Year 4 - Music
Storytelling through song
Singing together: how stories are shared through song
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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 the skill of storytelling through song. Pupils listen to a range of song styles that have a clear narrative or reveal how a character is feeling. Pupils explore how dynamics, tempo and pitch contribute to how meaning is conveyed using songs from theatre and opera.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to hear and understand part of a story told through song.
Key Notes
- Humans have told stories through song for thousands of years.
- A griot shares family history, stories and knowledge through song and poetry via the oral tradition.
- The oral tradition is a means of sharing songs by passing them down through singing rather than being written down.
- Traditional ballads tell stories nd have been passed through generations via the oral tradition.
- Thinking about the meaning of the words when we are singing helps us to communicate the story to the audience.
Vocabulary To Learn
- griot: (pronounced 'gree-oh') a West African storyteller and musician
- narrative: how a song or piece of music conveys a story through lyrics and/or melody
- ballad: a form of narrative verse, often put to music
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Songs are written based on the beliefs and experiences of the person writing or singing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Humans have told stories through song for thousands of years. A griot shares family history, stories and knowledge through song and poetry via the oral tradition.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'griot'
(pronounced 'gree-oh') a West African storyteller and musician.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Songs are written based on the beliefs and experiences of the person writing or singing. Correction: Songs have been used for so many purposes from preserving history, sharing family history, entertaining people, to protesting, sharing political messages and to tell a huge range of stories both factual and fiction.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 4 Music guide library.