Concepts development for first and second classes
Musical concepts
Through completing the strand units of the music curriculum the child should be enabled to
A sense of pulse
- show a steady pulse or beat (e.g. marching, clapping)
- understand and differentiate between music with a steady pulse or beat and music without a strong beat
A sense of duration
- listen to, imitate and perform simple rhythm patterns which include silences
A sense of tempo
- understand and differentiate between fast and slow rhythmic and melodic patterns, getting faster, getting slower
A sense of pitch
- understand and differentiate between high and low sounds, same, different
- imitate melodies
- perceive the contour (shape) of melodies
A sense of dynamics
- understand and differentiate between loud and soft sounds, getting louder, getting softer
A sense of structure
- understand beginning, middle and end
- identify an obviously different or repeated section
A sense of timbre
- explore a variety of sound-making materials
- classify instruments by the way the sound is produced
- differentiate between obviously different sounds and instruments
triangle, drum
A sense of texture
- listen and respond to sounds from one source and from more than one source
A sense of style
- listen and respond to music in different styles.
Strand: Listening and responding
Strand unit: Exploring sounds
The child should be enabled to
Environmental sounds
- listen to, identify and describe sounds in the environment with increasing awareness
ambulance, alarm clock, thunder, silence - recognise and classify sounds using differing criteria
different types of mechanical sounds
lawnmower, pneumatic drill
different types of barking
howling, yapping, barking, growling - recognise and demonstrate pitch differences
high, low and in-between sounds
Vocal sounds
- identify pitch differences in different voices
child, adult male, adult female - explore the natural speech rhythm of familiar words
double-decker, tractor, skipping-rope
'home again, home again, jiggity jig'
Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, Sligo
Body percussion
- discover ways of making sounds using body percussion
tapping, clapping, slapping, clicking
Instruments
- explore ways of making sounds using manufactured and home-made instruments
manufactured
triangle, tambourine, drum, jingle stick
home-made
shakers, metal or wooden objects, fibres
striking or shaking in a variety of ways - explore how the sounds of different instruments can suggest various sounds and sound pictures
rustling paper to represent leaves in the wind
coconut halves to represent galloping horses.
Strand unit: Listening and responding to music
The child should be enabled to
- listen to a range of short, familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music or excerpts
excerpts from classical music
'Tuby the Tuba' by G. Kleinsinger
'Peter and the Wolf' by Prokofiev
excerpts from the 'Nutcracker Suite' by Tchaikovsky
Irish music
'Riverdance' by Bill Whelan, 'Trad at Heart'
popular
'Walking in the Air' (theme from 'The Snowman', by Howard Blake)
'Grandad' by Flowers and Pickett
musicals
songs from 'Oliver!' by Lionel Bart - respond imaginatively to pieces of music through movement
clapping, tapping, swaying, marching, dancing - talk about pieces of music, giving preferences, and illustrate responses in a variety of ways
this music is exciting, sad, lively
it makes me feel happy, frightened, giddy
it reminds me of the circus, a storm, big crowds
writing, drawing, painting, humming - show the steady beat in listening to a variety of live or recorded music, accompanying songs or chants
marching, clapping, skipping, dancing - differentiate between steady beat and music without a steady beat
music with a steady beat
'Winter Bonfire' by Prokofiev
music without a steady beat
'Theme from Harry's Game' by Clannad - identify and show the tempo of the music as fast or slow, getting faster or getting slower
drum beat, played quickly or slowly
dance music
getting faster: 'Shoe the Donkey'
slow: a short extract from Piano Concerto No. 21, second movement, by Mozart - differentiate between sounds at different dynamic levels (loud and soft, getting louder and getting softer)
triangle, struck heavily to make a loud sound, struck gently to make a soft sound
music gradually getting louder
'Bolero' by Ravel - perceive the difference between long and short sounds
a resonating instrument, such as a triangle or a bodhrán, makes a long sound once struck; if it is touched by hand, the sound is interrupted and hence shortened - identify obviously different instruments
bodhrán, triangle.
