A musical instrument is an object that produces musical sounds.

How pitched a sound is tells us how high or how low it is.

Vibrating is when an object moves very fast from side to side.

When a change occurs between two things, we can observe how one thing affects another.

Musical instruments and pitch

Science

In this Introduction to sound unit, pupils learn that sounds are made by vibrations and that vibrations travel through a medium to the ear. In the Sound, light and vision unit, they will build on this knowledge to learn more about how sound waves travel through different types of medium and are absorbed and reflected.

Pupils will draw upon exploration of making and listening to different sounds in EYFS and their own everyday experiences. In this Introduction to sound unit, pupils will build on this knowledge to identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating

This unit explores how sounds are made through vibrations, how they travel through mediums, and how pitch and volume relate to vibration strength. It also covers why sounds get fainter with distance. The emphasis is on practical enquiries, observations, and using results to draw conclusions.

Introduction to sound

Physical activity and equipment requiring safe use

Activity that requires collection of items from an area (room, building).

Which of these objects is a musical instrument?

Some musical instruments can produce different pitched sounds.

All musical instruments produce the same pitch sound.

Only musical instruments that you blow into produce different pitched sounds.

Only musical instruments that you pluck can produce different pitched sounds.

Which statement about musical instruments is true?

Which drum will produce the lowest pitch sound?

To make a high pitched note I need to chop my recorder in half.

To make a high pitched note I need to blow harder.

To make a high pitched note I need to cover less holes on the recorder.

To make a high pitched note I need to cover more holes on the recorder.

Jacob plays the recorder. Which statement do you agree with?

The pitch gets lower because the length of the string vibrating is longer.

The pitch gets lower because the length of string vibrating is shorter.

The pitch gets higher because the length of string vibrating is longer.

The pitch gets higher because the length of string vibrating is shorter.

What happens to the pitch of a guitar string when your finger moves down the fingerboard?

Each bottle will produce the same pitch sound.

The bottle with the most water in it will produce the lowest pitch sound.

The bottle with the least water in it will produce the lowest pitched sound.

Jacob fills bottles with different amounts of water. He blows over the top of each bottle to produce a musical sound. Which statement below do you agree with?

Jacob hits the skin of a drum with a drum stick. What is happening to the skin of the drum when it is making a sound? The drum skin is ...

What is the scientific name for how high or low sounds are?

Izzy blows into a paper straw to make a buzzing sound. What is vibrating to make the sound?

Izzy is correct. Changing the length of the straw will affect the pitch.

Izzy is not correct. Changing the length of the straw will not affect the pitch.

Izzy thinks that changing the length of the straw may change how high or low the sound is. Which statement do you agree with?

What equipment can be used to measure pitch?

Match the unit of measurement to what it measures.

Content guidance

Exploration of objects

Adult supervision recommended

Starter Quiz