River soundscapes
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can layer vocal and body percussion cells to create a river soundscape.
Key learning points
- A soundscape can be created using just vocalisations and body percussion.
- When we structure a soundscape, we think about how to organise the sounds - what comes first, then what comes next.
- A cell is a short musical idea that can be used in a soundscape to help build the piece.
Keywords
Vocalisation - a sound made by the voice, but does not need to be a word
Soundscape - using sounds to create a feeling, place or story, making you feel like you are really there, for example a journey downriver
Structure - the way the music is organised
Cell - short, simple musical ideas
Body percussion - to make a percussive musical sound with the body
Common misconception
Structure and texture are the same thing.
Here, the structuring of the piece does involve a buiding of texture, but it is helpful to think of structure as horizontal - what is happening now and next, and texture as vertical - how many layers are there.
Teacher tip
The vocal cells here can be used just as examples. Feel free to create your soundscape around these, or use them just as inspiration for your class to create their own.
Equipment
art resources - pastels and paper
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.A is someone who creates new music.
Q2.__________ is when you use sounds to create a feeling, place or story, making you feel like you are really there, for example a journey downriver.
Q3.Changing dynamics can help us build our soundscape. What does dynamics mean?
Q4.We can think about a sound's timbre when creating a soundscape. What is timbre?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.When we vocalise, we make a sound with our ...
Q2.In music, what is structure?
Q3.True or false? We always use percussion instruments when composing a soundscape.
Q4.A cell is ...
To help you plan your 2 music lesson on: River soundscapes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 music lesson on: River soundscapes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 music lessons from the Compose and create: soundscapes of the sea unit, dive into the full primary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.