Sing St John welcomes you to our Senior Singalong, Episode, 17.

My name is Winnie and I'm here today with Michael, Lucia, Gwen and Bodicea.

Today we're going to sing a song called, “Freedom Is Coming”, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Freedom is Coming” was adopted as a freedom song during the apartheid struggle in South Africa.

The original title was “Jesus Is Coming” Anti-Apartheid songs were shared in community settings to inspire support and to empower black South African people during their decades long struggle.

This song genre is thematically and musically similar to the Negro spiritual oral tradition.

The easy harmonies invite spontaneity and improvisation for use in large and small social gatherings as a way to strengthen faith and to defy oppression.

We honor the memory of the Rev.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the singing of this song.

It's important before singing to prepare our bodies, our minds and our hearts to do so.

So let's warm up together.

Let's start with posture.

Our backs are tall and ready for action.

If you're sitting, sit as tall as you can and place both feet flat on the floor.

Here we go.

Full breath in.

(inhale) Let's do it again.

Another deep breath.

(inhale) Very good.

Now it's time to vocalize.

(piano) Okay.

Are you ready?

Yes.

(piano) Breathe.

Keep your stomach tight.

Keep your back straight.

Just one more time.

Very good.

I hope I'm not giving you too many orders, but you were awesome.

(laughter) Now we'll sing this ending the word low.

(piano) Okay.

Your lips are round and your throat is open.

Let's go.

(piano) Breathe.

Abdomen tight.

Spine Erect.

One more time.

Very good.

Okay.

One last exercise for today.

(piano) Okay.

Let's try it together.

(piano) One more time.

Very good control of your breath your breathing, your posture.

Whew, A-pluses is all around.

Thank you.

Before we learn the harmonies, to “Freedom is Coming”, We'll sing it through so that you can hear the structure of the song.

This song is sung in layers.

You'll hear each voice part enter separately, like every time a different door opens.

Okay?

And we begin with the lowest voice, the bass, followed by tenor, alto and then soprano.

Once The Sopranos join in, you'll see one line with an S. Those are the Soprano lyrics.

And underneath you'll see a line labeled A T B.

That line is for alto, tenor and bass lyrics.

You can sing any part that feels comfortable for you.

This is the great part about singing at home.

You can do it your way.

(drumming) Two, three, four, one, two.

Yes, yes, yes, yes... (laughter) Well, we're going to begin by learning the bass part.

Everyone else can take a rest or sing along.

Michael will demonstrate the bass harmony for us.

There are two section to this song.

The Freedom is coming section and the Oh yes I know section.

The bases are all by themselves for the first time through both sections.

Are we ready?

Ready?

Now, twice in a row.

Together.

Repeat.

It's not so complicated, right?

And now let's sing the whole bass part with Michael.

(drumming) Two, three, four, one, two.

Great, now for the ending.

Bases, we'll sing this song five times through.

And what makes it interesting is that we're going to layer the other parts on top one by one.

The last time around, the Oh, yes, I know pattern, the Freedom Is coming lyrics return.

It will sound like this.

Great.

That's the bass part for you.

The lyrics on the screen will remind you that it's time for the ending.

Thank you, Michael.

You're welcome.

Now we're going to let the basses rest and we'll focus on the tenor part.

And now we'll sing both repeated sections back to back.

(Micheal singing OS) Oh yes I know, Oh yes I know There you go.

And now for the ending.

The final, Oh, yes, I know tenor part sounds like this.

Your turn.

(laughter, clapping) Yes!

We're halfway there now.

It's time to learn the alto part with Lucia and Gwen.

The alto part is fairly straightforward.

No tricky stuff.

We'll teach you the usual way.

We sing.

You repeat.

Here we go.

Two, three... Great!

So now we can sing along with the recording of all the other voices in the background.

(other voices OS) Oh.

Oh, yes I know.

Oh, yes, I know Good job, Lucia and Gwen.

Thank you.

Now it's time to learn the alto ending.

Excellent ladies!

Have a little break, all you altos out there.

It's now time to learn soprano with Bodicea.

Well, the soprano part is a little different from everyone else's.

Remember, the song is divided into two sections.

For Sopranos, it's the Oh, Freedom is Coming section and the Oh, yes, I know section.

Let's start with the first section.

With the call and response.

We sing.

You repeat.

And now we'll sing both repeated sections back to back.

Now let's try singing it with the other voices.

(other voices OS) Oh, yes I know.

Oh, yes, I know.

Very good, Annie.

Very good.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you, Bodicea Welcome, Annie.

Almost there now.

Let's just learn the soprano ending.

The last time through the Oh, yes, I know section, it will sound like this.

Try that with us.

All right, Bodicea, what do you think?

I think we did very well, (laughter) and I think they would do very well too.

Hey!

Yay!

Here we go, it's time to bring everyone together and sing it all the way through.

This is going to be so much fun.

Remember basses sing this song five times.

Tenors four times, Altos three times, Sopranos two times.

And on that last time through the Oh, yes, I know.

Pay attention to your screen for the notification of when the song is ending.

(drumming) Two, three, four, one, two.

Ándale, ándale!

Yay!

Yes!

Whoodoo!

(laughter) Thank you for joining our Senior Singalong.

One day perhaps we'll sing together at a cricket pitch or at a football game or sitting in the park.

But until then, keep singing!

(piano introduction) Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night.

Good night everyone!

Are we ready?

Freedom is coming.

Freedom.

Say ready.

(laughing) (high pitched voice) Ready.

(laughter) to do that.

Let's inhale and raise our shoulders up and then drop them.

Sorry, Gwen your hand was up.

I'm not sure why.

(laughter) She was thinking not sure why Oh, yes, I know.

Yes, I know.

We know.

Oh Freedom (laughter) Whaaattttt??

And okay.

Thank you, Michael.

(high pitched voice) Yippeeee!

(laughter) What was that?