Recognise and discriminate between the musical elements of pulse, pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics and texture
Encourage learners to mark the pulse of music played by the teacher or other learners by clapping, tapping different parts of the body, walking around the room etc.
Listening games can be linked to all the pieces being learnt in the early stages.
Ask learners to respond physically to music being played, i.e. moving in time or beating time to music with a regular pulse. Repeat at different tempi.
Go through the piece again with learners, using gestures or actions to indicate rests.
Ensure that learners understand the difference between tempo, pulse and rhythm. There are many online tools for exploring these elements, such as Chrome Music Lab (Rhythm and Song Maker).
Help learners to sing/play short, simple rhythmic/melodic phrases by ear.
Ask learners simple questions about pulse, pitch, rhythm, dynamics, etc.
Further ideas in developing aural acuity can be found in the approaches of Kodaly and Dalcroze (Eurhythmics).
Ask learners to sing songs they know well, singing some phrases in their heads at a given signal from the teacher. When learners sing aloud again, they should be singing at the correct pitch and pulse.
The main aim is to internalise the sound before relating it to a symbol.
Ask learners to sing the final note to complete a melodic phrase played/sung by the teacher.
In the first instance, it helps if the penultimate note is either the leading note or the supertonic.
Explore the progression of this Learning Objective
Continue exploring the current Programme of Study
