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Lesson 6 of 6
  • Year 2

Creating an ostinato to help us keep in time

I can create a rhythmic ostinato to help us keep in time together.

Lesson 6 of 6
New
New
  • Year 2

Creating an ostinato to help us keep in time

I can create a rhythmic ostinato to help us keep in time together.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. An ostinato is a repeated musical pattern.
  2. Playing an ostinato to a strong beat can help us to sing and play in time together.
  3. We can create our own rhythmic ostinato to help us to keep in time together.
  4. We can combine different layers of sound to create texture, such as playing different ostinati at the same time.

Keywords

  • Pulse - the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

  • Beat - the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock

  • Rhythm - the pattern of notes that we play and sing

  • Ostinato - a repeated musical pattern

  • Texture - the combination of different layers of sounds

Common misconception

An ostinato, like the rhythm of a song, changes throughout a piece of music.

An ostinato does have a rhythm, but this rhythm is repeated over and over again throughout a piece of music. The rhythm stays exactly the same.


To help you plan your year 2 music lesson on: Creating an ostinato to help us keep in time, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

When pupils are playing ostinati, support them in whispering the words (either lyrics or, later in the lesson, "ta" "ta-di" etc) as they play. This helps them to play accurately and to feel the pulse. When splitting into parts, invite confident children to lead each team.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Drums (enough for half the class to have one each or for a small team of 1-6 pupils), Claves (enough for half the class to have one pair each)

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

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
A __________ is a traditional folk song sung by sailors to help them work together in time.

singing game
Correct answer: sea shanty
carol

Q2.
How do sea shanties help sailors work together?

The songs are slow and gentle to help them rest at night.
The song tells them which direction to sail.
Correct answer: The beat helps them work together at the same time.

Q3.
We can clap the __________ of words to play a rhythm.

Correct answer: syllables
beat
pitch

Q4.
What is this rhythm called?

An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: Ta-di, Ta di, ta di

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What is an ostinato?

An image in a quiz
a song structure
a constantly changing rhythm
Correct answer: a repeated musical pattern

Q2.
How can a rhythmic ostinato help us as we sing together?

Correct answer: It helps us feel the pulse and keep in time.
It provides a high melody that we can sing.
It provides chords that keep us in tune.

Q3.
What is rhythm?

a part of a word
how fast or slow the music is played
Correct answer: the pattern of sounds that we play and sing

Q4.
True or false? Beat and rhythm are not the same.

Correct Answer: True, true, correct