Year 7

Rhythm and The Elements

Name: Form:
Performance Lesson 1:

Teacher:

2
Performance Lesson 1:

Objectives

Your objectives for this module are:

Performance:

To learn how to read and perform simple rhythms accurately

To perform a piece of music in time to the beat

Composition:

To learn what composition is

To use your own ideas to compose a rhythmic piece
To compose a piece of music using different elements of music

Listening:

Listen to a variety of music

To be able to identify the beat of a piece of music
To learn to identify the time signature of a piece
To be able to identify the use of the elements of music in other composers
works

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Performance Lesson 1: Title:
Composer:
Sounds and Symbols Dates:

Sound is often represented with symbols. Look at these symbols and make up
a sound for each one.

Task:
1) Get into a group of four.
2) Pick a sound each.
3) Experiment with these sounds make them longer, shorter, higher,
lower, louder and quieter.
4) Now layer your chosen sounds with everyone performing together,
put the different sounds on top of each other and explore the
effects created by combining them.

Perform your sound collage to the rest of the class!

Congratulations! You have now written and performed your first

composition. Title:
Composer: p (piano) = quiet
The Elements Dates:

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Performance Lesson 1:
Without even realising it, you have started to explore the elements of music.
When music is composed (written), composers use sound in many ways to
create contrasts and make the music interesting.

Fill in the definitions for each element below.

Pitch How high or low a note or sound is.

Tempo

Dynamics

Duration

Silence

Timbre

Rhythm

Now think about how you could change your symbols to show changes in the
elements and put some ideas in the last column.
= crotchet
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Performance Lesson 2:

Haunted House Worksheet

There are four families of instruments

6 brass, woodwind, percussions and strings
Performance Lesson 2:

Haunted House

Names:

Key:

7
Theory Lesson 1: Title:
Composer:
Feel The Beat!
Dates:

When soldiers march behind a band, their footsteps are absolutely regular and
even. The music helps to keep them together. Sometimes a drum will be struck
with every footstep. We say that the music has a steady _______ or
_______, and that the soldiers are marching ___________ to the music.

Each square is a beat. There are eight beats in total. Where there is a circle in
a square, clap on the beat. When the square is empty, dont clap!

Rhythm 1:

Rhythm 2:

Rhythm 3:

Rhythm 4:

8
f (forte) = loud
Theory Lesson 1:
Listening and dictation.

Now listen to the beats and put circles in the correct squares. When you
write down something as you hear it, it is called dictation.

/8

/8

/8

/8

/8

When there is a gap in music, it is called a rest.

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Theory Lesson 1:

Performing in Two Parts = treble clef

On your own, clap through Part A and Part B.

Find a partner and clap both parts at the same time.

Part A:

Part B:

REMEMBER listen to each other and try not to speed up or slow

down!

My first composition!
In pairs
Put your name and your partners name in the spaces.
Compose a part each and fill in the squares for each part.
Practice both parts together, ready to perform.

______________

______________

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Theory Lesson 1:
Congratulations! You have now written and performed your second
composition. Title:
= sharp
Composer:
Rhythm!
Dates:

When notes are arranged into a pattern, this is called rhythm.

All rhythms have a beat or pulse.

When there are two circles in a square, you have to clap twice in that
beat. Try to make them as even as possible.

Listen to these rhythms, then join in when you are ready.

Now try this monster length rhythm!

Use the numbers to help you keep your place.

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
3 4

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Theory Lesson 1:

To make music easier, we divide beats into regular groups these

groups are called bars. The rhythm above is divided into bars - each
bar has four beats in it.
Dictation
h = minim

Listen carefully! How many circles need to go in each box?

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

/8

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

/8

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

/8

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Theory Lesson 1:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

/8

Turning circles into

Face in the space
Crotchets and Quavers

Clap the rhythm

Now look at the rhythm below and spot the differences! What does it
look like?

Without realising it, you can read basic rhythms using crotchets and
quavers

Notes: names and values

This is how we write rhythms in music. Each note has a different length
(or value), a specific name, and a rest of the same value.

beat Quaver

1 beat Crotchet

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Theory Lesson 1:

2 beats Minim

4 beats Semibreve
Title:
Composer:
Musical Maths
Dates:
Give it a go! Ensemble = a group of musicians
Add or subtract the beats:

e.g. += 4
(2 + 2 = 4)

+ + =
+ + =

- + =
- + =

+ + =
+ + =

+ - + =
+ - + =

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Theory Lesson 1:

Now make up some of your own and swap them with your partner!

b = flat

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 Musical Maths
Your Turn!

+ + =
+ + =

- + =
- + =

+ + =
+ + =

+ - + =
+ - + =

4
4 Time signature
Notes on the stave Lesson 1
 Pitch

We have already discovered the word pitch. Pitch describes how ________ or _______ a
sound is. When we talk about specific pitches in music, we use a musical alphabet, it goes like
this c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c.

So that we know which pitch to play, we use a stave. A stave is a set of five lines that looks
like this:

The symbol at the beginning is called a treble clef. See if you can draw a line of treble clefs
on the stave.

Each line and space on the stave shows a letter of the musical alphabet.

First well have a look at the spaces. There is an easy way to remember which notes are in
the spaces just remember face in the space.

To learn the lines, we use rhymes

Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit
Elephants Go Backwards Down Fire-escapes
Every Green Bogey Deserves Flicking

Task: Make up your own rhyme to help you remember the notes on the lines.

E___________ G___________ B___________ D___________ F____________

Time to practice!
So, now you know the notes on the stave. You might notice some extra notes and lines on the
stave below. If we need to write pitches that are higher or lower than the ones you have
already learned, we add ledger lines.

Task:

Name these notes and their note values

Now put the right note values in the right place

B F C G D
Crotchet Minim Semibreve Quaver Minim

A E C G E
Semibreve Quaver Minim Crotchet Quaver
 Key Words and Symbols

Bar
Beat Tempo
Compose Timbre
Crotchet
Dictation

Duration
Dynamics
Elements
Forte
Fortissimo

pp
Mezzo Forte
p
Mezzo Piano
Minim mp
Pianissimo mf
Piano
f
Pitch f
Pulse
Quaver
Rhythm
Semibreve

Silence
Name:___________________ Rhythm and The Elements Course Evaluation Sheet Year 7

List three things you have particularly enjoyed during this unit, and why:

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2)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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List three things you have not enjoyed during this unit, and why:

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2)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Is there anything you feel could be added or improved?

Name:___________________ Rhythm and The Elements Self Evaluation Sheet Year 7

List three things you feel you have done particularly well or made good progress with:

1)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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List three things you feel you could have improved on:

1)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3)________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Set yourself a personal target for the next unit: