About the programme
BBC Get Singing is a new national programme to get young people aged 11-14 singing, with Grammy Award-winning artist, composer and producer Jacob Collier as Ambassador and Advocate.
- You may already run a singing group, or just thinking about starting one - either way, these songs and the resources will help you to get started on your singing journey.
- Over the programme’s lifetime, teachers, vocal leaders and young people will have the opportunity to participate in workshops, training/CPD and performances across the UK.
Throughout the website you will find:
- New arrangements of songs to sing in groups either in extra-curricular and enrichment sessions or the classroom.
- Performance and activity videos, guidance notes, scores and audio tracks.
Enjoy singing the first two songs and keep an eye out - there are many more to come!
Jacob Collier tells us all about the project
Jacob:
What's up everybody? Hi, I'm Jacob, and I'm supporting BBC Get Singing. BBC Get Singing is a bold national programme to get young people aged 11 to 14, across the UK, singing We want to inspire and support schools and vocal groups to deliver high-quality singing experiences, both in and out of the classroom. BBC Get Singing is hosted on BBC Bitesize and includes filmed performances from the extraordinary BBC Singers and warm-up activity videos to get you started on your singing journey. The warm-ups will help get everybody's voices and bodies ready for singing, and explore some of the aspects that feature in each of the songs. Alongside the films, you'll find a whole host of other accessible resources for teachers and vocal leaders including arrangements and backing tracks. You don't need to have any experience of leading or participating in singing to get involved. All content is freely available to access at any time anywhere in the UK. Enjoy using the BBC Get Singing resources and I hope you all have an amazing time singing together.
Watch this short video of BBC Get Singing highlights
Jacob:
I'm really, really excited about the BBC Get Singing campaign because I think that it, does the very thing that I was brought up to believe, it gives young people a chance, not just to feel like they have a voice and they can sing and isn't music fun to learn, but that their presence matters, that their voice matters and that their participation matters.
Young Person 1:
I would say that it's not that scary because especially when you're in a group, you kind of all just sing together and if you get something wrong, no one's going to judge you because they're all going through the same experience.
Young Person 2:
I'd say be confident with what you do and just do it because no one's going to judge you.
Jacob:
When we sing together, we learn about leadership, we learn about courage, we learn about confidence, empathy, we learn about just listening. We learn about mathematics and physics and balance and vibration and alignment but we also learn about humour and body language and we learn about implication, expectation, all these amazing things.
Teacher:
The reality is they do enjoy it. They love it, especially when it comes to working with their friends and all being in the same position. It just goes to show that their confidence can be boosted by working together rather than just not singing at all.
Young Person 3:
If you like singing and you enjoy it best to do it with your friends, because that's when you enjoy it the most.
Jacob:
The thing with music is permission is more important than skill. So you don't need skill to get started, you just need to be invited. And to me, BBC Get Singing is this invitation to say, hey, you're invited to be a part of something big.
Jacob Collier - Ambassador and Advocate
Who is Jacob Collier?
Beloved by audiences, musicians and critics the world over, Jacob Collier is heralded as one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 21st century. As a singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and world-builder, Jacob Collier has taken the music industry by storm.
Whether it's writing songs in keys that don't exist or bringing 100,000 people together in improvised song - Jacob pushes the boundaries of what's creatively possible, with the mission of uniting and inspiring human beings across every continent of the world in a language beyond words. All the while, he is brewing up his next adventure.
How does he approach music-making?
Jacob plays, writes and communicates with a human warmth, openness and inclusivity that melts hearts, expands minds and inspires millions. His radically joyous and genre-bridging discography has led to seven Grammy wins and 16 Grammy nominations. His fearless approach to music has attraccted over 100 collaborators, including Coldplay, SZA, Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, Stormzy, Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly, Anoushka Shankar, Quincy Jones, Oumou Sangaré, Hans Zimmer and Joni Mitchell.
How is Jacob Collier involved in BBC Get Singing?
Jacob is supporting BBC Get Singing as Ambassador and Advocate for the programme: he'll feature across the resources and will be releasing a new arrangement of one of his own songs very soon. Watch this space!
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