FAQs

FAQs: How to use the Song Bank

Q: Can I donate or send in one of my own songs to Sing Up?

A: If you are interested in contacting us about including your music on our website or in the magazine, please contact us. However please note that we are only looking to commission a limited number of songs for the Song Bank and magazine. we are particularly interested in songs with a very strong curriculum link, and songs that are upbeat and in the 'pop' style
Q: I live outside of England and can’t hear all the songs on the Song Bank. Help!
A: Due to a change in our licensing and funding, anyone viewing the site outside of England will only be able to listen to Public Domain (PD) songs within the Song Bank. This is due to Sing Up being a government funded programme for practitioners working with primary school aged children within England.

However, users viewing the site outside of England can still sign-up and receive the following benefits once logged in:
- Make playlists of and favourite Public Domain songs from the Song Bank
- View, comment on and favourite all online versions of the magazine
- Download Bonus Content
The exemption of this is BFPO schools, who technically have an English postcode. Teachers within these establishments can sign-up as ‘teachers’: select ‘teacher’ and ‘yes’ to working with primary school children and within England. If you are a teacher in a BFPO school, and cannot hear the songs, please contact us, and we will fix this for you.

Please note that this restriction also applies to people who have registered in England, but are using a computer abroad.

For more information check out our FAQ on 'Which role should I choose when I register?'
Q: How do I download?

A: To download a song, first make sure that you are a registered user eligible to download and logged in. Select the 'Songs' area of the Songs and Teaching Resources and search for the song you require.

When you have identified your song, click on the track name to be taken to the song’s page.

A file download box will appear on the right hand side of the tracks. Choose 'Save' or 'Open'. If you select 'Open', remember that this will only save automatically into a temporary file. If you would like to save this file onto your desktop, please select 'Save', and choose where on your computer you would like this file to be stored.

If you want to download all the resources for a song at once, select the ‘download all resources’.

By default, the audio file will open the Windows Media Player. You may have to install this player, or select the player you would like to default to.

Select 'Play'.

If you are still experiencing problems, please contact us
Q: I cannot add song to my favourites what do I do?

A: Make sure you are logged in, as you will not be able to add songs to your Favourites otherwise.

If you are still experiencing problems, please contact us. Select 'Song Bank user problems' for the subject line. In the body of the email please include the full details of the problems you are experiencing, as well as your full name, and the name of the school/organisation you are from.
Q: I cannot download songs and songsheets, what do I do?

A: Registered users in England (Teacher, Freelancer, Music Service or Music Organisation) can download our resources. You need to be logged in before you can download audio clips and songsheets for a song. If you are not logged in click on the Log-in (for full access).

Currently, due to copyright restrictions, downloading songs and teaching resources is only available to those registered as a primary school teacher, freelancer, Music Service or Music Organisation teaching in England.

Once you log in please return to the song you were trying to download and resume downloading the audio clips and songsheets.

However, as a parent, other or someone registered outside of England, you can still access all of our free resources, including lesson plans, song activities, lyric sheets and basic training information. You are also now able to save songs from our Songs and Voice Box section to your favourites. While you are not able to download these songs due to copyright restrictions, you are able to stream them.

If you are still experiencing problems, contact us.
Q: I cannot find a song, what do I do?
A: We have hundreds of educational songs for you to use. If you are looking for a particular song, you can search three different ways:
- A-Z of songs (left hand side): find all the songs that begin with that letter.
- Search the song Bank: In the white box, enter any Song Title, or part of a Song Title. This can be done in the Songs Area for songs, or Voice Box Area for Warm-ups.
- 'Display songs by...' box: On the Left-hand side of the results, you can search by key stage, subject, etc. This search will show you how many songs in Songs, or Voice Box that we have depending on how many refinements you select.
If you are still unable to find the song you require, then it is possible we do not currently have the song in the Song Bank. If you would like to recommend a song for inclusion in the Song Bank, please contact us.
Q: I've downloaded a song, but it won't play!

A: There are a range of playing devices for computers to play audio tracks. If your version of Windows Media Player shows an error message when you try and play a song you have downloaded, try opening the song with iTunes.

You can download iTunes for free here: iTunes.
Q: What are my Favourites?

A: There are literally hundreds of songs in our Song Bank. We want you to have easy access to the songs that you feel are relevant to your lessons - or even those you personally like!

The Favourites allow you to save all the material related to a song directly to your computer for use in the classroom. Once you have searched and found the required song simply add a song to your library by clicking on the Add to Favourites icon.

If you are the first person to save a song which is not in the school's favourites, the song will automatically be added to the school's favourites, allowing you to share with your colleagues.
Q: The quick-fix easy way to speed up your Sing Up experience
A: If the site is running a little slow for you, here are a few pointers to help:
- Upgrade your internet browser (eg Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) to the latest version.
- Add Sing Up to your browser as a trusted site:
  - Select Tools from the top menu bar. Select Internet Options.
  - In the box that opens, go to the Security tab, and click on the green tick.
  - Click Sites. Untick the box that says Require server verification
  - Enter www.singup.org into the top box and click add.
  - Come back to the website. Select Tools, Delete Browsing History, then delete Temporary files/Cache and Cookies.
  - Return to the website. On your keyboard, hold down shift and Ctrl, and click Refresh in the top browser menu.
If you are still experiencing problems, or would like to ask any questions about the website, please contact us.
Q: What is Sing and Share?

A:
Sing and Share is a new way to use Sing Up in your classroom. It’s made of two different areas:
Pure Solo: record your class singing along to their favourite songs, and share the recording by email or burn to a CD.
Lucky Voice: a karaoke-style player where you can build playlists and sing along to backing tracks of your choice.
Remember that you have to be logged in to see the Sing and Share button in the Song Bank!
If you’re having trouble with the players, you can find help for Pure Solo here, and help using Lucky Voice here.