Linkage
Composing -- Talking about and recording compositions
Integration
Visual arts: Drawing; Paint; Elements of art -- An awareness of line, shape, pattern
PE: Dance -- Exploration, creation and performance of dance
Science: Energy and forces -- Sound
Strand: Performing
Strand unit: Song singing
The child should be enabled to
- recognise and sing with increasing vocal control and confidence a growing range of songs and melodies
playground songs and games
folk tunes
action songs
amhráin Ghaeilge
popular tunes
themes from television and radio
these should include:
pentatonic tunes (based on five notes: d, r, m, s, l) - recognise and imitate short melodies in echoes
'This Old Man', ' Féileacáin' - show the steady beat (pulse) when performing familiar songs, singing games or rhythmic chants
singing the tune while clapping or tapping the beat
chanting
'Who Stole the Cookie?' - understand the difference between beat and rhythm
marching to the beat while clapping the rhythm or words of a song
one group keeps the beat, another taps the rhythm, another sings the song - perceive the shape of melodies as moving upwards, downwards or staying the same
melody moves downwards
first line of 'Joy to the World' - select the dynamics (loud, soft) most suitable to a song
soft, gentle singing for a lullaby
loud, energetic singing for a march or action song - notice obvious differences created between sections of songs in various forms
verse and refrain, call-and-response
solo-chorus, question-and-answer.
Strand unit: Literacy
The child should be enabled to
Rhythm
- identify and perform familiar rhythm patterns from memory and from notation
Pitch
- recognise the shape (contour) of a simple melody
- recognise and sing familiar tunes and singing games within a range of two or three notes*
hummed
sung to one syllable (e.g. da da da)
from hand signs
sung in tonic solfa (e.g. s, m or l, s, m)
'Rain, rain, go away' (s, m, s s, m), 'Olé, Olé' (m, s, m, s)
from staff notation (two-lined stave)
Rhythm and pitch
- recognise and sing simple tunes, from simplified notation, combining rhythm and pitch
Strand unit: Playing instruments
The child should be enabled to
- play some percussion instruments with confidence
playing long and short notes on the triangle, tambourine or drum
taking turns, alone or in small groups - use percussion instruments to show the beat or rhythm in accompanying songs or rhythmic chants
- identify and perform simple two-note or three-note tunes by ear or from simple notation
using tuned percussion instruments (e.g. chime bars, glockenspiel), a tune such as 'Hot Cross Buns' may be played on the notes B, A, G
simplified staff notation (two lines):
Strand: Composing
Strand unit: Improvising and creating
The child should be enabled to
- select sounds from a variety of sources to illustrate a character or a sequence of events, individually and in groups
representing characters
each of the seven dwarfs
the three bears
using sound effects to accompany games, poems, stories, pictures - invent and perform short musical pieces with increasing ease and control of musical elements
high/low (pitch), fast/slow (tempo), loud/soft (dynamics), long/short
(rhythm), beginning, middle and end (structure)
a high fast sound, a low fast sound, then a high, fast sound again
sequence of events illustrated in sound
story of a storm:
wind: vocal wind sounds (long)
rain: rattling sounds with shakers (fast)
thunder: booming drum (slow, loud)
rain ceases: shakers (played more quietly and slower)
sun shines: tinkling triangle sound (short, soft) - recall, answer and invent simple melodic and rhythmic patterns, using voices, body percussion and instruments
singing conversations
'Cá bhfuil do mhála?' -- 'Faoin mbord'
'What did you have for your breakfast?' -- 'Toast and peanut butter!'
vocal improvisations
'Vehicles' (to underlying 4-beat pattern):
Volvo, Volvo, Volvo, roll
Volkswagen beetle Volkswagen beetle
Fo-----------------rd, Fo------------------rd
tractor splutter splutter, tractor splutter splutter.
Strand unit: Talking about and recording compositions
The child should be enabled to
- talk about his/her work and the work of other children
how the instruments were selected
how the sounds were produced
what they sounded like
how easy or difficult they were to play
how he/she enjoyed exploring them
what he/she liked best - invent graphic symbols or use standard notation to represent selected sounds
symbols that represent metal and wooden instruments
simple rhythm notation with rhythm sound pattern
- record compositions on electronic media
using the school equipment
a child's basic tape recorder
keyboard
computer.
Linkage
Listening and responding -- Exploring sounds
Performing -- Playing instruments
Integration
Visual arts: Drawing; Elements of art -- An awareness of line