Content

Concepts development for third and fourth 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 (keeping time to the music)
• understand and differentiate between music with a steady pulse or beat and music without a strong beat
• discover and recognise strong and weak beats
• discover two-beat time (like a march), three-beat time (like a waltz) and six-eight time (like a jig)

A sense of duration

• listen to, imitate and perform patterns of long and short sounds and 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, repeated
• imitate melodies
• perceive the contour (shape) of melodies (the general shape of a short, simple melody represented on a stave)

A sense of dynamics

• understand and differentiate between loud and soft sounds, getting louder, getting softer
• select appropriate levels of loud and soft in performing

A sense of structure

• understand beginning, middle and end
• identify a different or repeated section
• respond with a sense of phrase (observe the natural divisions in music)

A sense of timbre

• explore, classify and differentiate between different sounds and instruments
• identify some families of instruments

A sense of texture

• recognise differences between single sounds and combined sounds when listening

A sense of style

• listen and respond to music in a wide range of styles.

Strand: Listening and responding

Strand unit: Exploring sounds

The child should be enabled to

Environmental sounds

• listen to and describe a widening variety of sound from an increasing range of sources
  a ticking watch on its own and one taped to a door (a hollow door acts as a resonating chamber and the sound is heightened)
  a rubber band stretched across a cardboard box
  marbles dropped onto a hard or soft surface
  a bottle that is full of water, half filled or empty
• classify and describe sounds within a narrow range
  bird sounds
  seagull, pigeon, jackdaw, starling
  car alarms
  house alarms
• recognise and demonstrate pitch differences
  high, low and in-between sounds, higher than, lower than, same, different, repeated
  notes on a keyboard instrument
  door bell, school bells, telephone rings

Vocal sounds

• discover the different kinds of sounds that the singing voice and the speaking voice can make
  comparing humming, whistling, 'opera singing'
  experimenting with voice changes to create different moods and meanings
  contrasting speaking conversations and singing conversations in the natural voice
• imitate patterns of long or short sounds vocally
  boomchicka, boomchicka, rockachicka, boom

Body percussion

• discover ways of making sounds using body percussion, in pairs and small groups
  tapping, clapping, slapping, clicking
  creating slapping and clapping sequences

Instruments

• explore ways of making sounds using manufactured and home-made instruments
  manufactured untuned percussion instruments
  drum, jingle stick, triangle
  manufactured tuned percussion instruments
  chime bar, xylophone
  melodic instruments
  tin whistle, recorder
  home-made
  shakers, metal or wooden objects, fibres, beads, pipes, comb-and-paper
  kazoo
  blowing, striking or shaking in a variety of ways
• explore how the tone colours of suitable instruments can suggest various sounds and sound pictures
  tin whistle to depict twittering birds
  swanee whistle to depict falling or sliding
  tuned percussion, such as a glockenspiel, to represent raindrops.

Linkage
Composing -- Talking about and recording compositions
Integration
Science: Energy and forces -- Sound

