THE WORLD VOICE SONGBOOK
WHEN AND HOW TO USE THE RESOURCES
WorldVoice
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When and how to use the files
The Video
The video has been filmed so that you can see as well as hear groups of children and young people
performing the songs. We think that by seeing the mouthing of the words your pupils will be able to form
the sounds more authentically. We suggest that you begin by showing this video. The spoken video
tracks will also support your learning of the words.
The Audio Tracks
The performance track is the same as the video performance track. This additional version exists in case
you cannot show a video but have facilities to play audio, but we recommend playing the video
performance track if you can.
The Full Track
The full track is intended to show the melody clearly against the accompaniment. It is meant to be a
learning aid and not a backing track. The words match the melody exactly, so the young people will be
able to practice by listening to this and following the words on their word sheets (in class, if you can put
the words on a projector or board this would be even better – they can then sing out without being buried
in a sheet of paper!).
The Backing Track
The backing track is the accompaniment on its own and can be used for performing too. Remember that
by singing to a pre-recorded track you will lose some flexibility. You cannot lose the strict tempo for a
moment – but you can still perform well.
The single melody line tracks are to help the pupils learn the individual parts for the two unaccompanied
part songs and for the single line unaccompanied Gaelic song.
The Word Sheet
This is the text of the song to help children and young people learn the words. These are really useful as
you rehearse the songs and also when studying the text as part of wider learning. However we would
like to suggest that pupils learn the songs from memory for any performance as word sheets can be a
distraction.
The Score
Music is something you hear – not something you read. But musical notation is a part of many musical
cultures and traditions across the world. This score is in Western notation and you can use it in any way
that is helpful to you. You may choose not to use it at all and to just use the video and audio files – that’s
fine.
In many Western countries musicians find that being able to read this notation helps them to learn the
music more quickly. In other cultures the way to share music is entirely through making it. Both are skills
and should be respected as such.
A piano/keyboard accompaniment is provided for those of you who would like to use it. We have also put
chords in. Again – you must choose what is helpful to you.
We hope that many of you will improvise or compose your own accompaniments.
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Performing
Many composers are very specific about how they want their music to be performed and add detailed
instructions to the score indicating the precise tempo, dynamics, phrasing and expression markings that
they want the performer to follow. Even then, there will still be many ways that a performer can give their
own interpretation. But in some styles and genres it is accepted, and even expected, that performers will
provide widely differing interpretations of the music, making dramatic changes to the performance style
of the song.
In popular music it is common for a singer to ‘cover’ a well-known song and give it a completely different
treatment. It then becomes a matter of personal choice which version of a song we want to listen to or
how we want to perform it. Sometimes it is possible to enjoy two or three very different interpretations of
the same song. Each interpretation will show a different aspect of the music.
With Scarborough Fair and The Leaving of Liverpool, see how many versions you can find and
encourage your pupils to discuss their preferences. Can they experiment with different performing
versions themselves?
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