What your child learns in Key Stage 2 music
Find out what your child will be taught in music lessons and how to build on that at home with your budding musician.
In Key Stage 2 music, your child will be contributing to group or class performances as pupils are encouraged to be aware of how sounds are combined and how they relate to each other. Teachers will offer a variety of music and stimuli to help pupils to improvise and develop their own musical compositions with increasing independence and creativity.
Start the Year 3 Learning Programme!
- Weekly maths & English worksheets direct to your inbox
- Follows the National Curriculum
- Keeps your child's learning on track
Children explore their thoughts and feelings through responding physically, intellectually and emotionally to a variety of different kinds of music from different times and cultures.
Lesson examples
Here are some of the kinds of things your child might get up to in music classes:
- Year 3 children combine movement and sound by creating sounds and movements to describe an animal.
- Year 4 children learn to improvise simple tunes by using chime or tone bars to make up and play simple five- or seven-note melodies.
- Year 5 children discuss differences in timbre (open and closed), duration (long and short) and dynamics (loud and quiet). They listen to the recordings of drumming from India, Africa and other parts of the world and talk about the way these sounds are made.
- Year 6 keep a diary of phrases they hear each other say often which they later use to write their own songs. The teacher reminds them that it’s fine to repeat and change the order of the words.
Help your child at home
- Try to expose your child to as wide a variety of music as you can. Attend music concerts of all types.
- Ask your child to listen to the music played while you are out in shops, restaurants and other public places. Do they notice any differences between the types of music played in different places?
- Play music while your child is doing homework, chores, completing a puzzle or other similar activities. Ask your child to choose what they think is most appropriate for each type of activity.
- Encourage your child to learn to play a musical instrument.
- Suggest your child rewrites the words to a favourite song. The process involves the same composition skills they will use at school.
Give your child a headstart
- FREE articles & expert information
- FREE resources & activities
- FREE homework help
By proceeding you agree to our terms and conditions. For information on how we use your data, see our privacy policy. You will receive emails from us but can opt out at any time.
