Singing Strategy for Dudley Arts Education Hub

July 2013

Contents
Our Vocal Vision……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. pg. 1
Aims of the Singing Strategy……………………………………………………………………………………… pg. 2
Local context…………………………………………………………………………………………………….......... pg. 2
Current Projects……………………..………………………………………………………………………........... pg. 2
Singing Pathway..……………………………………………………………………………………………………… pg. 2
Vocal Development Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………... pg. 4
Toolbox (sharing best practice)…………………………………………………………………………………. pg. 5
Useful Resources………………………………………………………………………………………………………. pg. 7
Data……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. pg. 7
Research…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… pg. 7

“The only thing better than

singing is more singing”
- Ella Fitzgerald

Our Vocal Vision

Singing should be at the heart of every school and should be accessible to all. It is our vision to give
every child and young person the best possible opportunity to sing and to raise awareness of singing
in the community and beyond. Through high quality delivery our aim is to enthuse children and
enable the whole in singing. We will work with partners to promote, support, develop and strengthen
singing across the Dudley borough and, with support from partners, schools and Dudley Performing
Arts staff, signpost children and young people to National Portfolio Organisations.

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Aims of the Singing Strategy

The Dudley Arts Education Hub Vocal Strategy aims to promote singing and develop high quality vocal
work across the borough of Dudley. We are keen to support singing in schools, sourcing appropriate
repertoire and delivering vocal activity of the highest standard.

Through the singing strategy, the Hub aims to:

 Engage every Dudley pupil in singing;
 Promote singing to disengaged/vulnerable children and young people;
 Support schools in providing vocal opportunities including choirs;
 Offer high quality singing events for children of all ages;
 Establish links with the wider vocal community;
 Signpost to enhance opportunities, eg. NCCGB, CBSO, etc…;
 Increase teacher confidence in leading singing in the classroom;
 Promote best practice across the whole range of vocal activity;
 Provide training for DPA staff to enhance their vocal leadership skills.

Local context (background)

Dudley borough is an ethnically and culturally diverse region with a population of approximately
313,000. There are 105 Dudley MBC schools: 78 Primary, 20 Secondary and 7 Special Schools. In
addition, there are 3 Pupil Referral Units (PRU's) and 1 Nursery School.

Dudley borough has a thriving performing arts scene with many local choirs, dance and theatre
groups. There are also a number of excellent performing arts and concert venues, including
Netherton Arts Centre, Dudley 6th Form College and Dudley Town Hall.

Current Projects

The Hub currently has a busy calendar of vocal events across the academic year. Each year there are
two large-scale, massed choir and orchestra projects in December and July and the annual Spring
Sing is an opportunity for schools and choirs to showcase their talents. There are two regional choirs,
led by DPA: V Time for KS2 pupils and Dudley Young Voices for KS3+ pupils.

Singing Pathway

Pupil Singing Pathway

Pupils should be able to access singing at any stage of their schooling. Once engaged in singing, pupils
should be given the opportunity to develop their vocal skills, both in school and within the wider
community.

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 EY & KS1 KS2 KS3+
• Whole school asemblies and in the classroom • School choir • Dudley Young Voices
• Breakfast/singing clubs • DPA Junior choirs (V Time) • Vocal scholarship programme
• Singing Stars Award • Auditon for NCCGB or NYCGB
• Local choirs, eg. Ex Cathedra Junior Academy, • Large scale vocal opportuntiies
CBSO • Indivdual / small group teaching
• Classroom and assemblies • Rock Bands
• Community opportunities, inc church choirs, • School choirs
theatre groups, etc. • GSCE performance
• Individual / small group instrumental tution • Community opportunities
• Large scale singing events

School Singing Strategy

Below are some key building blocks for developing and maintaining a strong singing culture in a
primary school.

Singing clubs and

school choirs
Curriculum/ vocal
support from
Networking events partnership
organisations, eg.
DPA

Teachers have
Singing in
access to the
assemblies and
Dudley Teachers'
classrooms
Choir The
Singing
School

Signposting Specific CPD

children to programmes
national portfolio delivered by
organisations specialists

Singing Stars Schools taake part

award for talented in DPA concerts
pupils and events

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Vocal Development Plan

Over the next three years the Hub will create new projects to support schools with their singing
strategies and enhance pupil’s experiences in singing.

Vocal.Point will create a variety of projects and opportunities for primary and secondary pupils. These
projects include:

Singing MOTs
The key aims of the Singing MOT are:
- To assess all Dudley primary schools and help to ensure that they are teaching singing to the
highest possible standard.
- To help to develop a sustainable, long-term, high quality singing strategy, which is specific to
your school’s needs.
- To inform pupils and staff of other singing opportunities in the local area including the new
Dudley Performing Arts Singing Awards

A Vocal.Point tutor will visit a school during an active school day to discuss and observe how singing
works throughout the school. A short vocal questionnaire prior to the visit.

