Key Stage 1 · ages 5 to 7
Key Stage 1 music: what your child learns
In Years 1 and 2, children sing songs, speak chants and rhymes, and play tuned and untuned instruments. They explore pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure, and combine sounds to make their own short pieces. They also listen carefully to live and recorded music, and schools choose which music and instruments they use.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 1 music
Chants and rhymes
How Year 1 and 2 children speak chants and rhymes in rhythm, why clapping syllables and playing with voices matter, common mix-ups and easy ways to practise at home.
Key Stage 1 music
Creating and combining sounds
How Year 1 and 2 children make up their own music: trying out sounds, choosing the ones that fit, combining them and recording ideas, with simple things to try at home.
Key Stage 1 music
Dynamics and tempo
What dynamics (loud and quiet) and tempo (fast and slow) mean in Year 1 and 2 music, how children use them in playing and composing, common mix-ups and games for home.
Key Stage 1 music
Listening to live music
How Year 1 and 2 children learn to listen to live music, from visiting musicians to school concerts, how to be a good audience, and ways to find live music near you.
Key Stage 1 music
Listening to recorded music
How Year 1 and 2 children learn to listen closely to recorded music from many times and places, what teachers ask them to notice and easy ways to listen at home.
Key Stage 1 music
Pitch and duration
What pitch (high and low) and duration (long and short) mean in Year 1 and 2 music, how children explore them with voices and instruments, common mix-ups and home ideas.
Key Stage 1 music
Singing songs
How Year 1 and 2 children learn to use their voices expressively when they sing, what teachers listen for, worries about “can’t sing” and easy ways to sing at home.
Key Stage 1 music
Timbre, texture and structure
What Year 1 and 2 children learn about timbre, texture and structure in music: how sounds differ, how layers build up and how a piece is shaped, with ideas for home.
Key Stage 1 music
Tuned instruments
How Year 1 and 2 children play glockenspiels, xylophones and chime bars musically, what notes and pitch mean, common mistakes and easy ways to practise at home.
Key Stage 1 music
Untuned instruments
How Year 1 and 2 children play drums, shakers, woodblocks and other untuned percussion musically, what teachers look for, common mix-ups and simple ways to play at home.
Everything in the Key Stage 1 music curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 1, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.