Chanting and singing in time
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can chant and sing with a secure sense of pulse.
Key learning points
- When we sing, play, or listen to music, we can feel the steady pulse.
- A steady pulse is important in music because it helps keep us in time as we sing or play.
- When we show or sound the pulse, it is called the beat.
- The beat can be sounded using instruments or body percussion, or shown with actions and movements.
Keywords
Warm-up - a sequence of exercises used to prepare the mind, body and voice for singing / playing instruments
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
We can always hear the pulse in music.
Sometimes the pulse is sounded (beat), but not always. The pulse is something we can feel.
Teacher tip
Find opportunities to listen to more music from a variety of genres, styles, cultures and historical periods. Ask pupils to tap, move or play along to the beat.
Equipment
Class set of claves. If a class set is not available then enough for half the class is sufficient. The second task can be done in two groups with half the class playing at a time.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is something we should do at the start of each music lesson, before we sing?
Q2.Match the keyword to its definition.
Q3.Having a steady __________ helps us keep in time when we sing together.
Q4.We can feel the when we move in time to the music.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which of the following are good ways to warm up for singing?
Q2.The pulse in music is ...
Q3.When we show or play the pulse it is called ...
Q4.When we play the beat, we can hear it. The pulse is something we can't always hear, but we can it.
To help you plan your 3 music lesson on: Chanting and singing in time, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 3 music lesson on: Chanting and singing in time, 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 2 music lessons from the Start with playing: adding percussive layers to build texture in our songs unit, dive into the full primary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.