eight.

There's still a potential threat in the forest, so we're a little bit suspicious of what's going on around us.

Let's bring it to a level seven, so the sense of threat has completely disappeared, really.

We're just very curious about this forest.

We want to kind of explore it and see what's going on.

Okay, six.

Everything feels calm now.

We feel safe.

Now as the spell takes hold, we're at number five, so we might have a little yawn.

Oh, we're starting to feel definitely sleepy now.

And four, our body starts to feel really heavy with that sleepiness.

We might have heavy arms, heavy legs, and we're gonna get to three, which means we can't even move anymore, we're so sleepy.

Fantastic.

And two, we might start coming to the floor as we get even sleepier.

And one, we're gonna lay down, close our eyes, and zero, the spell has completely taken hold and we are in a nice deep sleep.

And after some time has passed, morning has broken, so we might gently blink our eyes open.

Good.

Let's take a nice deep breath in, out.

Nice.

We might start to slowly, yep, sit up.

Lovely.

And when we get there, let's start wiggling our fingers and our toes.

Let's have a big stretch and yawn.

Oh, lovely.

Excellent.

And let's slowly bring ourselves to our feet nice and carefully.

When we're there, maybe give our shoulders a nice shoulder roll.

Yeah.

We might have a nice gentle smile.

Well done.

Because we know that Hansel and Gretel have had a lovely long sleep and they were kept nice and safe because of the Sandman's spell and the angels.

<v ->Now, if you were part of the forest scape or an angel,</v> you've decided which bit of the story you are telling.

If you're not necessarily a Hansel and Gretel, you might think what level suits your character best when we were counting down from ten to one in the exercise.

So you get to decide what feels the right energy level for the character you are portraying, too.

Reminding ourselves of the character building blocks, let's take the idea of the Sandman.

So the action, what are you doing? Well, I'm sprinkling some sand in these children's eyes so they fall asleep.

Well, why are you doing that? Well, because they're scared and they're in the forest.

And if I give this lovely, calm spell, then they'll sleep really well.

And then they won't be frightened.

How kind.

The body, which parts of the body are being used? Well, if I'm the Sandman, I might be carefully using my fingers in sort of a magician styley way.

Maybe I am arching over them so that I look like almost a puppeteer that's controlling and manipulating the scene.

My quality of movement.

Perhaps I'll tiptoe because I'm trying to be silent and not disturb their slumber.

And then the space, where will I move? Well, perhaps I'll move right throughout the space because I've got this whole forest under my command, maybe.

And the relationship.

Who do I do this with and how? Well, it's almost as if the Sandman knows every part of the forest and is working with Hansel and Gretel to send them to sleep.

So we can think about each of these character building blocks and apply it to what we're doing on stage.

The last ten bars of the score have no singing.

The singing finishes and the music continues.

And I think this is a great opportunity for us to really finish the piece well.

How can we show the final stages of the spell during this movement? And again, we're thinking how we move and how our finishing pose is going to be.

So each character, whether you're an angel, part of the forest, Hansel and Gretel, whoever, everyone's got a different purpose in the story.

And of course, that's gonna affect and change how they move and how they sing.

If you are under a spell, perhaps you move in a slow and controlled way.

Remember, the spell is gradual, it's not instant.

Thinking back to that exercise of counting down from ten to one.

So everyone, each character is going to move in a slightly different way.

I'd like you to think about which character you are.

And I'd like you to think about these building blocks.

And when we've thought about 'em, we're gonna move about the space.

So consider, which part of the body are you using? It's the Sandman.

How is that spell working? If it's Hansel and Gretel, how do they change? How does their tempo, if you like, change in the song? With the quality of movement, how will you move? If you are an angel, how much movement is there? If you are a tree, how much wind is there, for example? And the space, where do you move? How do you keep that staging looking clean and so an audience can tell the story? And how do you then move within that space? If you're Hansel and Gretel, remember, they're going from nervous to calmer and from under a spell to eventually falling asleep.

And if you're angels, forests, creatures, trees, the Sandman, they're all part of this sleepy spell.

I think they're more calm.

Maybe they're more assured.

They sort of know what's going on.

They're in on it, if you like, and quite mysterious.

So you're going to pause the video here.

Think about your body parts, how you move and where in the space you move.

And then have a go at moving in the space as your character, really warming up.

And this is an opportunity for you to try a few new things and really get to grips with the established things of your characters.

Pause here and off you go.

And now it's really over to you.

You can use these following slides to guide your rehearsal process.