The two-hour Singing MOT will begin with a brief meeting with the head teacher and the music
coordinator. This will be followed by a 45 - 60 minute singing session of the school’s choice:
 Whole school singing workshop (from Reception – Y6)
 KS1 or KS2 singing workshop
 Whole year group singing session
 Workshop with the school choir
Schools will be invited to demonstrate some of their singing work during the visit.

After the singing workshop there will be a 45 minute feedback meeting with the head teacher and
the music coordinator. Vocal.Point will then create a report identifying the school’s strengths in
singing and outlining areas for development with suggestions of ways to achieve this.

As part of the package, schools will also receive a resource pack containing some tried and tested
repertoire, with accompanying CD.

Singing Playgrounds
A borough wide project led by Ex Cathedra. It aims to rejuvenate the playground culture of singing
through school workshops, teacher CPD and training a group of KS2 Song Leaders to lead singing
games in the playground.
(See separate proposal for more information)

Year 6 Post SATs Singing Day

An opportunity for Year 6 pupils to come to a central venue and have fun singing together. No prior
music learning is required. The day will consist of warm ups and gathering songs, singing games and
fun repertoire from around the world.

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Black Country Vocal Project
The Hub will be developing links with neighbouring Music Services and aims to create a large-scale,
cross-borough singing project by 2015.

Professional Development
Schools will be able to buy in specialist training, covering a range of topics from singing in the
classroom to developing the school choir. The Hub is also aiming to set up a teachers’ choir which
will meet on a termly basis and will be open to any member of staff from DPA and local Dudley
borough schools.

Secondary School Singing

Pupils at KS3 will be encouraged to take part in a series of themed singing events, from gospel to rock
& pop. Guest workshop leaders and conductors will be invited to lead these days.

Singing Stars
Individual pupils will be nominated by their schools to become Singing Stars. Pupils must demonstrate
that they:
 Support their class teacher in leading singing in the classroom;
 Lead singing in the playground with their peers;
 Sing regularly in the school choir and take part in performances;
 Sing outside of school in local and regional choirs.
Singing Stars will become automatic members of V Time or Dudley Young Voices for one year. As well
as a certificate of recognition, Singing Stars will be able to showcase their talents (including solo
opportunities) in vocal events throughout the year.

Black Country Vocal Emporium

An annual training day for specialist and non-specialist teachers from across the borough. Teachers
will receive resources as part of the cost of the day (such as complete Sing for Pleasure Junior Song
Book pack) and each year there will be a different guest workshop leader.

Toolbox (sharing best practice)

Whole school song practice

As the children come into the hall, you can stand at the front and, without speaking, clap a rhythmic
pattern and gesture to the children to copy you. Repeat this a few times, changing the rhythmic
pattern each time. This allows late comers to settle down before launching into singing and gets
everyone focussed and paying attention.

You should always aim to do a short warm up before starting your song practice and you don’t need
to do anything fancy! A simple chewing gum exercise warms up the voice and gets everyone sitting
well and thinking about breathing. Your warm up should last between 5 and 10 minutes, depending
on the length of your song practice.

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Once you have completed your warm ups, sing a song that children already know and enjoy singing.
Once children are happy and engaged in singing, you can move on to a new song and spend some
quality time on teaching it. When approaching a new song, listen to the song first so children get a
feel for it.

Finish your song practice with another song children know well or recap a bit they’ve just learnt. Try
not to finish the song practice with something the children have just learnt or found tricky. Always
finish with another song they know well or let them leave whilst singing the song they started the
song practice with.

Classroom lesson

Singing can be easily incorporated into any lesson and is a great way to help pupils retain
information. Start the day by singing the register. It doesn’t matter what tune you use; just two
notes will do. Or you could use a silly voice and just play with vocal sounds!

When you are ready to teach a song to your class, there are some basic rules you should follow:
 Make sure you know the song really well in advance of teaching it. It will make the learning
process much easier and children will sing better the more confident you are.
 Demonstrate the whole song to the children, either by singing it to them or by playing the
performance track from a CD.
 Teach the song a line at a time. Indicate it’s your turn to sing by placing your hand on your
chest (encourage children to listen at this point). When you want children to copy you
extend arm out in an inviting gesture.
 Once you have sung the song a line at a time, you will want to sing two lines together. In
order to stop children coming in too soon, use your other hand to show a ‘stop’ sign.
 If you are working with EY or KS1 children you might want to use a puppet to help teach a
song. When the puppet is ‘hiding’ it’s your turn to sing. When the puppet pops up, it’s the
children’s turn to ‘sing with the puppet’.
 We want to encourage children to be independent singers so, as tempting as it is, avoid
singing along with them!

Websites like www.singup.org offer superb resources for singing in the classroom. There are many
songs that have cross-curricular links and explore themes from every subject in the National
Curriculum.

