Singing and Clapping: Keeping the Rhythm
Primary 1 · Creative Arts
Singing and Clapping: Keeping the Rhythm
Lesson 1 of 8
10 min
Let's begin
Mugisha knows one song by heart. He sings it while he sweeps the yard.
Then his sister asks him to clap too. He claps once and the words stop dead.
Today you will do both jobs at the same time.
Choose a song you already know well.
Sing it right through. Let your hands rest on your knees.
Your mouth must know the road before your hands come along.
Sing the song again, slowly. Listen for the words you push a little harder.
Those are the strong words.
Worked example
Sing this line: I sweep the yard, I sweep it clean.
Clap on sweep. Clap on clean.
Two claps in the line, and always in those same two places.
Careful! If your singing stops every time your hands meet, you are going too fast.
Slow everything down. Sing at walking speed.
Sing the same line four times. By the fourth time your hands will go on their own.
Your mouth does not have to wait for your hands.
The clap must land in the same place each time the line comes back.
That is what holds the song and the hands together.
Do not clap harder when it goes wrong. Go slower instead.
Niba wishimye: a Kinyarwanda song you sing and clap at the same time.
Tip
Mouth first, hands after
Sing the line with no hands. Then add one clap, in the same place, every time round.
If the words disappear, you are hurrying. Go slower, never louder.
Do each one with your own hands, then tap Show answer to check.
Which do you practise first, the singing or the clapping?
Answer: the singing. Hands come after the mouth knows the song.
Keza claps and her words stop. What should she do?
Answer: slow down and sing at walking speed, then add the clap again.
In the line I sweep the yard, I sweep it clean, where do the two claps go?
Answer: on sweep and on clean, the strong words.
Your clap lands in a new place every time. Is that right?
Answer: no. The clap goes in the same place each time the line comes back.
Sing one song you know four times, clapping once in each line.
Answer: your own song. By the fourth time your hands should need no thinking.
What you learned today
Quick check
You learn a clapping song. What comes first?
