The Grange Academy
Music – Year 6
Rhythm & Pulse
Key Knowledge
Key Skills
Learning Opportunities
A Pulse is the general underlying beat of the music. It determines
how fast of slow a song is. It can be measured in time by counting
the number of beats per minute (BPM). For instance when writing a
song, the number of beats per minute has to be determined first to
ensure all the parts of the piece of music fit together. The pulse will
determine the tempo. The tempo of a song is whether the song is
generally fast or slow.
Rhythm is the patterns of difference lengths of sounds within the
underlying pulse. Rhythm is more complex and is determined in
music, for example, by the following notes.
Note Lengths that create Rhythm
within music:
Refer to the diagram of notes
Semibreve – count 4 beats.
Minim – count 2 beats.
Crotchet – count 1 beat.
Quaver – count half beat.
You can clap or drum a crotchet
beat rhythm to the word ‘Ice Cream’
– you can also use (walk/walk is it can be referred to as a walking
pace note). You can clap a Quaver beat rhythm to the word Water
Melon (run/run/run/run – can be referred to as a running note as it’s
a lot fasting than a walking note). The minim beat can be clapped to
the word Cheese (wait – this is half as slow as a walking pace note).
Think of the note lengths as a pizza (like fractions in Maths).
Semi breve = whole pizza.
Minim = half a pizza
Crotchet = quarter of a pizza
Quaver = 8
th
of a pizza
Semi-quaver= 16
th
of a pizza
Use BBC Bitesize on Rhythm here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z2mqw6f
Can clap to a pulse whilst listening to a piece
of music.
Can clap a Crotchet / Minim or Quaver beat
rhythm.
Can name and write down different note
lengths
Can sing to songs with different tempos
(slow, fast, moderate)
Can name different types of percussion
instruments
Can play un-tuned instruments to a steady
pulse and to a written rhythm.
Can demonstrate rhythm using body
percussion.
Can write a piece of music in a group using
quaver, crotchet and minim notes rhythms
and perform it in class.
Sing to common rhymes and clap to the pulse of
the song. What is the temp – is it fast or slow?
Try lots of different songs and have fun with body
percussion as a class. It can be to songs you
already know. Use the diagram below for
inspiration.
Use percussion instruments and play a beat to a
steady pulse.
Look at the group “Stomp” for inspiration on
percussion and rhythm.
Draw and discuss the different note lengths within
music. Look at the note lengths using the Pizza
method. Demonstrate the note lengths using a
drum.
Use this Rhythm Lesson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtEg8Qxuxk
Use this Introduction to Rhythm –Stage 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vZ5mlfZlgk.
Try and drum to it with normal objects or body
percussion.
Use this Introduction to Rhythm – Stage 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHad-I5AJT0
Watch this Rhythm to the Sugar Plum Fairy -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIxq-1a_810
Use the food rhythms to demonstrate the note
lengths too.
Time Signature – A time signature tells you how the music is to be counted. The time signature is written at the
beginning of the sheet music. It looks a bit like a fraction; the top number tells you how many beats to count within
a bar and the bottom number indicates what kind of note to count.
Percussion is the sound you make by a player either hits, scrape, rubs or shakes an instrument to object to make
vibrations. Percussion is known as an un-tuned instrument such as drums, tambourines, castanet etc. You can follow
a noted rhythm and use a percussion instrument to follow that rhythm.
Body Percussion – Body Percussion is traced back to the mines of South Africa, where miners communicated with
each other using sounds and rhythms. You can make music even without instruments because your body is an
instrument! Your body acts like a drum-kit which means you can create amazing rhythms. There are four main boy
percussion sounds, stomp, pat, clap and click. For instance click
your fingers, stomp your feet, clap your hands, pat your knees.
Use percussion instruments and create a simple
rhythm. Follow the rhythm and play it on your
percussion instrument.
Draw and discuss rest lengths within music.
Write a small piece of music, using the note
lengths in a group then perform to the whole class
using percussion instruments.
Key Vocab
PULSE
TEMPO
RHYTHM
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
CROTCHET
MINIM
QUAVER
SEMI-BREVE
BODY PERCUSSION
REST
Extra Info
Motown
Motown is an American record company. The record company was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, and was incorporated as Motown
Record Corporation on April 14, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has also become a nickname for Detroit. Motown played an
important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned record label that achieved significant crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and
its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as the Motown Sound, a
style of soul music with a distinct pop influence. During the 1960s, Motown achieved spectacular success for a small record company: 79 records in the Top Ten of the
Billboard Hot 100 record chart between 1960 and 1969. Motown was very popular in the 1960s.
For many decades, Motown was the highest-earning African American business in the United States. Motown Records was inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame class
of 2018 on June 3, 2018 at the Charles H. Wright Museum. Motown legend Martha Reeves received the award for Motown Records. Some of the artists who sang on the
label include:
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Rick
James, Stevie Wonder