Key Stage 1 music · Playing instruments

KS1 music: untuned instruments, a guide for parents

In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to play tuned and untuned instruments musically. Untuned instruments, such as drums, shakers, tambourines, woodblocks and triangles, make sounds without playing a particular note, which makes them the easiest way into playing in a group. The word that matters in the curriculum is “musically”: it is not enough to bang something, children learn to play with control, in time and with a reason.

Untuned instruments, explained

Untuned means the instrument doesn’t play a set note you can name. Hit a woodblock and you get a short, dry knock; shake a maraca and you get a rattle. Most are percussion instruments, played by hitting, shaking or scraping them. The curriculum names no particular instruments, so schools choose from what they have. Typical Key Stage 1 collections include hand drums, tambourines, claves, maracas, shakers, guiros, triangles, finger cymbals, jingle bells and woodblocks, and children’s own body percussion: clapping, patting, clicking and stamping.

Children are taught how each instrument is played, because holding it correctly changes the sound. A triangle is held by its loop so it can ring, then struck with a beater and left to ring, or stopped by gently holding the metal. A tambourine can be shaken or tapped with the hand. A hand drum is played with the fingers, the flat of the hand or a soft beater, letting the hand or beater bounce straight off the skin. Children learn to pick up and put down instruments quietly, and to rest them on their laps while a friend plays, which is as much a part of playing in a group as hitting the drum.

Playing “musically” means the player is listening. Children learn to keep a steady beat, copy a short rhythm played by the teacher, start and stop together on a signal, and play loudly or quietly when asked. They also learn that every instrument has its own sound, called its timbre, and that choosing the right one matters: a shaker can sound like rain, a drum like thunder or footsteps, a triangle like a drip of water. Making these choices links to the objective about experimenting with, creating, selecting and combining sounds.

Over the two years, children begin to build short pieces of their own, such as a soundscape of a storm or an accompaniment for a chant, deciding who plays what and in what order. They may use picture symbols, for example a big dot for a loud sound and a small dot for a quiet one, to remember their plan. Teachers listen for control rather than skill: does the child hold the instrument properly, watch the leader, play only when it is their turn, and make the sound match the idea?

Words your child will hear

Untuned: An instrument that makes a sound without a particular note, such as a drum or shaker.
Percussion: Instruments played by hitting, shaking or scraping.
Beat: The steady pulse that players keep together.
Rhythm: A pattern of long and short sounds played over the beat.
Timbre: The quality of a sound, which tells you whether it is a drum, a shaker or a bell.
Body percussion: Using clapping, patting, clicking and stamping as instruments.
Rest: A moment of silence where you do not play.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 1, pupils should be taught to:

Play tuned and untuned instruments musically
Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music

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

Try it: a rainstorm for untuned instruments

A class of six children has a shaker, a drum, a triangle, two woodblocks and a tambourine. How do they plan and play a short piece about a rainstorm?

Explore first. Each child tries their instrument, hitting, shaking and scraping, and says what it sounds like. The shaker is “light rain”, the woodblock is “big drops on a window”, the drum is “thunder” and the triangle is “lightning”.
Choose the order. The class decides that the storm starts with a few gentle drops (one woodblock), then more drops arrive (second woodblock and tambourine), then heavy rain (shaker played loudly), then a flash of lightning (the triangle) and thunder (the drum), and then it fades away.
Plan the dynamics. They draw big and small circles on a sheet of paper to show where each instrument plays loudly or quietly, and put them in a row from left to right so everyone knows when to join in.
Practise with a conductor. The teacher, or a child chosen as conductor, points to the symbols one by one. Players watch, play when their symbol is pointed to and stop when the conductor’s hand closes.
Perform and review. The class plays the storm for friends, then discusses: did the rain build up slowly, did the thunder fit, did anyone play at the wrong time? They change one thing and play again.

There is no single right storm. A good result is a piece with a beginning, middle and end in which each child chooses an instrument for a reason, plays only when it is their turn, changes the loudness on cue and can say why the order of sounds works.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking louder playing is better playing

Children find that a drum makes a satisfying noise when hit hard, and with a group all playing at once it is easy to get carried away. Everyone ends up trying to be heard.

What helps: Play a quiet-and-loud game: play very softly so you can hear the person next to you, then build to loud together. Say that good players control the sound and listen to everyone else.

Believing everyone should play all the time

In a group, children think that sitting out means doing nothing. Silence is also a part of music, but it is not obvious to a young child.

What helps: Treat the rest as playing a very quiet part. Try a piece where players take it in turns, and talk about how the rests make the playing sound clearer.

Thinking untuned instruments are toys or “not real” music

Because they are easy to pick up and make a noise, children (and sometimes adults) assume there is nothing to learn. Free play is useful, but it is not yet the same as playing musically.

What helps: Notice and name the skills: a steady beat, a good start, a good stop. Ask your child to copy a short rhythm exactly. They will find it is harder than it looks.

Thinking all drums or shakers sound the same

Children often name an instrument by what it looks like rather than by listening, so a maraca and an egg shaker both become “shakers”.

What helps: Play two similar instruments behind a screen, such as a book, and ask which is which. Describe the difference in words: dry, ringing, rattly, thudding, tinkling.

How to help at home

Make a kitchen band. Find safe things to hit or shake, such as a wooden spoon on a plastic tub, a pot lid with a soft mallet, or rice in a closed container. Always supervise anything that might break. Ask your child what each one sounds like and put it in a band.
Copycat rhythms. Clap or tap a short pattern for your child to copy, starting with two or three sounds. Then swap. This is exactly how teachers check for control.
Start, stop and quiet, loud. Play your band along to a favourite song, with one person as conductor. A raised hand means loud and a lowered hand means quiet, and a closed fist means stop. Take turns being the conductor.
Soundscape story. Read a short story and add sounds at key moments, such as shaking for wind or tapping for footsteps. Ask which instrument fits each part best, and why.
Body percussion walk. Clap, pat, click and stamp a steady beat while walking around the garden or park with a grown-up, then change the pattern halfway through. No equipment, and it practises keeping the beat.