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New
Lesson 1 of 4
  • Year 2

Seaside soundscapes

I can create a seaside soundscape, thinking about timbre and dynamics.

Lesson 1 of 4
New
New
  • Year 2

Seaside soundscapes

I can create a seaside soundscape, thinking about timbre and dynamics.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The material that an instrument is made from will affect the instrument’s timbre.
  2. Music can create images in our minds, like Le Onde creates images of seaside and waves.
  3. We can use percussion instruments to create soundscapes.
  4. Graphic scores are one way of capturing our musical ideas.
  5. When we make music together, we are an ensemble.

Keywords

  • Percussion instrument - a device used to make a musical sound which is played by striking, scraping or shaking

  • Soundscape - using sounds to create a feeling, place, or story, making you feel like you are really there, for example, at the seaside

  • Graphic score - a way of notating music using symbols, shapes or images

  • Timbre - a description of the sound or tone of an instrument

  • Ensemble - a group of people who perform together

Common misconception

The piano is not a percussion instrument.

The piano is a percussion instrument because the hammers inside strike the strings.


To help you plan your year 2 music lesson on: Seaside soundscapes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Spend time showing pupils many different ways they can create sounds from just one instrument, from changing whether you strike, tap, scratch or shake a tambourine for example, to changing the dynamics and tempo of how you play.
Teacher tip

Equipment

A variety of classroom percussion with a mix of materials, including metal, plastic, skin and wooden. One instrument for every pupil ideally.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

4 Questions

Q1.
What is an audience?

a person who creates music
Correct answer: a group of people gathered to listen and watch a live performance
a group of people who perform together

Q2.
Match the musical word to its definition.

Correct Answer:composer,a person who creates music

a person who creates music

Correct Answer:conductor,a person who directs musicians or singers

a person who directs musicians or singers

Correct Answer:compose,to create music

to create music

Q3.
__________ means how loud or quiet the music is played.

rhythm
tempo
Correct answer: dynamics

Q4.
The __________ of the music is the way the music is organised.

Correct answer: structure
dynamics
tempo

Assessment exit quiz

4 Questions

Q1.
A __________ is a device used to make a musical sound which is played by striking, scraping or shaking.

string instrument
wind instrument
Correct answer: percussion instrument

Q2.
A __________ is a type of composition where you use sounds to create a feeling, place, or story, making you feel like you are really there, for example, at the seaside.

Correct answer: soundscape
school song
rhythm

Q3.
A is a way of writing down music using symbols, shapes or images.

Correct Answer: graphic score

Q4.
True or false? Being in an ensemble means performing on your own.

Correct Answer: false, untrue, no