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Song swap

Learn a song and enjoy singing it together.

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You’ll need

  • Instructions (optional)
  • Printed words (optional)

Before you begin

  • Choose a song. You’ll need to be confident with the words and tune, so spend some time getting familiar with it. You may want to find an appropriate video online.
  • Decide whether you’ll print the words for the song, write them on a big piece of paper, or just teach them.
  • Decide whether you’ll use any instruments.

Share a song

  1. Everyone should sit in a circle.
  2. The person leading the activity should tell everyone what song they’re going to sing. If anyone knows the song already, they could volunteer to help teach everyone else.
  3. The person leading the activity (with anyone else who volunteered to help teach) should sing or play the whole song to the group.
  4. The person leading the activity (with anyone else who volunteered to help teach) should tell everyone the story behind the song or verses (if there is one) and make sure everyone understands what all of the words mean.
  5. Everyone should try singing the song line by line. The person leading the activity should sing a line, and everyone should repeat it back.
  6. Everyone should try and sing through more of the song in one go. Depending on the song, they may want to go straight into singing the whole thing, or they may want to go through one verse at a time.
  7. Once everyone’s run through the song a few times, they should add any actions, clapping, or instruments.

Reflection

This activity is a chance for everyone to enjoy sharing a song together. Singing together is fun and helps people to feel food. Everyone should put their hands on their ribs and breathe deeply. Singing gives lungs and voices a good workout. Everyone should sing some of the song with angry, frowning, faces, and then again with a smiley face and their head held high. Can anyone hear the difference between the two? Singing with a smile makes the song sound more cheerful and it can pass the happiness on to everyone else. Everyone should try to sing the song one more time with big smiles. People should look around the group as they sing to pass the happiness around – it’s OK if anyone gets the giggles!

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You could try to learn a song that can be sung in rounds, where two (or more) groups sing the same thing at different times. See if you can sing it in two (or more) groups – some people could keep time with percussion instruments.

Some people may not want to join in with the singing to start with (or at all). That’s OK – they could hum, clap, or play an instrument instead. You could try learning a song in British Sign Language or Makaton.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My Skills Challenge Award
Beavers Creative Activity Badge

Why not make up a new verse for your group? You could perform it at an event and invite parents and carers to come and listen.

Ask everyone to share songs they know, or choose a song people have said they’d like to learn.