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Lesson 4 of 6
  • Year 1

Changing the tempo to build excitement

I can sing songs with a changing tempo and can explain how this makes the song feel.

Lesson 4 of 6
New
New
  • Year 1

Changing the tempo to build excitement

I can sing songs with a changing tempo and can explain how this makes the song feel.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. We can use changing dynamics along with facial expressions and actions to give a song character.
  2. Tempo is the speed of the music, it means how fast or slow it is played or sung.
  3. We can change the tempo to change how a song feels.

Keywords

  • Dynamics - how loudly or quietly the music is played or sung

  • Tempo - the speed of the music - how fast or slow the music is played

  • Practise - to play or sing something several times to try and get better

Common misconception

Sometimes we exaggerate tempo changes, interpreting singing fast as singing 'as fast as we can'.

Subtle tempo changes can affect the character of the music as well as big ones.


To help you plan your year 1 music lesson on: Changing the tempo to build excitement, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Model tempo changes and use example recordings to show the effect that subtle tempo changes have on the character of the music.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), 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

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4 Questions

Q1.
If you were singing about an elephant, you might use a loud .

Correct Answer: dynamic, Dynamic

Q2.
When we sing about a mouse, which dynamic would most suit the character of the song?

loud
Correct answer: quiet
slow

Q3.
True or false? The lyrics help us to decide the character of a song.

Correct Answer: True, true

Q4.
Match these definitions.

Correct Answer:dynamics,how loudly or quietly we sing or play

how loudly or quietly we sing or play

Correct Answer:actions,movements and facial expressions to do while singing a song

movements and facial expressions to do while singing a song

Correct Answer:tempo,how fast or slow the music is played

how fast or slow the music is played

Correct Answer:pitch,how high or low a note is

how high or low a note is

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
is how fast or slow the music is played.

Correct Answer: Tempo, tempo

Q2.
True or false? When we choose a fast tempo, we should play it as fast as possible.

Correct Answer: False, false

Q3.
Would a faster or slower tempo suit a song about a cheetah?

Correct Answer: Faster, faster

Q4.
Would a faster or slower tempo suit a song about a tortoise?

Correct Answer: Slower, slower