h4>Make a sequence</h4><p>In pairs, or in a small supervised group, children play:</p><ul><li>High / low / high</li></ul><p>Then change the sequence to:</p><ul><li>Low / high / low</li></ul><p><u class="highlight">Hint</u> - It's really helpful if you model the activity first - as you play the high note, sing: <em>This is a high note</em>, then as you play the low note, sing: <em>This is a low note</em>. Children can easily distinguish high from low pitch, even as babies, but they need lots of opportunities to understand the words high and low in relation to pitch. High and low in music always describes pitch, never volume.</p><h4>More sequences (dynamics, timbre, tempo, duration)</h4><p>What other sequences could the children make up? They could experiment with using different instruments, or body sounds, for sequences focusing on these elements:</p><ul><li>Loud / quiet / loud (dynamics eg using drums)</li><li>scratchy / hollow / scratchy (timbre eg using found objects)</li><li>fast / slow / fast (tempo eg using claves)</li><li>long / short / long (duration - you'll need an instrument that can make a long sound, eg jingle bells)</li></ul><p>Here's an example of hollow / scratchy / hollow using found sounds:</p>                                                

<h3>Bounce the Teddy (pulse, pitch)</h3><p>You need one teddy for this passing game. Children love taking their turn at bouncing the teddy and you'll see that some children will naturally bounce the teddy in time with the pulse of the song. The tune is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but we began by chanting the words and helping the children to bounce the teddy at the right time and then pass it on.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                

Bounce the teddy (pulse, pitch) - Video

<h3>Bounce the Teddy (pulse, pitch)</h3><p>You need one teddy for this passing game. Children love taking their turn at bouncing the teddy and you'll see that some children will naturally bounce the teddy in time with the pulse of the song. The tune is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but we began by chanting the words and helping the children to bounce the teddy at the right time and then pass it on.</p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/363901769?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;color=A2D6BD" allowfullscreen="">            </iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <h3>High and Low Bears (pitch)</h3><p>You'll need two chime bars, the smallest and the largest to give a significant difference in pitch. Play each chime bar for a few seconds, alternating between the two as the children move around the room into a space, putting their hands high in the air for high sounds, and crawling low down for low sounds. It's good to give the children the correct words, high pitch and low pitch, when you first demonstrate what to do.</p><p>You could play to the rhythm, in your head, of any phrase (eg Walking like a teddy bear). It's important to play at the same speed and loudness to avoid confusion over what high and low pitch means. </p>

Bears Level: Early Years - Skills & games

Year 1

Year 2

Music

Sequences (dynamics, timbre, tempo, duration) - Example

Music Playtime has been created by a Key Stage 1 and Early Years Music education specialist. The schemes are built in recognition of the fact that most primary teachers are not music specialists. Access the knowledge and the ideas you need to feel confident teaching music.