Strand unit: Listening and responding to music

The child should be enabled to

• listen to and describe music in various styles and genres, including familiar excerpts, recognising its function and historical context where appropriate
  music that tells a story
  'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' by Dukas
  descriptive music
  'The Planets' by Holst
  'Viennese Musical Clock' from 'Háry János Suite' by Kodály
  Irish music
  recordings by the Chieftains, Altan, Na Casaidigh, Mary Bergin
  popular music
  'A Spaceman Came Travelling' performed by Chris de Burgh
  film music
  'Theme from Superman' by J. Williams
  sacred music
  'Hallelujah Chorus' from 'Messiah' by G. F. Handel
• describe initial reactions to, or feelings about, his/her compositions and the compositions of others (recordings or live performances), giving preferences
  this music reminds me of flying, cleaning my bedroom, Christmas
• respond imaginatively to longer pieces of music in a variety of ways
  moving, dancing, creating a mime
  writing a poem or story, illustrating through visual art
• show the steady beat in listening to live or recorded music accompanying songs or chants
  marching, clapping, tapping, skipping, dancing
  individually and in groups
• differentiate between steady beat and music without a strong beat in music
  steady beat: 'Hennessey's' recorded by Arcady
  without a steady beat: music for relaxation
• recognise strong and weak beats, illustrating them through gestures
  clap for strong beat, tap knees for weak beat
• identify and describe the tempo of the music as fast or slow, or getting faster or getting slower
  fast: extracts from 'Carpathian Virtuosi', Romanian Folkloric Music recorded at the National Concert Hall
• distinguish between sounds of different duration (long or short) while listening to music
  long and short sounds in a bugle call
  long drum roll versus short, clipped drumming
• identify some families of instruments
  strings, brass, percussion (drums)
  traditional Irish instruments
• respond appropriately to obviously different sections in a piece
  changing movement sequences or patterns in recognition of a new section
  'The Nutcracker Suite' by Tchaikovsky
  'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' by Lennon and McCartney
• discover two-beat time (like a march) and three-beat time (like a waltz) by
  using gestures to accompany music
  listening and responding to marches with the walking motion: left, right, left,
  right
  'Stars and Stripes Forever' by Sousa
  'When the Saints Go Marching In' -- traditional
  listening and responding to waltzes, with the dancing motion: one-two-three,
  one-two-three
  'The Marino Waltz' performed by M. Howard and J. Sheahan
  'The Blue Danube' by J. Strauss
• experience six-eight time (like a jig)
  'Saddle the Pony'
  'The Blackthorn Stick'.

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
History: Story; Early people and ancient societies; Continuity and change over time; Local studies; Feasts and festivals in the past

Strand: Performing

Strand unit: Song singing

The child should be enabled to

Unison singing

• sing from memory a widening repertoire of songs with increasing vocal control, confidence and expression
  amhráin Ghaeilge
  playground songs and games
  folk tunes from other countries
  action songs
  simple rounds or canons
  call-and-response type songs
  simple hymns or carols
  these should include:
  pentatonic songs (based on five notes: d, r, m, s, l)
  songs in major and minor keys
• show greater control of pulse (steady beat) and tempo while singing well known tunes
  singing the tune while clapping or tapping the beat and keeping the correct tempo
• understand the difference between beat and rhythm
  in groups: keeping the beat, tapping the rhythm, singing the song
  individually: marching to the beat, tapping the rhythm
  and singing the song
• perform familiar songs with increasing understanding and control of pitch (accurate intervals) and extended vocal range
  'The Cuckoo' -- German folk song
  'Bog Braon don Seanduine'
  'Tzena, Tzena' -- Israeli folk song
• perform familiar songs with increasing awareness of dynamics, phrasing (appropriate breaks in the music) and expression
  suantraí
  'Dún do Shúile', using breath support to perform expressively
• notice differences created between the sections of songs in various forms
  verse and refrain
  call-and-response
  solo-chorus
  question-and-answer
  four-line song structure (as in poetry or verse)

Simple part singing

• perform a rhythmic or melodic ostinato (a pattern that is repeated over and over) or a drone (long, held notes) to accompany a song
  rhythmic
  tap or clap a pattern such as
  while singing 'Frère Jacques'
  melodic (in groups)
  one group sings 'Pour on water -- ' (s f m m) while another sings 'London's burning'
  one group sings 'Frère Jacques' while another holds the note 'doh'
• perform, in groups, simple rounds in two or more parts
  'Three Blind Mice'
  'Ceol Ars' an tAsal'
  'Oh! How Lovely is the Evening'.

Strand unit: Literacy

The child should be enabled to

Rhythm

• identify and define the rhythm patterns of well-known songs and chants
  
• recognise and use some standard symbols to notate metre (time) and rhythm
  one beat (crotchet)
  half beat (quaver)
  one-beat rest (crotchet rest)
  two beats (minim) as rhythm patterns in stick notation
  
  

Pitch

• recognise and sing familiar, simple tunes in a variety of ways
  hummed
  sung to one syllable (e.g. da da da)
  from hand signs
  sung in tonic solfa
  'Here we go looby loo' -- d d d m d s
• recognise the shape (contour) of melodies on a graphic score or in standard notation
  'Green Grow the Rushes Ho!' -- starts high, moves downwards in leaps, returns to high notes and eventually finishes on a low note
• use standard symbols to identify and sing a limited range of notes and melodic patterns*
  tonic solfa
  hand signs
  rhythm-solfa (stick notation with solfa names)
  
  simplified staff notation
  
  finger stave (each finger represents a line on the stave)
  
  full staff notation (five lines).
  
