Musical Monologues

Overview

Students can feel very self-conscious if asked to sing alone, yet it can be difficult to assess their singing ability in any other way. Ironically, everyone enjoys singing, even if only in private! This activity is relatively non-threatening because it is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It can be done in groups or pairs but we asked learners to work independently.

Description

Start off by showing the children how to use www.blabberize.com to make a Blabber. Explain to them that ‘a Blabber’ is a talking 2D picture or photograph. You may have already shown them a Blabber you made earlier. You will have already created an account that all students will use. They do not need to put their name to their Blabber as their photo will identify the creator of the Blabber! If your computer has an inbuilt microphone this is usually sufficient. If you’re using an external microphone, show learners how to use it before you start.

Explain to students that they are going to create a singing Blabber of themselves. They can choose any song to sing (pop song, rap, nursery rhyme, hymn or even an aria!) and that they can, if they prefer, record it in private. Firstly, they will need to choose a song. Remember to tell them to pick a song that they will feel most comfortable singing. Remind them also that they do not need to sing the whole song (Bohemian Rhapsody in it’s entirety is not necessary!). They will also need a clear, fairly close up digital photo of themselves. We asked them to photograph each other then download the photographs into one file on the school server. When they have done this they are ready to record themselves singing.

Blabberize is really easy to use and if they feel they want to try a few times let them do so. However, you should set a time limit, say 10 minutes, for each person to record himself or herself. When everyone has finished, ask the students who among them would be happy for you to play their Musical Monologue to the class – there are ALWAYS a few that are more than happy to oblige!

Time needed 1-2 hours.

Resources

Microphone (unless your computer has one inbuilt).
www.blabberize.com
Tutorial on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEtUu1r8Pe4
Similar to Blabberize but with more features: www.goanimate.com

Hints and tips

Decide beforehand on the length of the recording – 30 seconds is often enough.
It is safe for learners to use photos of themselves but ask them not to make reference to their names, addresses etc.
You can choose who sees the Blabbers so we suggest you keep the setting for each Blabber on Private. When the unit of work is finished, you can delete all the Blabbers if you think it best.

Change here for