Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to today's music lesson.

I'm Miss Mantle and I'm gonna be your teacher for today.

Let's get started.

And the outcome for today's lesson is, I can explain what a mode is and have performed a modal sea shanty melody.

Let's look at some keywords for today's lesson.

Mode, that's a type of scale of which there are seven main types.

Dorian mode, that's a mode that sounds similar to a minor scale.

The D dorian mode uses the white notes, starting on D.

Strophic, that's a structure based on repeating verses with variation in the lyrics.

And sea shanty, a folk song traditionally sung by sailors to help them coordinate their movements.

Today's lesson on modes and sea shanties has two parts.

Part one is on modes and part two is playing a sea shanty.

So let's get started with part one, modes.

Folk melodies can be based on the pentatonic scale, but also use other scales, including modes.

Modes sound similar to major and minor scales, but they have slight differences that give them unique characteristics.

There are seven different modes.

So if we think about major and minor scales, C major, for example, is all the white notes between C and C on a keyboard and it has a positive sound.

Minor scales have flattened notes, so on the keyboard you would play some of the black notes, and they sound a little bit sadder or more mournful.

We're gonna look at one particular mode today.

The dorian mode is close to a minor scale, so it sounds slightly somber in mood.

It is commonly used in folk music.

So have a listen to the dorian mode.

(gentle instrumental music) And you can see that if you were playing it on a keyboard, it would be all the white notes between D and D.

So it uses the same notes as C major.

So as I said, C major uses the white notes from C to C, but the dorian mode sounds different because D is the home note rather than C.

This makes it sound closer to a minor scale than a major scale, so sadder rather than more positive.

Have a listen to these clips.

Which of these is based on C major and which is based on D dorian? Have a listen to the first one.

(gentle instrumental music) And now listen to the second.

(gentle instrumental music) What did you think? The first one was based on C major and the second on D dorian.

These well-known English folk songs date back centuries and are based on the dorian mode.

How would you describe the overall feeling of the songs? So have a listen to "Scarborough Fair" first.

("Scarborough Fair" playing) And now let's listen to "Greensleeves".

("Greensleeves" playing) Lucas thinks that, "The music had a reflective and slightly somber or sad feel to it, similar to music in a minor key." So if you remember, that's gonna be a characteristic of this dorian mode.

Let's do a check for understanding, what is a mode? Is it A, a type of chord? B, a type of scale? Or C, a type of note? What do you think? If you've got B, well done, it's a type of scale.

What mode are many folk songs based on? Is it A, pentatonic? B, minor? Or C, dorian? Well done if you've got C, dorian.

Let's move on to task A.

So fill in the missing words.

A mode is a type of what that has unique characteristics? There are a total of how many different modes? Many songs use the dorian mode, which sounds similar to a what scale? So have a look and fill in the blanks.

And then for the second part, draw the four missing notes from the D dorian mode.

Have a go at task A now.

How did you get on? So a mode is a type of scale that has unique characteristics.

There are a total of seven different modes.

Many folk songs use the dorian mode, which sounds similar to a minor scale.

I hope you've got all those words correct.

Now, how did you get on with drawing the missing notes from the D dorian mode? Does that match what you did? You can see it was the four in the middle, so the F, G, A and B that were missing.

Let's move on to part two of our lesson, playing a sea shanty.

"What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor" is another famous folk melody based on the dorian mode.

Have a listen to the melody, what typical characteristics of folk melodies does it have? You might need a teacher or an adult to help you find a version of "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor".

But then have a listen.

Jacob says, "It uses short, repeated phrases." And Laura says, "It has a fairly small range, so it's easy to sing." You might have noticed a little difference from other folk melodies that we've listened to, in that there's quite a lot of leaps in this one, rather than all the movement being step by step.

"Drunken Sailor" is a sea shanty, that's a type of folk song that was traditionally sung by sailors working on ships.

The rhythmic repetition and strong pulse helped them to synchronize their movements together, which was an important aspect of working on a boat with sails.

The song is thought to be around 200 years old.

Sea shanties, like most folk music, were learnt by ear and memorized.

As a result, the melody is short and repeated.

So have a listen to the song again.

The melody repeats throughout, but what changes each time? Have a listen.

Izzy says, "The lyrics change in each verse, fitting to the same melody." So a strophic structure where the verse repeats with different lyrics each time is common in folk music.

It makes the melody easy to learn and remember.

Singers only need to remember the different words for each verse, rather than learning multiple melodies.

