Year 1 - Music
Feeling the pulse in music with a fast or slow tempo
Music and movement: feeling the pulse and changing the tempo
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit develops pupil's sense of pulse across a range of different tempi. Pupils internalise phrasing through music and movement games and understand when it is their turn to sing, move or play. They are challenged to notice and respond appropriately to tempo changes.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the tempo of the music as fast, slow or steady.
Key Notes
- We can sing slowly and quickly and know that we are thinking about the tempo of the music.
- We can describe the tempo of the music, for example, the song has a fast tempo.
- The same piece of music can be performed at different speeds. It can be played or sung at a slow tempo or a fast tempo.
Vocabulary To Learn
- pulse: the regular steady heartbeat of the music
- beat: the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock
- tempo: how fast or slow the music is played
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pulse and beat are the same thing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
We can sing slowly and quickly and know that we are thinking about the tempo of the music. We can describe the tempo of the music, for example, the song has a fast tempo.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'pulse'
the regular steady heartbeat of the music.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Pulse and beat are the same thing. Correction: Pulse is the underlying feeling of uniformed beats - it is the heartbeat of the music. When organised into metres, we then feel it as beats e.g. counting 1,2,3 1,2,3.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 1 Music guide library.