Performing the accompaniment for Going Home

Hello and welcome to today's lesson entitled, "Performing the Accompaniment for Going Home." My name is Mr. Norris. I'm gonna be taking you through today as we start to look at what an accompaniment is and we start to build one internal performance of "Going Home". So let's get started. Our outcome for today's lesson is, "I can add an accompaniment part to Going Home." And some key words that I'm gonna be using. The first is accompaniment, and this is a part in the music that supports the melody. Octave, this is an interval of eight notes, for example, a C and the next highest C are an octave apart. And finally, semibreve. And this is a note that lasts for four beats. So let's get to the first part of our lesson, which today is looking at performing the accompaniment. So far, we have learnt the melody from "Going Home", which as you can see is that top state there that should look familiar hopefully. We're going to learn the accompaniment part in our left hand on the keyboard. So we're now gonna be playing with two hands. To play the accompaniment of "Going Home", you need to use your left hand to play three notes. These notes are C, F and G. And we can see there diagram of our left hand. If we look at that C position in the left hand there, we can see our smallest finger, our little finger down on C, fourth finger on D, middle finger on E, second finger on F, and then our thumb up on the G. We're gonna listen to the melody with the accompaniment here. I'd like you to try and pick out how long are most of the notes in the lower part in the accompaniment part. How many beats does each note last for? Let's have a look. (piano playing) So hopefully there you identified that the left hand part mainly uses semibreves. So most of the notes last for four beats. Remember, semibreve is one of those notes. It doesn't have a stem that lasts for four beats. However, there are two bars which use minims, which are bar 7, and then bar 23 as well. So you can see those towards the end of the first line and towards the end of the third line of music. This time we're gonna watch it. I'd like to try and identify what do you notice about the placement and the movement of the left hand in this performance? Let's have a look. 1, 2, 3, 4. (piano playing) So, the left hand it starts on C. And this C is an octave lower than middle C. So hopefully you notice that it's lower down than the right hand. And an octave is an interval of eight notes. So the distance between those two C's, we would call an octave, and you might come across that part of the word oct before, because it's the root that means eight. So an octagon is a shape with eight sides. An octave is an interval of eight notes. That's where we put our C position for the right hand, and that's where our accompanying left hand starts, that lower octave there. And here's what our C position looks like with all five fingers in place. So, we've got a smallest finger down on that C, that's our starting note. And then our other four fingers, including our thumb on the four notes above it. This piece is in an ABA structure. And section A is repeated again at the end. So we have the A section and B section then back to A. And it's easier if we learn the piece in sections. Now in particular, there are two bars in this that are slightly more complex than the others, and that's the one near the end of section A where we've got the F and the G minims and it then repeats later when section A returns as well. So it might be worth even practising those on their own as shorter sections to really get your head around how to play those. So start by having a look at section A. Here's how we play the accompaniment part for that on its own. (piano playing) And now let's have a look at section B. (piano playing) And remember, once we've practised both of those sections individually, we then need to put them into that ABA structure. Let's check your understanding. Which finger of the left hand should play C? Is it 1, 2, or 5? I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is 5. So our smallest finger, our pinky should be playing that C. Which of the following is the correct starting note for the accompaniments that's for the left hand? I'll give you a few seconds to have a look at these diagrams and work out the correct one. And the correct answer is the second one there. That's 'cause it's the lower C. Option A is a higher C so that's where the melody's gonna be playing. And option C is an F, so we don't wanna start on an F. So well done if you picked out the correct one there. Which two of the following apply to performing the accompaniment part: it's performed with the left hand; the hand doesn't move out of position; and it starts on C an octave higher than the right hand? So just pause my video while you read through those and choose two that apply to the accompaniment. And the two correct answers here were, its performed with the left hand and the hand doesn't move out position so it stays in the same place. It does not start an octave higher than the right hand. It starts an octave or lower than the right hand. So, (indistinct) learn the accompaniment part for "Going Home." Start by practising section A, which is the first line, then section B, which is the second line, and then put all three sections together in that ABA structure. Some success criteria: To start with, you find C with the left hand an octave lower than the right hand. Then you use the finger prompts and notation to identify the order and the rhythm of the notes. You keep a consistent pulse and hold the semibreves for four beats. And you play minims, which there's two notes in bar 7 and again, when section A returns in bar 23 is where the minims are. So making sure you're paying attention to the difference between the minims and the semibreves and maybe also practising those minim bars on their own to get them really slick. Here is your accompaniment part in that ABA structure. And we've got our C position in the left hand there. And here it's with no finger prompt if you want to challenge yourself doing it that way as well. So you can pause my video, give this task your best shot. For the second part of this task, we're gonna watch this performance of the first two phrases of the accompaniment. How does it meet the success criteria? And the success criteria we're focusing on are that's played with the left hand starting in octave below the melody. It uses accurate rhythms, which means most notes are held for four beats and it's practised slowly and keeps to a pulse. Let's have a look. (piano playing) So pause my video now just while you're finishing your answer. So let's go through this then. The notes are in the correct order and the player practises a steady tempo with the semibreves each held of four beats, which is correct. They've also played it with the left hand, which is also correct. The player uses the same finger for each note rather than using 1, 2 and 5. And what that means is there are gaps between the notes 'cause it's more difficult to find the correct note quickly. So, the reason we building that technique of using different fingers and the correct fingers for each note is it makes it much easier to quickly switch between notes, make it sound legato and fluent and really slick. So, well done if you picked up on that improvement for this performance. The second part of today's lesson is focused on performing the melody and accompaniment. We're