Call and response singing in songs of the sea
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can sing my part in a call and response song and know that this structure is used in sea shanties and other songs of the sea.
Key learning points
- It is important to warm up before every music lesson to make sure that our minds, bodies and voices are ready.
- Many sea shanties have a call and response structure that features a call and then a response sung in unison.
- Working songs of the sea are sung on different types of boats.
- An echo song is a special type of call and response song where the call and the response are exactly the same.
Keywords
Sea shanty - a traditional folk song sung by sailors to help them work together in time
Call and response - a question and answer musical structure
Structure - the way music is organised
Echo - an exact copy of a musical phrase
Common misconception
Sea shanties were only sung on-board ships.
This unit features working songs of the sea that were sung on different types of boats, not just ships. For example, Tongo is a canoe song. It was sung to keep fisherfolk in time as they rowed in their canoes along rivers.
Teacher tip
The partner challenge for Tongo canoe pairs may take lots of practice. You may wish to select a confident pupil to lead each canoe first so that the call can be modelled as accurately as possible for the back of the canoe to echo.
Licence
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