You can pause and run through parts of the song at any time you need to.

You might choose to run through the staging of the full song first or perhaps run each section in turn.

Remember when we're rehearsing, we're playing.

We're trying out ideas.

It's essential we have patience with ourselves and each other.

And also repetition.

That's gonna make ultimately our performance more clear for an audience to understand because we are getting neater each time.

There really is, when we're trying out ideas, no right or wrong answer.

I've broken it down because it's really useful to understand the structure of a piece when we're rehearsing.

We have the introduction.

This is four bars of music before anyone starts singing.

Then we begin singing.

We all sing in unison together.

The next section after that is the two-part harmony section.

And then we've got the ending.

There's ten full bars of music without any singing.

And when you look at each one in turn, when you stage the introduction, you are, before anyone sings just that music, we are setting the scene of the forest.

You might want to create a freeze frame forest or maybe that freeze frame kind of breathes a little bit 'cause there's a gentle wind through the trees, whatever.

And that's setting that scene for Hansel and Gretel to walk into.

If you are part of the forest or you're an angel, then I think your energy levels are calm.

I think your movement's gentle.

And if you are one of the Hansels and Gretels, I think you begin with more nervous energy because you are lost in the forest.

When we stage the unison section, we're beginning singing.

If you're a Hansel or Gretel, I think it's where you begin to realize there's angels watching you.

There's a spell happening and that you begin to feel calmer.

And maybe you move from a standing position to maybe a sitting or kneeling position.

And if you're part of the forest or an angel, you're watching over.

You're very much energized and keeping that magic alive.

When we're singing the two-part harmony, you might have chosen for Hansel and Gretels to sing one line of the harmony part and the angels, trees, forest scape to sing the other part.

Now that could work especially well if you're using your height and your levels well because if one group is stood watching over, as it were, and the other group is sat, that might help you balance out that polyphonic texture so the two lines, not one is louder than the other.

And then you come to the ending section.

Remember, ten full bars of music without singing, but we're all on stage and we're all performing.

It's at this point that Hansel and Gretel finally fall asleep.

We're still feeling that smooth, legato feeling.

The music and the tempo is still gentle.

The forest's alive, but it's calm.

Those angel characters remain watching over them.

Just a quick check.

You're gonna pause the video and you're gonna crack on with your rehearsal.

Just a little word on structure.

Is it the patterns of sounds and silences that we play and sing? Is it a short recognizable melody that's the main idea for composition? Is it the combination of different layers of sounds or is it the way the music is organized? How are we doing on our knowledge of structure? Which one are you pointing to? If are pointing to D, the way the music is organized, that's correct.

That's what structure is.

And just knowing the sequence is helpful to our rehearsal.

So pause here.

Use the track and the slides as you need to and enjoy yourself and I'll catch you when you're done.

Great rehearsing, everyone.

Great.

We're starting to fix some of those ideas in place.

It's looking good.

We know how we're moving, where we're moving and why.

So it's time to run through our full performance of the song.

And what I'd like you to do is to film this if you are able to.

So, if it's a class iPad or a camera so that you can watch it back and see just how clear your storytelling was.

Remember, to be successful, begin with your freeze frame of the forest, even if that does move gently in the breeze.

Use your body and the space to show how your character is either working the spell or under the spell.

Breathe well.

Remember, we're singing to the commas and full stops.

You want to make sense of what we're singing, and using those gestures to sing those long phrases will really help you.

Remember, your job is to help the audience understand the story through your singing and staging.

And hopefully they'll feel pretty entertained, too.

Best of luck.

See you when you're done.

How brilliant.

Very well done, everyone.

It's time to, if you filmed it to watch back at this point, I'd like to reflect on your run through of the song.

If you did film it, have a look at these points specifically.

Looking at everybody on stage, is it clear which character each person is playing? Can we see how different their quality of movement is and the body parts they use to show who they are representing? Are there any parts you'd still like to change? And does your movement and your singing qualities from thinking about the dynamics, it's soft, the legato articulation, it's smooth, is that all working to help convey that calm, peaceful setting? So pause here and reflect on your work.

Wonderful.

Well done, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we've learned today.

By breaking a song structure into sections, we can better understand its story and we can decide how to stage each part.

We can follow the rise and fall of pitch by following a musical score.

Using gestures can help us sing legato.

How we move and how we sing can come together for really effective storytelling.

And also, as we've done just now, we can reflect on our performance to assess how clearly did we convey that story? Fantastic work, everyone.

I look forward to seeing you in the next lesson.

Bye for now.