Year 2
Term 1 TIME TO PLAY – exploring pulse and rhythmic patterns
From body percussion to disco music, this term develops children’s understanding of pulse and rhythm. The term begins with songs and activities to get children performing together rhythmically. The children perform actions and movements to a steady pulse and play simple musical passing games. They will learn songs such as March To The Beat to explore the difference between pulse and rhythm, and investigate different ways to play rhythms, varying instrumental timbre and dynamics. The children will learn to play a simple accompaniment to a song or poem, selecting suitable sounds and timbre. They will learn to create simple four-beat rhythms and represent these using graphic notations such as Beat Monsters!
Term 2 Musical Moods And Pictures
This term, the children will learn how songs and music can communicate different moods and emotions. They investigate different ways to express the mood of a song by adding facial expressions and changing the timbre and dynamics of their voice. They will develop their understanding of musical mood through simple songs, where they will be introduced to major and minor tonality. Throughout the term, the children will listen and talk about a wide variety of music including Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach and Fanfarra Cabua-Le-Le by Sergio Mendes/Carlinhos Brown. They compose and improvise music on the theme of weather. They will learn to give musical instructions, taking the role of a conductor in a small group performance. Creating descriptive sounds inspired by a song and create a simple soundscape.
Term 3 PATTERNS WITH PITCH – EXPLORING PITCH AND MELODY
This term, the children explore pitch and melody. From the octobass to the piccolo, they will find out about a variety of instruments and learn to describe their pitch and timbre. They will play simple listening games and recall a pitch sequence, recognizing where the pitch gets higher, lower or stays the same. Through a range of songs, they will develop their pitch-matching skills, performing them with actions and movement. They will learn to use their voices creatively, They play simple melodies using tuned percussion and be introduced to the pentatonic scale with songs such as Just Five Notes. They finish the term by preparing songs and music for a class performance.