Music at key stages 1 and 2    (Year 3/4)

• Revise any pentatonic songs sung during key stage 1, eg Rain, rain go away.
• Sing a range of folk songs based on a pentatonic scale, eg Hush little baby, Land of the silver birch, I got a robe, Who built the ark, Little David play on your harp, Swing low sweet chariot. Explain that pentatonic songs are based on a five-note scale and have been sung for hundreds of years in many countries. If possible, play the pentatonic scale for each song to the class before the song is sung. Unit 8: Singing

• Use chime or tone bars to make up a pentatonic scale of C: C D E G A. Invite a few children to come forward, one at a time, to make up and play simple five- or seven-note melodies using the notes of the prepared pentatonic scale. Tell them that they can start and finish anywhere, they do not have to use all the notes, they can play any note more than once, and that they can either move in steps or jump around. It is likely that the children will keep to a simple rhythm based on notes of equal length. Play each tune two or more times. Copy the tunes by singing to 'la'. Talk about the tunes. Unit 8: Listening (aural memory)

• Ask the children to try playing two pentatonic tunes together. How can we make them fit together, eg playing them at the same speed (tempo)? Encourage children to think about pulse and how this can be used to help the tunes fit together. Ask the children to repeat their tunes again and again as the class claps or taps the pulse.
• Using the pentatonic scale of C D E G A, make up an accompaniment to a pentatonic song sung in the key of C. There are several types of accompaniment you can use:
• Drone: This can be either a single note or two or more notes played together. A drone sounds best when played slowly on an instrument with a sustained tone, eg pitched percussion with metal bars. Accompany the song with a drone using the bass note C and G played together
• Melodic ostinati: Ask the children to make up a tune to the rhythm of words selected from the song using three notes of the C pentatonic scale. Play it over and over again throughout the singing of the song. Try just playing it now and then
• Try changing the notes to make different pentatonic scales. Discuss the different effects. Which scales could be used to describe a misty day, a sunny day, a dark cave, a waterfall?

• Using the pentatonic scale (C D E G A), make up a dragon song. First make a collection of sentences describing dragons. Start with the words 'Dragon, dragon ...', eg Dragon, dragon breathing fire/puffing smoke/swishing tail. Invite individual children to make up a pentatonic tune for each sentence. Follow the simple rhythm of the words.
• Sit the players and their pitched instruments in a circle and ask them to play and sing their tunes one at a time. The listening children can sing each phrase back. Ask for comments. Put two, three or four phrases together to make an extended composition - think about the order of the tunes. Which one makes a good start/finish? Do any go well together if they are played at the same time?
• Create an accompaniment for the song. Experiment with drone and melodic ostinati, and with different tuned instruments, until you have created a satisfactory accompaniment to the whole dragon song.
• Make up dragon music for dancing in a procession. Use untuned percussion instruments to create an impression of fire and smoke, lashing tails and snapping teeth. Combine cymbals with drums and tambours to create a feeling of grandeur and movement. Jingling instruments could be used to suggest the dragon's heap of treasure.