Key Stage 1 music · Singing and performing

KS1 music: singing songs, a guide for parents

In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs. This is the main way young children make music, because everyone has a voice and no equipment is needed. Lessons build habits that later music lessons depend on: listening carefully, copying a tune, keeping in time with others and singing with feeling rather than just getting through the words.

Singing songs, explained

The curriculum says only that children should use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs, so schools choose which songs to teach. A typical Key Stage 1 collection mixes traditional songs and nursery rhymes, action songs, songs from different countries and cultures, songs linked to the class topic or the seasons, and a few that children will sing together in assembly or at a Christmas or summer performance. Most are short, repeat a chorus and sit in a small range of notes, because young voices are light and cope best when the tune doesn’t jump about too much.

Teachers spend more time on how to sing than parents often expect. Children are shown how to sit or stand with a long back and relaxed shoulders, how to breathe in quietly before a line, and how to open their mouths so the words come out clearly. Lessons often begin with a warm-up: humming, sliding the voice up and down like a siren, or copying a short pattern the teacher sings. Children are also taught the difference between a speaking voice and a singing voice, and that singing is not the same as shouting. A good singing sound is clear and gentle, even when the song is loud.

“Expressively” means singing so that the listener can hear what the song is about. A lullaby should sound calm and a marching song strong and bouncy. Teachers ask children to think about how the song feels and to show it with the face, the voice and sometimes the body, for example by getting quieter at the end of a verse or slower on the last line. “Creatively” means children are also invited to change things: make up a new verse, swap an animal for another one, add actions or decide where to sing quietly and where to sing loudly. This is the first step towards composing.

Children are not expected to sing perfectly in tune by the end of Year 2. Some find it easy to match a tune and some need many months of practice, in the same way that some children read earlier than others. What teachers listen for is whether a child joins in, watches and listens to the group, starts and stops together with everyone else and is beginning to follow the shape of the tune. Many schools also record the class singing so that children can listen back and say what went well, which is one sensible use of technology at this age.

Words your child will hear

Pitch: How high or low a note sounds. A tune goes up and down in pitch.
Melody: The tune of a song, the part you can hum.
Verse and chorus: A verse tells a new part of the story; the chorus is the part that comes back each time.
Unison: Everyone singing the same tune at the same time.
Warm-up: Gentle humming, sliding and copying that gets the voice ready before singing.
Echo: Singing a line straight back after the leader, the way an echo repeats a sound.
Expression: Showing the feeling of a song through the voice and face, for example gentle, bouncy or sleepy.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

Pupils should be taught to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
Aim: pupils learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.

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

Try it: learning a new song the way a teacher would

A class is learning a short traditional song with a repeated chorus. How does the teacher help the children sing it well?

Talk first. The teacher asks what the song is about and what it should feel like: sleepy, jolly or spooky? Children decide the mood before they sing a note, so the singing has a purpose.
Echo, line by line. The teacher sings one line and the children sing it straight back, with the teacher showing the tune going up and down with a hand. Short lines mean every child gets the words and the tune right before moving on.
Put the lines together and sing the whole song with a steady beat, tapping knees or patting along. Children listen for the place where the whole class breathes in together.
Add expression. The class tries the chorus loud and bouncy, then quiet and creeping, and decides which suits the song better. Some children suggest actions for the chorus.
Be creative. The children choose a new word for the last verse, such as another animal or a different kind of weather, and fit it into the tune so the rhythm still works.
Perform and review. The class sings it for another class, then talks about what went well, such as starting together, clear words and a lovely quiet ending, and what to improve next time.

A successful lesson doesn’t finish with a perfect performance. It finishes with children who know the words and the tune, can sing together and start and stop on time, have made at least one choice about how the song should sound, and can say in their own words what they liked about it.

Common mistakes and how to help

“I can’t sing” or “my child can’t sing”

Children sometimes sing a tune that doesn’t go up and down in the right places, and a comment from a sibling or an adult can make them decide they are no good. Matching pitch is a skill that develops with practice and listening, and it usually improves a great deal during these years.

What helps: Keep singing relaxed and normal at home, and don’t correct the tune. Singing along with other people helps a child’s voice settle, and a short slide or siren sound is a good way to practise moving the voice.

Thinking loud singing is good singing

Young children often push their voices to show enthusiasm, which makes the sound harsh and the tune harder to hear. When they sing in a group they may also try to be heard above everyone else.

What helps: Say that a good singer can be heard but also hears the people next to them. Practise singing the same song very quietly and then at a medium volume, and ask which sounded nicer.

Singing the words but not the tune, or speaking them in a flat voice

Some children put all their effort into remembering the words and haven’t yet noticed that the voice should move up and down with the tune.

What helps: Hum the tune on its own first, then add the words. Show the shape of the tune with your hand, going up and down, and ask your child to follow it.

Thinking songs are only for performing in front of people

Children see singing as something that happens in assembly or on a stage, so they may feel shy or silly when it happens at home.

What helps: Make singing part of daily life: in the car, while tidying up or at bath time. Singing is just another way of using the voice, like talking, and everyone in the family can join in without anyone watching.

How to help at home

Sing together every day. Choose one song from school, a lullaby or a family favourite and sing it while you do something else, such as walking or washing up. Children learn to sing by hearing and joining in, so it matters more that you are singing than how you sound.
Echo and slide games. Sing a short, simple phrase for your child to copy, then swap and let them lead. Add a siren game where your voice slides up like a rocket and down like a falling leaf. It trains the ear and the voice together.
Change the words. Take a song your child knows and make a new verse together, swapping a character, a food or a place. This is the creative part of the curriculum, and it also helps children notice rhythm and rhyme.
Sing it three ways. Sing a song once as if you are very sleepy, once as if you are excited, and once as a whisper. Ask which one fitted the song best and why. It teaches children that singers make choices.
Listen back. If you like, record your child singing on a phone and play it back, then ask what they liked and what they would change. Keep it kind and short, and let them choose whether anyone else hears it.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Solo performance
Key Stage 2: Ensemble performance