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Year 4 - Music

Practising a melodic accompaniment

Playing together: effective rehearsing as part of an ensemble

Unit Summary

In this unit, we explore effective ensemble rehearsal. Professional ensembles share their secrets for success when practising alone, in small groups and as a wider ensemble. Effective rehearsal strategies are then explicitly taught to the pupils and developed in our ensemble piece.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to practise a new melodic accompaniment and recognise strategies you can use to improve.

Key Notes

  • Understanding the structure of the music can help us to practise the piece in sections.
  • Binary form is a musical structure that has two sections, usually labeled A and B, that are often repeated (as AABB).
  • We can use practice techniques such as exploring different ways to learn to help us to play an accompaniment part.
  • When practising in an ensemble, working together at a slower tempo at first is a good strategy to help us to improve.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • accompaniment: a musical part that supports the main melody or chant
  • structure: the way the music is organised
  • binary form: a musical structure that has two sections, usually labeled A and B, that are often repeated (as AABB)
  • tempo: the speed of the music - how fast or slow the music is played

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • When practising in an ensemble we need to practise at our own speed so we can play our part accurately.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Understanding the structure of the music can help us to practise the piece in sections. Binary form is a musical structure that has two sections, usually labeled A and B, that are often repeated (as AABB).

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

a musical part that supports the main melody or chant.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: When practising in an ensemble we need to practise at our own speed so we can play our part accurately. Correction: When practising as an ensemble, we all need to play at the same tempo, we should start off slowly and speed up as we feel more confident.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 4 Music guide library.