Music and Rhythm
Primary 3 · Creative Arts
Music and Rhythm
Lesson 2 of 3
12 min
The P3 class stood up to sing for their visitors. But Ishimwe started early, Mutesi started late, and Habimana sang so loudly you could not hear anyone else. It sounded like a market, not a song.
Their teacher smiled and raised her hand. "Let us try again," she said. "But this time, do the one thing that turns many voices into one song: listen to each other."
Today you will learn how a group of voices becomes one good sound.
When you sing alone, you can start whenever you like. But in a group, everyone must start at the same moment, keep the same steady beat, and stop together at the end.
How? By listening. Keep one ear on the singers next to you. If you can hear them, you can match them. If you can only hear yourself, you are probably singing too loudly.
Many Rwandan songs are sung as call and response. One person — the leader — sings a line. That line is the call. Then the whole group sings back. That answer is the response.
For example, the leader sings "Turi kumwe?" (the call), and everyone answers "Yego!" (the response). Call, then response, over and over. It is like a friendly conversation in song.
Some voices sing high, some sing low. How high or low a sound is has a name: its pitch. A small bird chirps at a high pitch. A big drum booms at a low pitch. To sing well together, everyone tries to sing the same notes at the same pitch — that is what it means to sing "in tune".
Tip
Sing to be heard, not to be loudest. If you cannot hear the singer beside you, you are singing too loudly. Bring your voice down until the voices around you blend with yours. Many soft voices that listen sound far better than one voice shouting.
The leader sings a line, and then the whole class sings a line back. What do we call this kind of song?
Answer: call and response. The leader's line is the call, and the group's answer is the response.
Why should you listen to the singers next to you while you sing?
Answer: so you can start together, keep the same beat and match their pitch. Listening is what turns many voices into one song.
A small bird chirps and a big cow moos. Which sound has the higher pitch?
Answer: the bird. High sounds have a high pitch; low sounds like the cow's moo have a low pitch.
There are 5 girls and 4 boys in the singing group. How many singers in all?
Answer: 9, because 5 + 4 is 9.
What you learned today
Quick check
Match each word to its meaning.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
