Discover and Explore KS1 Music for Children
Gaining an understanding of music for parents and teachers
Check out our KS1 Music topic.
Hands-On Education’s approach to music
This key stage 1 topic is a fun way for children to learn about music, science, design, and physical education. Your child will play games to discover body percussion, make up silly rhythms, and enjoy listening to recorded music. They will also have the opportunity to design and create their own musical instruments, which is a great way to encourage creativity and problem-solving skills.
This resource meets the National Curriculum of England in various subjects, including Design & Technology, Music, P.E, and Science. If you're looking for more activities for your classroom or home, don't forget to check out Hands-On Education's other key stage topics, which cover most points of the national curriculum for England. With a free account, you can access videos, activity sheets, and easy-to-understand activity plans to support your child's learning journey.
Ultimately, the key to making musical instruments from different resources is to experiment and have fun with the process.
Discover teaching songs with different instruments
Making musical instruments from a variety of resources is a fun and creative process that can result in a host of different sounds. Teaching your class or homeschool child how to make, explore and play different instruments from traditional materials like wood and metal, to more unconventional resources and structures like household objects or even fruits and vegetables, the possibilities to create new and different sounds are endless.
One example of a unique instrument is the PVC pipe organ. By cutting and tuning different lengths of PVC pipe, you can create a range of notes similar to a traditional organ or piano. One musical instrument from the history books is a cigar box guitar. Musicians made this using a cigar box as the body and a wooden dowel as the neck. This instrument is great for a child’s listening skills as it produces a distinctive bluesy sound that is both rustic and soulful.
Percussion Instruments in home and school
For percussion instruments, have your class develop instruments using objects like tin cans, water bottles, or even waste bins to create a variety of different sounds. By using different materials easily found in most schools and homes children can strike them, using sticks or mallets. When teaching tempo, rhythm or even singing your children or class can produce a range of tones from sharp and crisp to deep and resonant.
Ultimately, the key to making musical instruments from different resources is to experiment and have fun with the process. Children learn in lots of different ways any the dynamics of different sounds in music is vast. Don't be afraid to create song structures that an orchestra or individual would not typically perform. Make music fun, think outside the box and try new things, teachers and parents may be surprised by what kind of unique sound your teaching might produce!
Listening to a range of music
Exploring and listening to different genres and units of music can be a fun and exciting way to broaden your children’s understanding of the difference in sounds. Pitch and structure can be used to create unique and diverse musical experiences. Whether it's a classical orchestra, jazz band, rock group, or pop icon, every genre and artist have their own distinctive features that make them stand out from the rest. By discovering new sounds and styles, children and your music class can develop a greater appreciation for the art of music and the power it holds to captivate and inspire.
The important dynamics of musical history can be explored through the study of different instruments, listening skills and performances. From the earliest forms of music to modern-day compositions, the evolution of music has been shaped by a variety of cultural and social influences. By teaching the history of music, your class or home school child can gain insights into the cultural context of different styles and the ways in which they have been influenced by the world of music around them.
A final work on KS1 Music in England
In key stage one of the National Curriculum of England, songs, sounds and tempo are used to teach children an understanding of playing and listening to music. This approach helps to build a foundation of knowledge and appreciation for music that can be carried forward into later stages of education and throughout life. The ability to sing songs and enjoy singing can be very beneficial to a child’s mental health as well.
Hands-On Education encourage children to explore and experiment with different sounds and styles, helping them to develop a lifelong passion for music and the arts.
If you are looking beyond KS1 Music be sure to explore more of our exclusive topics. We cover key stage one learning across the national curriculum for England in:
