Lesson video

Hi everyone, I'm Ms. Boyd, and I'll be your music teacher today.

In this lesson we are going to explore how high pitch sounds and low pitch sounds can work together.

In this lesson we will explore how low and high pitches can work together.

We will explore low and high pitches and will look at how they can be used in a musical story, and you'll get the opportunity to compose a piece of music using both low and high pitches.

To prepare for this lesson all you will need is an exercise book or a piece of paper and a pencil.

But before we get started, should we begin with a hello song? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Hello, hello, it's good to see you ♪ ♪ Hello, hello, it's good to see you ♪ ♪ I must say, you've made my day ♪ ♪ Hello, hello, hello.

♪ So how do low and high pitches work together? Now pitch is how high or how low the notes of an instrument are.

But the fun comes when you can combine a high-pitched instrument with a low-pitched instrument.

It can make a piece of music sound really, really interesting.

Have a look at the instruments on my screen here.

Which instruments do you recognise? On the screen, first we have the bassoon, that long, brown instrument.

It creates a very bassy sound.

Then we have a violin that has strings and creates quite a high-pitched sound.

Then we have a flute, a silver flute at the top.

That creates a very high-pitched sound.

Then we have the french horn.

The gold, brass, instrument there on the right.

And underneath all of the instruments, we have the clarinet.

Quite a nice, low sounding, woodwind instrument.

For this activity, we're going to listen to some combinations of these high-pitched instruments and low-pitched instruments working together.

I want you to turn your listening ears on.

And can you tell me which two instruments are playing this piece of music? Which instruments could you hear there? That's right, I definitely did hear the high-pitched violin.

Did you? Great.

What was the low pitched instrument? Hmm, that was a bit trickier.

Have another listen.

That low pitched sound was created by the bassoon.

This gorgeous instrument here.

Well done.

Now, let's listen out for our second pair of instruments.

That's right, the high-pitched instrument was definitely the flute, wasn't it? So high-pitched but sounds so lovely.

Kind of like a bird.

And which instrument do you think played that lower sound? Shall we have another listen? That low pitched sound was played by the french horn, that gold, brass instrument there on our screen.

Great listening.

Now like I said, high and low pitches can get really interesting.

When you combine them together, they can start to make a musical story.

For this next activity we are going to listen to a special piece of music.

It's called Peter and the Wolf.

Now in this film, there are no words.

Everything a character wants to say is made through a musical instrument.

Have a listen now to which instruments represent which characters in this story.

Peter, the boy in the red hat, is represented by the violin.

And the bird is represented by the flute.

Doesn't it sound like it's flying? The third character on the screen, the wolf, is represented by the french horn.

That low pitched sound really does make the wolf sound scary, doesn't it? Our fourth character, Peter's grandad, is represented by the bassoon.

Based on what you just heard, what character do you think is your favourite? And what sound represents that character? Brilliant, my favourite character is definitely the bird.

Now, let's have a listen to how these characters can create a musical story.

We are going to listen to a part of this movie.

Close your eyes, and I would like you to imagine what is happening in this scene.

I hope you can see Peter in your imagination because he's represented by those high-pitched violins.

He's walking along the path, have another listen.

Now as Peter is walking, he comes across a little friend.

Can you guess which character the friend is? Eyes closed.

Which instrument was that? That's right, the high-pitched flute.

The bird came along, the bird came along and started playing with Peter.

Fantastic.

Let's have a listen to another scene.

In this next scene, Peter is being told off by his grandad.

Remember, Peter is represented by those high-pitched violins.

And his grandad is represented by the low-pitched bassoon.

Eyes closed.

Did you hear that? Peter's grandad didn't sound happy at all.

Have another listen.

Poor Peter.

What else do you think could happen in this story? Have a think about which other characters can talk to each other by using the sounds.

For your final activity today, I would like you to pause this video to complete your composing challenge.

You need to draw a picture of an interaction between your favourite character from Peter and the Wolf.

What high-pitched and low-pitched sounds can you make with your voice to represent their conversation? Have a go at performing this to someone in your home.

We're at the end of our lesson already, but I really recommend you go and have a watch of that movie.

It's called Peter and the Wolf.

And you can find you've learnt so much today about how high and low-pitched instruments can work together.

You've practised recognising how low and high pitches work together.

You've explored how low and high pitches can create a musical story.

And you've had a go at composing your own piece of music using high and low-pitched instruments.

But before we go we have to say goodbye properly with our Goodbye song.

Are you ready? ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Goodbye, goodbye ♪ ♪ It's time to go now ♪ ♪ Goodbye, goodbye ♪ ♪ It's time to go now ♪ ♪ I must say, you've made my day ♪ ♪ Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye ♪ If you'd like to share some of the music we've made together today.

Feel free to ask your parent or carer to share your work on social media.