gonna focus on the first section of "Going Home" with both the melody and the accompaniment together. As we're watching this, consider these two questions. On which beat of the bar do the hands play together? And what do you notice about the hand positions in section A? Let's have a look. 1, 2, 3, 4. (piano playing) So hopefully, you identified there that both hands play at the same time on the first beat of each bar, except it's slightly different in bar 7. In bar 7, the hands played together on beat one and three because the left hand plays minims not semibreves. So it's worth practising this bar on its own to get used to the different pattern. So you're not holding four beats in the left hand, but you're playing two beat notes instead. For section A, both hands stay in the same position as well. So both stay in those C positions as we can see there, an octave apart. And it's worth noting which finger you should use for each note on each hand. So thinking carefully about using the correct finger for each note. Let's check your understanding. Which hand stays in the C position when playing Section A? Is it right hand or left hand or both hands? I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is, both hands, they're both in C position for section A. True or false: The hands usually play together on the first and third beats of the bar? I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is false. And the reason for that is the hands usually play together on beat 1 of the bar as the left hand mainly plays semibreves. However, in bar 7 the hands play together on beats 1 and 3 because the left hand has minims. So usually they only play together on beat 1 but in bar seven, it's also on beat 3. Task B now. I'm gonna practise playing the melody and the accompaniment together for section A. Make sure you practise slowly and keep a consistent pulse, that both hands stay in the C position and that you use the finger prompts and the notation to help identify both the order and the rhythm of the notes. Remember, that the left hand is different in bar 7 and both hands will play together in that bar on beat 1 and 3, whereas in every other bar, they only play together on beat 1. There's our annotation there with the finger prompts and with our C positions laid out. So pause my video and give this your best shot. For the second part of this task, I'd like to reflect on your performance practise so far. Here are a few questions to consider. Have you practised slowly and kept to a consistent pulse? Does your right hand stay in the C position? Does your left hand stay in the C position? Do both hands play together on the first beat of the bar? Are the rhythms and notes accurate? And have you practised the difficult bars separately, so in particular, that's bar 7 in this case? So pause my video, reflect on these questions and use that to help you guide ideas as to how you can further improve. The final part of today's lesson we're focused on considering expression. I'd like to listen to the opening phrase of the orchestral version of the melody and then this piano version. How is the melody played differently? And in particular, I'd like to think about what else makes the orchestral version expressive. And think about the tempo and dynamics for this. So pause my video and do this little comparison. Let's have a look at that then. So in the orchestral version, the melody is played legato. Remember that means smoothly. And although the tempo is slow, the music flows with quite a clear pulse, a consistent flow with a consistent pulse. The dynamics are quite quiet overall, but within that, there are subtle differences between notes. So it's not all a perfectly consistent dynamic. It changes slightly between bars and notes and phrases. In particular, emphasising the first beat of each bar and playing quietly at the end of each phrase can give the phrasing some shape. And that's a really common technique that helps to give a little bit of shape and colour to the melody. Let's have a listen now to that same piano performance, but this time with some of those features added to add expression so emphasis on the first beat of the bar and playing quietly at the end of each phrase. Let's have a listen. (piano playing) So there's some really typical use of expression there, just slight emphasis on the first bit of bars and then slightly quieter dynamics at the end of the phrase. And again, the emphasis there is the subtle differences, not really extreme differences in dynamics, not really accenting notes that would sound a little bit silly. So, subtle differences just give it a little bit of expression and sophistication. Let's check your understanding. Which two are ways of showing phrases in a performance? Playing the end of the phrase slightly quieter; playing the first beat of the bar slightly louder; playing the end of the phrase slightly faster; or playing the last beat of the bar slightly louder. You can pause my video while you choose two. And the two correct answers here are playing the end of the phrase slightly quieter and playing the first beat of the bar slightly louder. Those are two effective ways of showing phrases. Suggest three ways that you can add expression to a performance. You can pause my video while you think of these. And the correct answers here are stressing the first beat of the bar, playing legato and changing dynamics. Well done if you got some of those. Task C now and you're gonna practise "Going Home", adding expression to your performance. Some success criteria are that you play the first beat of each bar slightly louder than the others; you play the last bar of each phrase slightly quieter; you play in a legato style where each note moves smoothly to the next, and you play as slow as necessary to keep the pulse consistent. So make sure you've got a consistent pulse that doesn't change. You can pause my video now and give this a shot. Good luck! Now, let's listen to this performance of "Going Home". How has this performer added expression? Here we go. 1, 2, 3, 4. (piano playing) Just pause my video while you're finishing your answer. Here are some of the things you might have picked up on. There are clear phrases, with the first beat of each bar played slightly louder than the others. The tempo is slow and steady and the melody is played legato, that means smooth movement between notes. The end of the phrase gets louder rather than quieter however, so it emphasised the phrasing probably more effectively if the end of the phrase is quieter rather than louder. And the pulse is nice and consistent, that's really effective because there are no changes in the tempo. Well done if you picked up on some of those points, and hopefully you can use those to help you reflect on your own use of expression in your performance as well. Let's summarise today's lesson. The accompaniment part of "Going Home" is played by the left hand an octave lower than the melody part. We perform the accompaniment part separately and then the melody and the accompaniment together for section A. The accompaniment mainly uses semibreves. And it's important to consider expression in performance. This can include stressing certain notes and using dynamics as well. So thanks for taking part in today's lesson. Hopefully that's allowed you to develop your performance skills and given you a better understanding of how to be expressive when you're performing. Thanks for taking part and see you in another lesson.