Learning to Sing and Singing to Learn

Margaret Griffiths, retired Ofsted inspector, explains how singing can be used as a learning tool in all schools.

Long before anyone teaches us to use our voices and develop them, we join in rhymes, chants and songs. Spontaneous singing is something we do from our earliest days. Young children love to use their voices in a whole range of ways, often using actions and movement, in pieces they know, as well as those they invent.

Rhymes and chants are part of the 'repertoire' that's handed down orally and these are embedded in cultures locally, nationally and internationally. We all have our own aural collections of counting songs, animal songs, dialect songs, folk songs, playground rhymes and songs with stories. And not just children - if the singing at the recent FA cup matches is anything to go by, then there are a good many adult males regularly singing their heads off - in tune and from memory!

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE SING?

There are several things happening at the same time when we sing - breathing in, breathing out, forming words, pitching, memorising - are just some. Clever stuff, music! But we don't do these consciously: they happen as part of knowing how to sing. In the same way as knowing how to drive a car, we don't consciously go through the individual skills of clutch, steering wheel and ignition each time! Clever things, people!

So singing is complex - even more so, when we sing with other people. Singing with others means producing the same pitch - or 'matching' our voices. This needs practice, since it's about how we hear and whether we can repeat it accurately. Often, singing can make us nervous because our voices are personal and individual.

HOW DOES SINGING HELP US LEARN?

When we enjoy singing, the learning that takes place is intrinsic to the activity, not a spin-off from it!

Singing helps us to learn, as well as to enrich the learning processes. We use language in rhymes, chants and lyrics; we use and develop our memories for words and music; we learn to listen and use aural faculties; we apply our concentration; and we use our imaginations and creativity. When we sing with others, we use and develop more listening, blending and learning skills.

There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that music making increases children's intelligence. Music though, is a distinctive mode of learning in which we apply and develop intelligences. In acquiring understanding, knowledge and skills in music we acquire, apply and develop a range of cognitive skills. So we use problem solving - considering options and resolutions; memory - recalling and recognising; skills in discerning patterns - manipulating and building musical structures; understanding - interpreting and presenting music and words; analysing, using and re-working them; and evaluating and making judgements.

SINGING IN PRACTICE

In over 20 years of inspecting music in schools, it's the comments of head teachers which have reinforced most strongly for me the benefits of music making and singing in schools. Music leaders are usually very modest about their achievements. However, heads have an overview of the national curriculum as well as the whole curriculum on offer; and they are best placed to evaluate the good things which happen in their schools and communities.

With regard to singing, they often comment on the increase in confidence of individuals and groups; the benefits of group work or class work which lead to presentations and performances; the links between ideas, or historical events and geographical regions; all of which are a rich part of vocal repertoire. In this way concepts of time and place, as well as empathy with the feelings of those who celebrate or suffer, can be introduced and reinforced.

Putting this into practice might be as simple as using singing activity at the start of a session to focus pupils' minds, or it could be used as a direct learning tool. In the Song Bank you'll find pieces about historical events and characters; songs in different languages; songs of celebration and songs which express moods. When songs are drawn from the widest range of experience, singing can also help emotional intelligence.

Each Song Bank song lists 'Cross-curricular Links' in the About the Song section, and the Activities section gives further ideas. We can link all these with the formal learning requirements in schools and settings, both in and beyond the classroom.

However, music is not just a utility or 'handmaiden' to support other things, though it happily can and often does. It is a distinctive way of understanding more about ourselves and the world in which we live. If we choose to, singing can give us great pleasure, as well as add the deeper qualities that underpin our lives.

THOUGHTS FROM AREA LEADER JANICE MITCHELL

One of the things I sometimes hear in my job as a Sing Up Area Leader is that schools haven't got time for singing. The curriculum is overcrowded. Teachers are under pressure to get SAT results. My reply is to show them how singing can help their class to learn.

I can still remember my primary school days. We sang the alphabet, the times table, the colours of the rainbow. More than 40 years on, I can still remember all the tunes...and all the facts! Ten Green Bottles helped with our numeracy, though we didn't realize it at the time. And we got both physical and mental exercise with Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

When I first saw the Sing Up ad campaign of famous song lyrics with missing words, I realised how clever it was - and that we don't forget things that have been set to music.

There are loads of songs that can link to all areas of the National Curriculum, and be a springboard for creativity. Manchester Singing Schools adds humour to maths with Chocoholics - about sharing chocolate.

I've used the tune of Knees Up Mother Brown set to the words 'One, Two, Three, Four, Five' over and over. This might sound simple, but try it! It's a bit of a brain teaser. I've found it's best to point at each finger on your other hand as you sing the numbers. Recently, I found myself doing this in French with a class and the possibilities are endlesss.

Last week I was teaching an Alphabet Song on a descending scale and the class turned it into a song about the Tudors, which went...

Tudors are a gruesome lot

Henry seemed to lost the plot

Anne of Cleves she got away

Lived to see another day!

The same class has promised a song on Creepy Crawlies next time I go in, but it'd work for any topic. What a great way to remember facts! Singing by rote is good for memory, and starting the day with a  song, especially if it has actions, gets the brain going. In fact, that's how I'll start my day tomorrow!

Biography

Margaret Griffiths trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Reading University and London University Institute of Education. She taught for 12 years in secondary schools, and then became a teacher trainer. In 1985 she joined her Majesty's Inspectorate of schools as a music specialist and was Ofsted's specialist adviser for music from 2000. She's also a singer, conductor, repetiteur and accompanist. Margaret retired in December 2006 and is now a freelance music education specialist, living in France.