Year 4 Music

Music lessons in year 4...

By the end of Year 4 children will be able to

  1. Listen and Appraise: Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music from different traditions and from great musicians and composers.

Develop an understanding of the History of music.

2. Musical activities: Use their voices expressively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.

Play tuned and un-tuned instruments musically.

Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high quality live and recorded music.

Experiment with, create , select and combine sounds using their inter-related dimensions of music.

3. Perform and share: Use their voices expressively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.

Play tuned and un-tuned instruments musically.

Autumn Term

Autumn 1 - Body and tuned percussion (Rainforests)

  • To identify structure and texture in music.

  • To use body percussion.

  • To create musical rhythms using body percussion.

  • To create simple tunes.

  • To build and improve a composition.

Autumn 2 - Rock and Roll

  • To understand the history of rock and roll music.

  • To be able to perform with a sense of style.

  • To play a walking bass line on tuned percussion.

  • To be able to play a rock and roll bass line

  • To be able to play a rock and roll piece of music.

Spring Term

Spring 1 - Change in pitch, tempo and dynamics (Rivers)


  • To sing in two parts using expression and dynamics.

  • To recognise key elements of music.

  • To perform a vocal ostinato.

  • To create and perform an ostinato.

  • To improve and perform a piece of music based around ostinatos.

Spring 2 - Haiku, music and performance (Hanami)


  • To describe the festival of Hanami using words and sounds.

  • To represent a blossom tree using sounds.

  • To identify different musical features.

  • To work as a group to create a piece of music to celebrate Hanami.

  • To perform a piece of music to celebrate Hanami.

Summer Term

Summer 1 - Samba and carnival sounds and instruments

  • To recognise and identify the main features of Samba music.

  • To understand and play syncopated rhythms.

  • To play syncopated rhythms as part of a group.

  • To compose a basic rhythm break.

  • To perform rhythm breaks within the samba piece.

Summer 2 - Adapting and transposing motifs (Romans)

  • To sing in tune and in time.

  • To understand what a musical motif is.

  • To compose and notate a motif.

  • To develop and transpose a musical motif.

  • To combine and perform different versions of a musical motif.