Singing to help us work in time together
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can sing songs with a steady pulse and know that this can help us to work together in time.
Key learning points
- We warm up before every music lesson to make sure that our minds, bodies and voices are ready.
- Sea shanties have a steady pulse that is sounded as a strong beat. This helped sailors to work together in time.
- This strong beat stays the same. It does not get slower or faster. This helped sailors to all move together.
- Rhythm is the pattern of notes that we play and sing and follows the syllables of the words. It is different to pulse.
Keywords
Sea shanty - a traditional folk song sung by sailors to help them work together in time
Pulse - the regular, steady heartbeat of the music
Beat - the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock
Rhythm - the pattern of notes that we play and sing
Common misconception
Pulse and rhythm are the same thing.
Pulse is the regular, steady heartbeat of the music. We can feel the pulse and this sometimes makes us want to move or tap along to the pulse. Rhythm is the pattern of notes that we play and sing. Rhythm follows the syllables of the words in a song.
Teacher tip
When playing the rhythm Drunken Sailor with claves, encourage pupils to first speak the rhythm as they play. This will ensure their playing matches the syllables of the words. Then whisper the words as they play. Finally, ask pupils to put the words into their "thinking voice" only.
Equipment
Claves (enough for half the class to have a pair each), drum (one)
Licence
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