  
  

Strand unit: Literacy

The child should be enabled to

Rhythm and pitch

• use standard symbols to notate simple rhythm and pitch
  stick notation with solfa names written underneath
  'Rocky Mountain' -- American folk song
  
  simplified staff notation (two or three lines)
  
  or at a higher pitch
  
  staff notation (five lines)
  
• discover how pentatonic tunes (based on five notes: d, r, m, s, l) can be read, sung and played in G doh, C doh, or F doh
  familiar tune
  'Liza Jane' in staff notation (F doh)
  
  'Óró 'Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile' (G doh)
  

Strand unit: Playing instruments

The child should be enabled to

• discover different ways of playing percussion and melodic instruments
  letting the stick bounce on the chime bar to create a long, vibrating sound
  clamping the sound on a triangle by placing a hand on it
  scraping or striking a drum
  covering a number of holes on a tin whistle to eliminate squeaky sounds
• use percussion instruments to show the beat or rhythm in accompanying songs or rhythmic chants
  play a rhythmic ostinato (a pattern that is repeated over and over) to accompany a familiar melody
• identify and perform simple, familiar tunes from memory or from notation
  using tuned percussion instruments, selected chime bars, or adjusted glockenspiel or xylophone
  using melodic instruments
  tin whistle or recorder
  playing pentatonic tunes (based on five notes: d, r, m, s, l) on the black keys of a keyboard instrument.

Strand: Composing

Strand unit: Improvising and creating

The child should be enabled to

• select different kinds of sounds (voice, body percussion, untuned and tuned percussion, simple melodic instruments, electronic instruments) to portray a character, a sequence of events or an atmosphere in sound stories
  characters
  a clown, an old man, a spy
  sequences of events including sound effects
  a walk in the jungle
  an accident
  atmosphere in sound
  space music
  carnival music
• invent and perform simple musical pieces that show a developing awareness of musical elements
  pulse, rhythm, melody, dynamics (loud/soft), structure (beginning, middle, end, repetition) and texture (sound combinations)
  simple melody accompanied by a steady pulse as a first section, a contrasting middle section and then the melody repeated again
  'All at Sea'
  soft, high pitch, fast: plankton, little fish (small triangle)
  medium pitch: dolphin (melodic instrument)
  loud, short sound: shark (cymbal struck on the side)
  soft, long sound: eels (chime bars or gong)
• recall, answer and invent simple melodic and rhythmic patterns, using voice, body percussion and instruments
  singing conversations
  teacher: 'l s m r ...'
  child: 'm r d d'
  or using melodic instruments
  ostinato (a pattern that is repeated) to familiar songs
  clap or tap ti ti rest ti ti ta
  while singing 'Train is a-coming'.

Strand unit: Talking about and recording compositions

The child should be enabled to

• describe and discuss his/her work and the work of other children
  how the instruments were selected
  how the sounds were produced
  what effects they produced
  whether he/she succeeded in his/her intentions
  what changes are necessary
  how he/she enjoyed exploring the sounds, alone or with others, and what he/she liked best
• devise and use graphic symbols and/or use standard notation to record simple musical patterns and inventions
  graphic symbols
  
  standard notation
  
  
• record compositions on electronic media
  using the school equipment, a child's basic tape recorder, keyboard, computer.

Linkage
Listening and responding -- Exploring sound
Performing -- Playing instruments (patterns explored in the literacy strand unit may be incorporated into the child's improvisations and compositions)
Integration
Visual arts: Drawing; Paint; Elements of art -- An awareness of line, shape, pattern
History: Story; Local studies -- Feasts and festivals in the past