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Effective rehearsal for a singing performance

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can prepare for a singing performance using effective rehearsal techniques.

Key learning points

  1. We can use our bodies and our voice to convey a character and their mood.
  2. Vocal timbre and diction can be used to create a singing quality to suit the character.
  3. We can use lip trills, sirening, open vowel sounds and movement to access our higher singing voice.
  4. Teamwork and compromise are key elements to a successful rehearsal.
  5. We can create a scene by applying the building blocks to tell the story of our characters.

Keywords

  • Rehearsal - a practice session in which a performance is prepared

  • Staccato - performing in a short and detached way

  • Lip trill - a safe vocal exercise to ensure our voices are fully relaxed

  • Sirening - a safe vocal warm-up technique to help support and develop our vocal range

  • Staging - making decisions about creating a performance of our version of a story

Common misconception

Rehearsal is going over the songs until we know them.

Rehearsal is used to develop a character - physically, vocally, and by understanding intentions and mood. Rehearsal is also for exploring using the space to tell the story clearly as well as neatening key parts of the songs.

Teacher tip

Allow pupils time to consider the questions from the video - such as 'how will the body percussion become part of the witch's character? and 'how will you show the witch's personality through your singing'. This can be guided and draw upon prior knowledge from this lesson and previous ones.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
(Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

4 Questions

Q1.
The musical word for short and detached articulation is...

Correct answer: staccato
legato
forte
piano

Q2.
When we change the sound of our voice to suit a character, we are changing the vocal...

Correct Answer: timbre

Q3.
The up and down movement of pitches in a melody is called the...

Correct Answer: melodic shape

Q4.
Match these character building blocks.

Correct Answer:why we move,motivation

motivation

Correct Answer:where we move,space

space

Correct Answer:how we move,quality of movement

quality of movement

Correct Answer:what we are doing,action

action

Correct Answer:who we do this with,relationship

relationship

4 Questions

Q1.
Which of these can help us to sing high notes?

standing as tall as possible
singing as loudly as possible
Correct answer: lip trills to relax our voice
Correct answer: sirening to explore the full range of our voice

Q2.
True or False? Legato singing best suits the Witch's character.

Correct Answer: False, false

Q3.
True or false? Rehearsal is just going over the songs until we know them.

Correct Answer: False, false

Q4.
When we sing staccato, how do we sing?

loudly
quietly
Correct answer: short and detached
fast

To help you plan your 6 music lesson on: Effective rehearsal for a singing performance, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...