Kōkiri Learn

Week 1 of 5

Voices together: what harmony is and how different traditions use it

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Session 1 · CREATE: Connect

One sound from many voices

  1. 8 minWarm-up in a circle: stand tall, loose knees, shoulders down. Breathe in for four, hiss out for eight. Sirens up and down on 'ng', then hum.
  2. 10 minHook: sing a well-known phrase together in unison (everyone on the same notes). Then the teacher adds a second line underneath. What changed? Name it: harmony, when different notes sound at the same time.
  3. 15 minFirst round (see activities): learn a simple round in unison, then sing it in two parts, then three. Stand in part groups and listen for the moment the parts fit.
  4. 10 minTalk about the brief: who could our audience be? Look at the three contexts. Each student writes a sticky note: a song, a language or a tradition they would love to include.
  5. 5 minCool-down hum. Share one word for how it felt when the round came together.

Session 2 · CREATE: Respond

Harmony traditions

  1. 10 minMini-lesson: harmony traditions in Aotearoa. Settler choirs and community sings, Māori choirs and waiata-ā-ringa accompanied by guitar, Samoan and Tongan church choirs, barbershop close harmony, and the New Zealand Youth Choir, named 'Choir of the world' in 1999.
  2. 18 minListen and respond (see activities): four short recordings. For each, use see–hear–wonder: how many parts? Is there a leader? Instruments or voices only? What mood?
  3. 12 minTalk about respect: waiata and hymns belong to communities and carry meaning. Who could we ask to teach us a song properly? What questions would we ask?
  4. 5 minExit card: one thing that was the same in two traditions, and one thing that was different.

Getting started

Use the word bank: unison, harmony, part, round, leader, a cappella (voices only). Say one thing you hear in a recording.

Stretch

Find out about one choir or singing group in your area (a church choir, a kapa haka group, a community or barbershop choir) and how people join it.

Checkpoint

Everyone can sing a round in at least two parts, explain what harmony is, and name two harmony traditions heard in Aotearoa.

Activities for this week

Useful this week