Video transcript
Creative Teachers – Primary choral warm-ups – 22. Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheddar cheese

[Music playing]

RACHEL KELLY: The consonants are just as important as the vowels, aren't they, because they help us understand what the words are that we're singing. They help get that clarity. Very important to have nice clear consonants.

So, this is a little sort of a tongue twister. The words go like this - Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese. Say after me. Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk . . .

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk . . .

RACHEL KELLY: . . . of cheap cheddar cheese.

STUDENTS: . . . of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk . . .

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk . . .

RACHEL KELLY: . . . of cheap cheddar cheese.

STUDENTS: . . . of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Good. And, we want the 'ch' to be nice and clear, but we want the other consonants to be clear as well, like Chester Cheetah. Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese. So, try and get all the other sounds, the 'puh' of cheap, the 'kkk' of chunk, the 'ttt' of Cheetah.

Let's try it. Chester. Ready and . . .

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Let's do it a bit faster. Ready and . . .

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Again.

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: One more time.

STUDENTS: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Well done. Now we can also sing that. We can put pitch to it. (SINGING) So, we could start on this note and sing - Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

STUDENTS: (SINGING) Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Oh, we're having lovely harmony.

[laughter]

The pattern - (SINGING) do re mi fa mi re do.

It goes up, but then it comes back down again. Let's start on that one. Ready and . . .

ALL: (SINGING) Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Why don't we try - because the sopranos really want to do their little descant, why don't we try it like that? OK? So, we all start the same. Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk - altos, you go back down, because you all seem to be able to do that very beautifully. Sopranos, you keep going up and then down. Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

And, it should make some beautiful thirds coming down. We'll see what happens. Ready? Here we go. And . . .

STUDENTS: (SINGING) Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: Da-da.

ALL: Chester Cheetah . . .

STUDENTS: . . . chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

RACHEL KELLY: I like it! We've just invented our own version of the warm-up. That's very creative.