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Lesson 3 of 4
  • Year 7

Playing expressively: Ode to Joy

I can play the full melody of Ode to Joy.

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Lesson 3 of 4
New
New
  • Year 7

Playing expressively: Ode to Joy

I can play the full melody of Ode to Joy.

Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and

Copyrights help

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A quaver is a half beat note. These often come in pairs.
  2. Playing the third phrase of Ode to Joy which uses paired quavers.
  3. Phrases give structure to the melody and often use repetition. Spotting the patterns can make the music easier to learn.
  4. The pulse is the steady feel of the beats within the music. Feeling the pulse is fundamental to good music making.
  5. Dynamics (volume) and tempo (speed) can play an important role in expressive musical performance.

Keywords

  • Quaver - A quaver is a note lasting half a beat. Quavers often come in pairs.

  • Pulse - The pulse is the steady feel of the beat.

  • Score - A score is a visual representation of the music you are hearing.

Common misconception

Rhythm and pulse in music are the same thing (particularly as there are a lot of crotchets used).

Pupils could clap/tap the beat with the audio examples to reinforce how it is different to the rhythm of the melody..


To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Playing expressively: Ode to Joy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Expression is subjective. The approach here is to help pupils find a starting point. Pupils could be encouraged to find another suitable approach to expression in this piece.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Keyboards

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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