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- Year 7
Characteristics of folk songs
I can explain some key characteristics of folk music and can perform a simple pentatonic folk melody.
- Year 7
Characteristics of folk songs
I can explain some key characteristics of folk music and can perform a simple pentatonic folk melody.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Folk music encompasses many traditions from around the world that have been passed through generations orally.
- They are varied, but have some common characteristics.
- These include repetition of musical ideas and the use of simple, conjunct melodies with a small range.
- Many are based on the pentatonic scale, which includes five notes.
- Xtoles is an ancient Maya song that is thought to have been sung by warriors.
Keywords
Folk music - the traditional music of a culture that is passed down through generations
Pentatonic scale - a common scale in folk music, consisting of five different notes
Conjunct - when there are small changes in pitch between one note and the next (moving by ‘step’)
Phrase - a short section of a melody, normally lasting 1, 2 or 4 bars
Common misconception
Folk music all sounds the same.
Many folk traditions have shared characteristics, primarily because of the way that the music was passed between generations, but folk music is incredibly diverse, and covers lots of different types of music from different cultures and times.
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Characteristics of folk songs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Characteristics of folk songs, 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 3 music lessons from the Folk songs from around the world unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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