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Year 2 - Music

Learning about beat

Start with singing: learning through singing games

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils develop their understanding of pitch, pulse, beat, and rhythm by participating in a variety of singing games. Through playful and interactive songs and movements, pupils will naturally develop their understanding of these musical elements.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to identify the beat in songs you sing.

Key Notes

  • Having a steady sense of pulse is important when we sing and move together.
  • When we show the pulse through actions, body percussion, or by playing instruments, we call it the beat.
  • Playing the beat on a percussion instrument can help us keep in time as we sing together.
  • Using hearts is one way to visualise the beat in a song.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • singing voice: the voice we use to create musical sounds that can be a mixture of high sounds and low sounds
  • pulse: the regular, steady heartbeat of the music
  • beat: the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock
  • percussion instrument: a device used to make a musical sound which is played by striking, scraping or shaking

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The beat and the pulse are the same thing.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Having a steady sense of pulse is important when we sing and move together. When we show the pulse through actions, body percussion, or by playing instruments, we call it the beat.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'singing voice'

the voice we use to create musical sounds that can be a mixture of high sounds and low sounds.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: The beat and the pulse are the same thing. Correction: The pulse is something we can feel in the music, while the beat is the showing or sounding of the pulse.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 2 Music guide library.