School choir rehearsal

Whether your choir rehearsal is 20 minutes snatched at lunchtime or a full hour after school, the
key is to always start with a focussing activity. This could be a fun singing game or silly brain gym
activity but it is essential to get children into the right frame of mind before singing. Warm ups are
another essential element of your rehearsal but they have to serve a purpose rather than just being
done for the sake of it. You should know why you are doing a particular warm up and what benefit
it is bringing to the choir. If you are working on a particularly tricky bit in one of your songs then you

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can incorporate it into your warm ups and play around with it. You can then refer back to this when
you come to rehearsing that section.

Always encourage good posture when either sitting or standing. When standing, feet should be as
far apart as shoulders. Ask children to pretend to be zombies and bring their arms up in the air.
After “three”, ask children to drop their arms and notice where their arms end up (not by their side
but a little in front of the thighs). Knees should not be locked.

Useful Resources

Book title Publisher Comments

Voice Play OUP Early years
Young Voiceworks OUP KS1
Junior Voiceworks (books 1 & 2) OUP KS2
Voiceworks: OUP KS3 +
- Books 1 & 2
- Folkworks
- Popular
- Caribbean
- Christmas
Singing Sherlock (books 1 & 3) Boosey & Hawkes KS1
Singing Sherlock (books 2 & 4) Boosey & Hawkes KS2
Past & Present Rebecca Lawrence Curriculum songs for KS2
Junior Songscape Faber Music KS2
Songscape: Children’s Favourites Faber Music KS1
Songscape: from stage & screen Faber Music KS2 +
Songscape: Earth, Sea and Sky Faber Music A selection of curriculum
based songs for KS1 & KS2
www.singup.org Online songbank and teacher
resources
SfP Junior Song Book Pack Sing for Pleasure Unaccompanied songs, rounds
and singing games for all ages

Data

The Hub is continually collecting and collating comprehensive data for the Arts Council and uses the
information gathered to inform all their future development.

Research

Physiological benefits:
When we sing, air passes through the vocal cords and they vibrate. These vibrations cause the sound
(speech or song) and the cords stretch and relax to create higher and lower sounds. Singing is a more
controlled version of speech. The stretching and relaxing of the vocal cords is more extreme in singing
and precision of this allows us to sing specific pitches. In order to sing to the best of our abilities we

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need to ensure that this vocal apparatus remains healthy and is well looked after. It is important that
we treat our voice box in the same way we would any other muscle. Not ‘warming up’ our voices,
prolonged shouting or singing excessively in the lower/upper extremities of our vocal range can often
cause damage, having the same effect as if we had run a marathon without any preparation.

A child’s vocal apparatus will change quite substantially between birth and when they leave primary
school. Babies are born with their epiglottis positioned high at the back of the throat to enable them
to suckle and simultaneously breathe without choking. As they get older, the epiglottis drops and this
has an impact on the resonance of the sound. Through early childhood, as part of their natural
growth, a child’s tongue, windpipe, larynx (or voice box) and all other parts of their anatomy used to
produce sound grow too. Physiologically the growth of the larynx, the organ which produces sound,
is quite rapid in boys and girls up to the age of 6. After aged 6 this development dramatically slows
down and there is relatively little change until puberty. Accordingly, this is why children at the age of
6 are often unable to produce a strong “singing voice.” However, this is not to say that there is no
vocal development for the next 5-7 years.

So, as with all parts of a child’s body, if muscles are used regularly those muscles will strengthen. It is
therefore important that children take part in singing activities as much as possible to encourage this
physiological development. Children should be encouraged to use their upper range (head voice) as
much as possible to build confidence and strengthen the voice in higher pitches. It is unfortunately
becoming all too common that children are not being challenged in this way and as a result, we often
hear songs being “shouted” in their speaking voices.

There is a comprehensive guide to the development of the child’s singing voice (including
adolescents) by Stuart Barr and Jenevora Williams on the Sing Up website:

www.singup.org/fileadmin/singupfiles/Inside_the_voice__Chapter_4-Voice_development_over_the_lifespan_.pdf

Neurological and psychological benefits:

Singing generates a powerful feel-good factor, which may partly explain the rising number of
community/office/youth/church choirs continuing to spring up all over the world. Chorus America
boasts that there are 32.5 million adults singing in choirs across the USA, an increase of 10 million in
just 6 years. There must be a reason that singing makes us feel so good and scientists have been hard
at work to prove it. They have discovered that the specific act of singing releases two hormones into
the body: endorphins; the “happy hormone” associated with feeling good and oxytocins; the
“bonding hormone” associated with trust, feeling safe and wound healing. Music-making has also
been linked to increased levels of dopamine; a chemical produced by the brain which boosts
movement, cognition, pleasure, and motivation. In fact, scientists have produced strong evidence
that singing is the only activity that activates almost every part of the human brain. Furthermore, a
recent study by the University of Gothenberg has proven that singing in a choir synchronises
heartbeats and improves deep breathing and well-being. All of this evidence supports government
efforts to increase the level of singing in schools through SingUp! and the emphasis on singing in the
new National Plan for Music Education.

My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take
as much as you require. ~Edward Elgar