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Year 1

Using tempo to tell a musical story

I can use tempo changes to tell a musical story.

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New
New
Year 1

Using tempo to tell a musical story

I can use tempo changes to tell a musical story.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. It is helpful to sing and play at different tempi to practise feeling the pulse and following the beat.
  2. We know a piece of music can speed up (accelerando) or slow down (rallentando).
  3. Different tempi and tempo changes can help to tell a musical story.

Keywords

  • Tempo - how fast or slow the music is played

  • Pulse - the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

  • Beat - the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock

  • Accelerando - gradually getting faster

  • Rallentando - gradually getting slower

Common misconception

Feeling the beat doesn't need practising.

Singing games are really useful to help us practise the beat, especially when it is very slow or very fast. We need to practise the beat at lots of different tempi.


To help you plan your year 1 music lesson on: Using tempo to tell a musical story, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Make time for singing games as through shared movement, pupils can continue to develop their sense of pulse and understanding of beat.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
The regular, steady heartbeat of the music is called the...
An image in a quiz
tempo
Correct answer: pulse
structure
Q2.
Tempo describes the __________ of the music.
An image in a quiz
dynamic
pitch
Correct answer: speed
Q3.
When music accelerates it is getting .
Correct Answer: faster, quicker, Faster, Quicker
Q4.
When music decelerates it is getting .
Correct Answer: slower, Slower

4 Questions

Q1.
True or false, tempo always stays the same in a piece of music.
An image in a quiz
True
Correct answer: False
Q2.
Match the musical term to the definition.
Correct Answer:accelerando,gradually getting faster
tick

gradually getting faster

Correct Answer:rallentando,gradually getting slower
tick

gradually getting slower

Correct Answer:tempo,how fast or slow the music is played
tick

how fast or slow the music is played

Q3.
Music with a beat has a fast tempo.
Correct Answer: fast, quick, Fast, Quick
Q4.
Why is it helpful to play and sing at different tempi?
To develop our understanding of pitch.
To develop our control of dynamics.
Correct answer: To develop our sense of pulse and feel for the beat.