The "Drunken Sailor" melody also uses a repeated rhythmic motif, and that's a small musical idea.

So have a look at that in the music.

Can you spot a small repeated idea? Well done if you spotted it.

You can see there's a repeated rhythm (claps) that repeats throughout.

So let's watch a demonstration of playing the melody to "Drunken Sailor" on the keyboard.

<v Instructor>Start in D position.

</v> ("Drunken Sailor" playing) Then move down to C position.

("Drunken Sailor" playing) Then we're gonna quickly jump up all the way to G position with a thumb on G.

("Drunken Sailor" playing) Then finally, we cross back through down to D position.

("Drunken Sailor" playing) So we have D position, then C position, jump up to G position, then finish back in D position.

Let's have a look at the whole melody from start to finish.

("Drunken Sailor" playing) ("Drunken Sailor" continues playing) <v ->The melody requires a few different hand positions</v> on the keyboard.

So we've got the D position, where you start and finish.

So that's where your thumb is going to be on the D all the way up to your fifth finger on an A.

The C position, where your thumb starts on a C.

And the G position, where your thumb is on the G.

And let's have a look at those positions on the music.

So look, you're starting in the D position, so you're starting with your fifth finger on that A note.

Then in the third bar, you're moving to a C position.

So it's a very similar pattern, so a sequence, but your fifth finger is playing G.

Then you are moving to the G position.

So your thumb is on the G, but you're actually playing an A with your second finger to start that phase, and then you are ending on that D position.

So you've got your second finger on the E and your thumb on the D to finish.

Watch out for that quite tricky change in position there.

So you've got your thumb on the G, and then you cross your fingers over to get that second finger on the E.

You might wanna re-watch that on the demonstration video.

Practice finding the different hand positions on the keyboard before you learn the melody.

You might find slightly different places to change hand position that work well for you, but it's important to use the correct keyboard technique.

So you need a straight line between your little finger and your elbow.

You want curved fingers on the keyboard.

And make sure you are changing your fingers as you change note, as that's gonna give you more control.

To perform the melody, sing the melody in your head as you practice to help you play accurate rhythms. Play with a consistent pulse, slowly at first.

Use your right hand and change hand position at the right time.

Remember, that's a D position to start, a C position in bar 3, G position in bar 5, and then a D position for the last three notes.

You should learn the melody one phrase or hand position at a time.

Let's do a check for understanding, which two statements are true about sea shanties? Is it A, they are a type of folk song? B, they're a type of classical music? C, they were traditionally used for dancing? And D, they were used traditionally for working? Which two statements are true? Let's have a think.

Well done if you've got A and D, they're a type of folk song and they were used traditionally for working.

Which set of notes is "Drunken Sailor" based on? Is it D minor? D major? D pentatonic? Or D dorian? Well done if you've got D dorian.

Which three hand positions does this melody require? Have a think.

Did you get that right? It's the D position, C position, and G position.

And what is a strophic structure? Is it A, a repeating verse with different words? B, a repeating verse with a different melody? Or C, a repeating verse with a different key? Well done if you've got A, it's a repeating verse with different words.

So let's move on to task B.

We're gonna be playing the "Drunken Sailor" melody on the keyboard.

The success criteria for this is finding the three hand positions, remember that's D, C, and G, and practice changing from one to the next.

Sing the melody in your head and use the notation and finger prompts to help with accuracy.

Practice with a consistent pulse.

Remember, you don't wanna start too fast.

Use your right hand and the correct keyboard technique.

Change hand position at the correct time.

And learn the melody one phrase or hand position at a time.

So here's a reminder of score, your notes, the finger prompts, and where your hand position changes are.

Have a go at playing "Drunken Sailor".

How did you get on? Let's watch this performance of "Drunken Sailor".

How could this performer improve the hand positions? What effect would this have on the music? Watch the performance, then have a think.

("Drunken Sailor" playing) ("Drunken Sailor" continues playing) They could improve their hand positions by using the G position properly.

This would make the melody more fluent, reduce hesitations, and make the notes more even.

Let's summarize today's lesson on modes and sea shanties.

A mode is a type of scale, of which there are seven different types.

The dorian mode is commonly used in folk music, and it sounds similar to a minor scale.

A sea shanty is a type of folk song that was traditionally sung by sailors to coordinate their movements.

"What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor" is a famous example, which uses the D dorian mode and a strophic structure.

Thanks for joining me for today's lesson, I hope you enjoyed it.