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Lesson 4 of 6
  • Year 2

Playing the pulse to keep in time

I can play a strong beat to help us sing in time together.

Lesson 4 of 6
New
New
  • Year 2

Playing the pulse to keep in time

I can play a strong beat to help us sing in time together.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. When we feel the pulse, we can want to move or clap in time. When we do this, we are sounding the pulse as a beat.
  2. Playing the pulse as a strong beat can help us to sing in time together.
  3. We can play the pulse using instruments or body percussion to help us to sing in time.
  4. Many sea shanties and working songs have a steady pulse that is sounded as a strong beat to help workers sing in time.

Keywords

  • Sea shanty - a traditional folk song sung by sailors to help them work together in time

  • Pulse - the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

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

Common misconception

Pulse and beat are the same thing.

Pulse is the regular, steady heartbeat of the music. We feel the pulse. The beat is when we can hear the pulse out loud, like the ticking of a clock.


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

For the partner tasks (rolling a ball and partner body percussion), it can be helpful to begin by saying "roll, catch" or "clap, together" in time to support pupils feeling the pulse and hearing the beat. Pupils can whisper along with you before they try moving and singing at the same time.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Balls (enough for one between two), claves (enough for every pupil to have one pair)

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.
When the beat is fast, the music has a fast ...

An image in a quiz
pitch
Correct answer: tempo
structure

Q2.
__________ is a special kind of call and response where the response is exactly the same as the call.

a chorus
Correct answer: an echo
a verse

Q3.
The claves are a type of __________ instrument.

An image in a quiz
Correct answer: percussion
brass
string
woodwind

Q4.
Which are examples of body percussion?

singing
Correct answer: clicking fingers
humming
winking
Correct answer: clapping hands

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
are working songs that helped sailors to work together in time. They have a steady pulse that is often sounded as a strong beat. This helped sailors to move together in time with the pulse.

Correct Answer: Sea shanties, sea shanties

Q2.
When we march in time to the music, we are marching to the .

Correct Answer: beat, Beat

Q3.
When the music has a fast tempo, it will also have a fast ...

dynamic
pitch
Correct answer: beat

Q4.
True or false? Pulse and beat are not the same thing.

Correct Answer: true, True, correct, Correct