Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Minor, and welcome to the final lesson in this unit.

All about irregular metre and we're going to discover some more crazy time signatures today so let's go.

What will we cover in this lesson? We'll start off with a warm up: moving to the metre.

We will then understand irregular time signatures.

Following that, we will listen to and analyse songs with seven beats in a bar.

And finally, your challenge will be to perform a bass line and clapping ostinato at the same time.

This is also in seven.

In this lesson, you will need just your body.

Do make sure that you are clear of distractions and that notifications or conversations you have running on any apps are turned off.

Try to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for the lesson.

When you think you're ready, let's go.

For this next activity, you're going to hear two extracts of music.

One of these extracts of music is in regular metre, in fact, it's in 4/4.

Four beats, or four crotchet beats, in a bar.

The other extract is in irregular metre.

It has five beats in a bar.

If you think it's in four beats in a bar, I would like you to move like this: One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four If you think it has five beats in a bar, then you need to do this: One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five Let's check we can remember those patterns.

Can you show me four in a bar? One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four Can you show me five? One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five Excellent, well done.

Get your listening ears on.

Listen for the stronger beats and the weaker beats.

Do you think it's four or five? Start showing me now.

Well done, keep going.

One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four One, two, three, four This time, show me a different way to show four.

Show me a different way of four.

Show me another way.

Back to our usual way.

Now I would like you to listen to this second extract of music and show me whether it's in four or five.

As soon as you know, start moving.

I hope you're moving.

Five! One, two, three, four, five Here comes your vocabulary reminder.

Irregular metre: time signatures that won't divide simply into twos or threes.

This means they are not symmetrical, and therefore, can feel 'lopsided'.

Pause the video to practise these body percussion patterns in four and five time.

When you're ready, press play, and we'll continue.

So now, we're going to look at really understanding these irregular time signatures.

Now this is the ostinato from Holst's "Mars" The Planets, which we explored in the last lesson, and you can see that this is given a time signature of 5/4 and we explored those five beats in a bar in the last lesson.

The five at the top of the time signature represents the amount of beats per bar, so there are five beats in total in each bar, and the four underneath represents the type of beat.

In this case, there are five crochet beats in each bar, or there is equivalent to five crochet beats, or whole beats, in each bar.

Let's have a listen one more time to an extract from this piece of music, and see if you can here that ostinato begin in the strings.

So now we're going to play a game of "Switch!" between the ostinato rhythm used in Holst's "Mars" The Planets, and the five beat pulse.

The ostinato is tri-ol-la ta ta ti-ti ta Tri-ol-la ta ta ti-ti ta And our five beat pulse is this: One, two, three, four, five One, two, three, four, five You're going to start off with the ostinato, and when I shout "Switch!" you're going to go into the pulse.

When I shout "Switch!" again, you're going to go back into the ostinato rhythm, and so on.

Ready, steady, off we go.

Switch! Switch! Switch! Switch! Pause the video to practise switching between the ostinato and the pulse.

When you've done that, press play, and we'll carry on.

Was "Mars" written in regular or irregular metre? Point to the answer you think is correct.

That's right; it was in irregular metre.

So, you can see at the top of the screen four bars worth of music.

What I want to know is what's the time signature? Especially what the top number will be.

So firstly, you need to identify how many beats are in a bar.

See if you can do that now.

Let's see if you were right.

So, how many beats are there per bar? One, two, three, four, five, there are five beats per bar, so the time signature we're going to give this piece of music is 5/4.

Let's have a look at another.

Have a look at these four bars and work out where the beats fall.

Do that now.

Did you get it right? So, how many beats are there per bar? Yes, that's right.

There are three beats per bar, giving it a time signature of 3/4.

And finally, have a look at this piece of music.

Four bars of music, and I will give you a clue.

This is in irregular metre.

Work out where the beats fall.

Did you get it right? So how many beats are there per bar? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, giving this piece of music a very irregular metre of 7/4.

So, let's test your knowledge then.

Which of these is in irregular metre? That's right.

The first option is in 3/4.

The second option is in 5/4, which can't be split into twos or threes, giving it a lopsided feel.

Have a look at the notation underneath the question.

Which time signature belongs to this music? Is it 4/4 or is it 5/4? Point to the answer you think is correct.

That's right; it's 5/4.

So, now we're going to be listening to some music in a different irregular time signature.

We're going to be listening to music in 7/4.

That's seven crotchet beats in a bar.

Again, completely asymmetrical, completely irregular.

And you might be thinking, "Who on Earth would want to write a piece of music in 7/4? It's so lopsided and so complicated." Well, you'd be surprised.

See if you recognise this band or song.

Did you recognise that band or that song? Yes, that was the Beatles with their song "All You Need is Love." Now, we're going to listen to another band in a different genre of music, and this is also written by Dave Brubeck, but this piece is not like "Take Five" written in five, but "Unsquare Dance," written in seven.

So, now it's time for us to unpick Dave Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance" in seven a little bit more, and we're going to start off by looking at the bass line, which had this rhythm: dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong So, this was the rhythm: dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong dong, dong, dong One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Yes, that's right.

It's on one, three, and five.

Let's see if we can clap that.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Super.

Can you stamp that? Off we go, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Well done.

What did you notice about the bass line and the clapping ostinato over the top? Have another listen.

Did they fall on the same beats, or were the rhythms different? Have one more listen.

That's right.

The clapping ostinato falls in the gaps of the bass line.

So it goes: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven On two, four, six, and seven.

Let's have a go slowly.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Pause the video to practise the clapping pattern in seven.

When you're finished, press play, and we'll carry on.

How many beats were there in each bar of "Unsquare Dance" by Dave Brubeck? Were there seven in each bar or five in each bar? Point to the answer you think is correct.

That's right; there were seven beats in a bar.

However, he did write some music in 5/4, and that was called "Take Five." I wonder if you can manage stamping the bass line and clapping the ostinato at the same time.

Now, although that sounds really complicated, just remember that the claps are always in the gaps of the bass line.

One, two, Three, four, Five, six, seven Let's try it that speed together.

One, two, three, four, Five, six, seven One, two, Three, four, Five, six, seven One, two, Three, four, Five, six, seven One, two, Three, four, Five, six, seven One, two, Three, four, Five, six, seven Let's try it one more time, a little bit quicker.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Any faster? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Well done! Now, the challenge is, can you do it with the track? So, that brings us to the end of the lesson.

A really big "Well done" on all the fantastic learning you've achieved in this lesson.

I've got two final things I'd like you to do now.

Firstly, think back, and identify one key thing you've learned today.

It's totally up to you what it is.

Secondly, if you'd like to, please take a picture of your work, and ask your parent or carer to share it with your teacher, so that they can see all the fantastic things you've learned.

If you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Now, don't forget to complete the end of lesson quiz.

Well, all that's left for me to say is thank you, take care, and enjoy the rest of your learning for today.

Bye!.