Page 41 - Voice for Life Songbook 1

Encourage your singers to play with this idea. For example, try the same process but with each Hallelujah sung three times, not twice. (How many Hallelujahs will they then sing?). Can the singers articulate the rest in any way, with a sniff, a foot stamp, or a clap? If they clap on each rest, and sing each Hallelujah three times, how many claps will the song have? And so on.
Teaching the song
Those who are used to reading music will probably find it much easier to learn from the score, rather than using the processes above, though one should always aim to perform this piece without looking down at the score.
To teach by rote or to memorize the complete ‘piece’ as written, first divide your singers into four teams, A, B, C and D (if you have a mixed-ability group, put the least experienced members in group A).
Then explain that the piece is in four sections:
1. INTRODUCTION
Team A sings Hallelujah 1,Team B sings Hallelujah 2, etc, one after the other (with no rests).
2. MAIN SECTION Starting together:
Team A sings Hallelujah 1 eight times, with a clap in between each;
Team B sings Hallelujah 1 twice, then Hallelujah 2 six times, with a clap in between except where they change tune from no. 1 to no. 2;
Team C sings Hallelujah 1 twice, then Hallelujah 2 twice, then Hallelujah 3 four times, with a clap in between except where they change tune from no. 1 to no. 2 and from no. 2 to no. 3;
Team D sings each Hallelujah twice, following the same pattern.
3. MAIN SECTION ‘DOUBLE’
As main section above, but double the number of times they sing each Hallelujah, and with two claps instead of one.
4. CODA
As introduction, but hold your last note until everyone has sung.Watch the conductor to finish the chord together.
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