Video transcript
2021 Primary Proms repertoire - 02. Calico Cat - teaching tips

(Music playing)

RACHEL KELLY: Hi, I'm Rachel Kelly. This video is part of a series on Tips for Conducting Your Choir. This gorgeous song by Andy Beck has some unison and some part singing. The time signature is a C with a line through it, which is cut common time. And, it means exactly the same thing as 2/2.

So, we conduct 2 beats in every bar, and each beat represents a minim, like this - down, up, down, up, 1, 2, 1, 2- (SINGING) Black as the midnight and white as the snow. Now, the reason we don't conduct the 4 crotchet beats in each bar is because it would be too fast - (SINGING) Black as the midnight and white as the snow. So, a nice workout perhaps, but not very effective conducting.

A good way to start teaching this song would be to teach the whole choir the first 2 verses, from bar 13 to bar 28. So, you could sing small sections of the melody for them to copy, or you could play small sections from the teaching track for them to echo. As you're teaching it, insist on the correct phrasing, so they're always singing it the right way.

So, each verse consists of 2 phrases, with one breath in between them. So, the first phrase goes like this - (SINGING) Black as the midnight and white as the snow. Then, we take a breath. Then, the second phrase - (SINGING) Gold as the sunshine my cat of calico.

So, make sure they're not breaking it up into smaller phrases and going - (SINGING) Gold as the sunshine my cat of calico. Any time there's a slightly longer note in the phrase, it's the vowel sound we want to hold on to. So, (SINGING) Cute as a button, yet tough as a nail. And, keep those vowels lovely and pure and long shape. So, we sing - (SINGING) Oh, how I love her. Not Oh, how I love her.

Now, kids love it when you ask them to sing something the wrong way. So, you could say to them, let's all sing it like this - (SINGING) I have. So, they all copy that, and they laugh hysterically. And, they go, 'Ew, that was disgusting.'

And then, you say, right, let's sing it like this - (SINGING) Oh how . . . And, they sing it, and it's, oh, so beautiful. And, they find it hilarious that they were allowed to sing it the wrong way. And, they also get to feel the difference that it makes.

And, just note that the alto part, at the end of the verse, runs straight into the chorus without a break. So, from about 25, it's - (SINGING) Oh, how I love her, from head to fluffy tail. She's a calico cat. And, then they stop.

And, once everybody knows the melody of those first 2 verses, then you can try performing it the way it is on the music, which is the sopranos singing verse 1, and then the altos singing verse 2. Sometimes it can get a bit monotonous and predictable to always be learning a song in the order that it's written in. And, it's not necessarily the most effective way to learn a song either.

So, at this point, you could skip to some later verses, for example, the sopranos at bar 49, where they sing - (SINGING) Light as a feather and sweet as a pie, proud as a peacock, the apple of my eye. Then, the altos take over the melody at bar 57, and they sing - (SINGING) Straight as an arrow and sharp as a tack, sure as a shadow, she always has my back. She's a calico cat.

Then, there's one more verse that they all sing together in unison, at bar 75. And, this one's gone up a key. So, we have been in F major. [playing keyboard] And, now we move up to G major. [playing chord] And, we sing - (SINGING) Just like the colours that speckle her fur, colourful habits make her uniquely her.

So, at this point, you could go back and teach some of the other sections of this song. At bar 29, we've got the chorus. I'd start with the altos here, because the soprano part is more like an echo. So, we want to keep the consonants clear and crisp.

Those little dots that are under the notes every time we sing 'cat' are staccatos. So, we need to make those crisp and short without overemphasising them. So, the altos sing - (SINGING) She's a calico cat. She's a calico cat. She's a calico cat. She's a calico cat. How about that?

And, once the altos have learned their part, you could get them to sing it, while you sing the soprano part. So, they get to hear how that fits in with the altos. Once you've got both parts singing together here, you'll need to cue their different entries.

So, the altos should always be on your right, and the sopranos should be on your left. Now, because we're in 2/2, that word 'she's' that they start with, comes in between the beats. (SINGING) She's a calico. She's a calico.

So, the best place to give the cue is actually on the crotchet rest, just before they come in. So, watch what I mean. (SINGING) She's a calico. She's a calico. I'll show you again. (SINGING) She's a calico. She's a calico.

The chorus happens exactly the same way later on in the song. But at bar 72, we add a little bit on to the end of the chorus, to take us into the key change. So, from bar 70, the altos sing - (SINGING) She's a calico cat. How about that? Calico cat. How about that? Which takes us into [playing notes] (SINGING) Just like.

And then, a bit further on, about 83, we sing the chorus again, this time in the higher key. This chorus is repeated. And, we know this, because we have repeat signs in the music. So, we sing through the chorus, and then we see this sign at the end of bar 90. That tells us to go back to where we saw this sign at bar 83.

So, we sing the chorus again. This time, when we get to bar 90, we skip that bar and go straight to 91. So, bar 90 has a bracket and a little number 1 over it. That's called the first time bar. We skip that one the second time, and go to the second time bar at bar 91.

So, now they've learned the verses, the choruses, and that little linking part to the key change, the next section you might do is the interlude that happens at bar 41, starting with the altos. So, it goes - (SINGING) Calico cat. Calico cat. Then the sopranos - (SINGING) Calico cat. Calico cat.

And, the altos sing that part again underneath the sopranos' verse, at bar 49. And, they add on a little harmony part for Apple of my eye. So, the altos sing - (SINGING) Calico cat. Calico cat. Calico cat, the apple of my eye. And, just make sure it's the Apple, and not the Apple.

And then, the sopranos get to sing their little higher part over the altos' verse, at bar 57. So, they sing, (SINGING) Calico cat. Calico cat. Calico cat. She always has my back.

And, that just leaves the ending to learn, from bar 91. Now, this is all similar to parts that they've already learned. But, still go through each part separately here before you try them together.

Now, the sopranos have a different note to watch out for at the very end. So, they have been singing - (SINGING) Calico cat, and going to the B. But, at the very end, they go, (SINGING) Calico cat, and finish on a G. This is also the same note that the altos finish on. So, your whole choir should all be singing the same note at the end.