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Year 1

Feeling the pulse and playing the beat

I can play a steady beat on my instrument as we sing.

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New
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Year 1

Feeling the pulse and playing the beat

I can play a steady beat on my instrument as we sing.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. We warm up before singing so that our bodies, minds and voices are ready to sing.
  2. We can sing and move in time to the music and know that pulse is the steady heartbeat of the music.
  3. We can play a steady beat on percussion instruments as we sing and chant.

Keywords

  • Pulse - the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

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

  • Instrument - a device used to make a musical sound

  • Percussion - an instrument played by striking, scraping or shaking

Common misconception

Pulse, beat and rhythm are the same thing.

Pulse is the regular heartbeat of the music. Beat is what we play or show when making the pulse audible or visible. Rhythm is the pattern of sounds and silences of differing durations.


To help you plan your year 1 music lesson on: Feeling the pulse and playing the beat, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider your instruments carefully, if you have a good selection. Choose instruments where children can strike the beat clearly and easily, for example a drum or claves, not a triangle or shakers.
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equipment-required

Equipment

Drums, class set of claves. Optional: lemonade cup prop.

copyright

Licence

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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Starter quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Match the warm up exercise to the part of the body we are warming up.
Correct Answer:filling up our imaginary balloons,breathing
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breathing

Correct Answer:circling our arms,whole body
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whole body

Correct Answer:making funny faces,face
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face

Correct Answer:making zzz sounds go higher and lower,voice
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voice

Q2.
When we use our speaking voice in time to the pulse, we are...
Correct Answer: chanting, Chanting, Doing a chant, doing a chant
Q3.
What do we call the regular, steady heartbeat of the music?
Correct Answer: pulse, Pulse, the pulse, The pulse
Q4.
Match the song structure to the definition.
Correct Answer:echo,an exact copy of a musical phrase
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an exact copy of a musical phrase

Correct Answer:call and response,a question and answer musical structure
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a question and answer musical structure

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
When we play instruments on the steady pulse, we are playing on the...
Correct Answer: beat, Beat
Q2.
The beat is...
Correct answer: the playing of the pulse, like the ticking of a clock.
how loud or quiet the music is.
when there is a drum playing in the music.
Q3.
In music, we need to develop our sense of pulse because...
it helps us know how loud the music is.
it helps us know what instruments are playing.
Correct answer: it helps us to sing, play and move in time.
Q4.
Can you put the call and response song Lemonade in the correct order?
1 - Here I come!
2 - Where from?
3 - Bristol.
4 - What's your trade?
5 - Lemonade.
6 - Give us some don't be afraid.