Key Stage 1 music · Listening

KS1 music: listening to live music, a guide for parents

In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music. Live music is a different experience from a recording: children can see how a sound is made, watch the players communicate and feel the sound in the room. Schools use visiting musicians, performances by older pupils and the children’s own performances to teach them how to listen and respond.

Listening to live music, explained

The curriculum asks for live as well as recorded music, but doesn’t say who should play it, so schools use what they can. Typical sources are a visiting musician or small group who bring instruments into school, a local music service or community group, older pupils or a school choir, parents and staff who play, and the class performing to each other. Some schools take pupils to a concert or theatre, and many invite families to assemblies and concerts. A live performance does not need to be professional: a friend playing a recorder or a parent strumming a guitar is also live music.

Watching a live performance teaches things a recording can’t. Children see how an instrument is held and played, why a trumpet looks different from a violin, and how the performer’s breathing, arms and face show when the piece is about to start, speed up or end. They notice players looking at each other to start together and the pleasure of a performer sharing music with them. Some performers let children handle the instruments or ask questions afterwards, so the visit becomes a conversation as well as a show.

Teachers also teach how to be a good audience, because it is part of concentrated listening. Children learn to settle quickly, watch and listen without chatting, and show appreciation by clapping at the end. They are told that some performances invite them to join in, and then they should do so, while at others a quiet audience is better. They learn that performers can make mistakes and carry on, and that a kind audience helps everyone, whether it is a visitor or a classmate.

As with recorded music, children are asked to respond using the language of music: was it loud or quiet, fast or slow, high or low, and what instruments could they see and hear? They may be asked which part they liked best and why, or what the music made them think of. The overall aim of the curriculum is that children listen to, review and evaluate music, and in Key Stage 1 this begins with simple comments of this kind. It is also the first stage of the listening skills they will need in Key Stage 2.

Words your child will hear

Live music: Music played by people in front of you, rather than from a recording.
Performer: A person or group who plays or sings for an audience.
Audience: The people who listen and watch a performance.
Concert: A performance of music, in a hall, school or outdoors.
Applause: Clapping at the end of a piece to show you enjoyed it.
Instrument: Something used to make music, such as a violin, drum or trumpet.
Review: To say what you thought of a performance and why.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

Pupils should be taught to listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
Aim: pupils perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: getting the most from a visiting musician

A violinist is visiting a Year 1 class to play three short pieces and answer questions. How does a teacher help the children listen well and respond?

Before the visit, the class talks about what they might see and hear, thinks of two questions to ask, and practises being a good audience: sitting still, watching the player and clapping at the end.
During the first piece, the teacher asks the children to simply look and listen. They notice how the player holds the instrument, moves the bow and which parts move.
Before the second piece, the musician asks the children to listen for loud and quiet. Afterwards the children say that it started gently and became louder, and some show it with their hands.
Before the third piece, the children are asked to listen for fast and slow, and are allowed to tap the beat on their knees. The musician plays the same tune slowly and then quickly so they can compare.
Afterwards the children ask their questions, such as “How many strings does it have?” and “How long did it take you to learn?”, and later the class talks or draws about what they liked best.

A good response sounds like: “I liked the second piece because it started quiet and got loud. The violin made a high, bright sound and then a lower, warmer one. The player moved her arm to the beat.” The child has watched, listened for specific things, used music words and given a reason for their opinion.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking live music has to be perfect, or that a mistake ruins it

Children are used to polished recordings where errors are edited out. They may be upset by a slip in a performance, or hold back from performing in case they get it wrong.

What helps: Explain that live performers keep going if something goes wrong, and that mistakes are part of live music. Praise the child for carrying on and finishing.

Believing the audience must always be silent

Children are told to listen quietly at concerts and don’t realise that some music is meant to be joined in with, for example by clapping along or singing.

What helps: Say that a good audience watches for clues. If the performer invites you to clap or sing, join in; if not, wait until the end. Ask the musician or teacher if you’re not sure.

Thinking “live music” means only a big concert by professionals

Children link live music with stages, tickets and loud bands, so they may not think of a classmate or relative playing as a real performance.

What helps: Treat every performance as worth listening to: a friend’s recorder piece, a school choir or a street musician you stop to hear together. All of them are live music and all of them need a good audience.

Thinking recordings and live music sound the same

Children hear recordings so often that they don’t notice what changes in a room: the sound is fuller, you can see how it is made, and each performance is a little different.

What helps: If you can, hear the same tune live and recorded and ask what was different. Notice the way the performer breathes or moves and how the sound fills the space.

How to help at home

Find free live music nearby. Look for free or low-cost live music in your area, such as school and community concerts, a library or church performance, a local choir or a lunchtime recital. Keep it short for young children and sit near the front where they can see.
Ask a musician you know. If a relative or friend plays an instrument, ask them to play a short piece for your child and show how the sound is made. Let your child ask questions, and perhaps try a note.
Practise being an audience. Have your child perform a song or a rhythm for the family, and take turns performing. The audience waits quietly, watches and claps when it finishes. It builds confidence for both roles.
Talk about what you saw and heard. After any performance, ask: what instruments did you see? Was it loud or quiet, fast or slow? What was your favourite bit? Draw the instrument or write a sentence about it.
Listen for street music, with a grown-up. When you are out in a safe, quiet place with a grown-up, such as a park bandstand or market, stop and listen to any live music for a minute. Stay with your child and well away from roads.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Listening and aural memory